CVNE Real De Asua Carromaza 2020 (750ML)

97 JS / 97 DE / 95 JA / 95 WI

#31 James Suckling's Top 100 Spanish Wines of 2023

Such purity and clarity to the wine with blackberries, blackcurrants, violets and orange peel. Medium to full body and fine tannins. Polished, bright, vivid and agile. Powdery tannins with wonderful length and finesse. Savory, too. Give it three to four years of bottle age. - James Suckling

The second release on the Place de Bordeaux of this 'more modern' wine from the established Spanish winery says CVNE CEO and fifth-generation family member Victor Urrutia made from the 2.37ha plot of 30-year-old Tempranillo grapes known as Carromaza in the village of Villalba, 700m high in Rioja Alta. From the fresh and cool 2020 vintage, this is intensely fragrant, verging on heady aromatics on the nose; baked plum, strawberries and soft aniseed, cinnamon and clove spices. Supple and so smooth but with a crushed velvet edge giving weight and texture. Instantly satisfying on the palate with delicate, yet enrobing tannins that give structure and support but don't overwhelm the crunchy, ripe and fleshy fruit. Acidity is high and perfectly balances the warming underlying elements. Rich, sumptuous, seductive but with poise and nuance - everything feels well defined with the most delicious juiciness on the mid palate. Bright, shiny, alive and utterly drinkable. Wild yeast fermentation. Ageing 12 months in new and one year old French oak barrels. 3.6pH. 95 IPT. - GH, Decanter

A more generous vintage than 2019, at around 40hl/h yield from this 2.5ha vineyard, putting an emphasis on peony and rose flowers. This has liqourice and crushed raspberries, plenty of weight through the mid palate without being heavy, lovely juice. 80% new oak, large size oak casks for fermentation. 80% new oak, wild yeast ferment. 3.6ph, 95IPT. - Jane Anson, Decanter

The 2020 Real de Asua Carromaza is 100% Tempranillo from the single-vineyard Carromaza plot. It was aged for 12 months in new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it offers up expressive scents of plum preserves, blackberry pie, and chocolate-covered cherries, with hints of black olives, tar, espresso, and unsmoked cigars. The full-bodied palate is chock full of earthy/savory flavors with a chewy texture and lively acidity to support the generous fruit, finishing long and minerally. Approximately 1,200 cases were made. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent