It was one of those lazy afternoon where I wanted a red wine and chill out over the evening. I popped by my usual haunt in Dempsey. Just fresh from attending a WSET Level 2 Intermediate Certificates in Wines and Spirits, I decided to try a Spanish wine from Rioja.
But being very new to wines of this country and region. I decided to get the waiter to make me a reccomendation.
The waiter reccomended
C.V.N.E. Rioja Cune Crianza 2007 in which we food paired it with wasabi mayonaise prawn and a platter of cheese.
The wine displays a medium intensity cherry red colour making the appearance very appealing. On the nose, you get black and red fruit aroma like cherry and raspberry. The palate is fresh with full ripe fruit.
The designation of Crianza on the label means wine is aged for at least two years and at least one of which was in oak.
Type of grape used was Tempranillo. Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape".
Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish
temprano ("early"),
a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes.
Tempranillo wines can be consumed young, but the most expensive ones are aged for several years in oak barrels. The wines are ruby red in colour, with aromas and flavors of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather and herb.
One may get a little confused over the full name and the wine's abbreviation. One wonders how the Compañía Vinícola del Norte de Españacan be know as CUNE. Upon greater research, I found that the original name for this wine was supposed to have been CVNE, like the company. But an early misspelling decided this wine's name for good.
The Gerwurtraminer Spatlese appears a clear, medium lemon colour. Wine is cleanly aromatic with delicate light, refreshing fruitty and floral scent. Distinct bouquet of tropica fruit lychee on the nose. Meduim sweet, high acidity, low tannin, medium body with ripe tropical and black fruits like lychee, blackcurrent, blackberries and light floral flavour characteristics of rose. This wine pairs well with spicy food like Spicy Chilli Crabs and even Fish Head Curry.
