Cune Rioja Gran Reserva 2018

94 points Zekun Shuai (Jamessuckling.com): "Spices, chocolate, vanilla and lots of vibrant, youthful plums, cherries and berries. A medium-bodied, very approachable Rioja with juicy fruit and fine tannins that make you want to drink a bottle. Such a pleasing, well-made and youthful gran reserva, Drink now or hold. (08/07/24)."

93 points Joaquín Hidalgo (Vinous): "The 2018 Gran Reserva Cune is 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from Rioja Alta, aged up to 24 months in American and French oak barrels. Aromas of plum and blackberry intermingle with herbal and oaky notes. Dry, creamy and chalky on the palate, it offers a fairly compact mouthfeel. This red wine presents a modern twist on the fruit-forward style, resembling more of a New World red than a classic Rioja. Drink 2024-2034. (Dec 2023)"

93 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "I have only begun to taste with some frequency the “regular Rioja bottlings (as opposed to Imperial or Viña Real) from Cuné in the last decade or so and I am always impressed by the quality. The 2018 Cuné Gran Reserva is their new release, crafted from a blend of eighty-five percent tempranillo, ten percent graciano and five percent mazuelo. The wine comes in at fourteen percent alcohol in this vintage and delivering a superb aromatic constellation of sweet dark berries, cassis, cigar ash, a fine array of Rioja spice tones, dark soil and a fine framing of French oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and already starting to get nicely velvety on the attack, with a fine core of fruit, lovely soil undertow, fine-grained, moderate tannins, tangy acids and lovely focus and balance on the long, complex and quite elegant finish. This is excellent Rioja! It is approachable now, but really has enough backend tannin that tucking it away in the cellar for five or six years will pay very handsome dividends. 2030-2075. (May/Jun 2025)"

92 points Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "The 2018 Cune Gran Reserva was produced with grapes picked between the 8th and 26th of October, quite late into the season, reflecting a cooler year with frost and snow and a mild summer. The vegetative cycle was long, 180 days, and the final blend was 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo or Cariñena, mostly from their 70 hectares in Torremontalbo. The grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and concrete after a 24-hour cold soak, and the wine matured in French and American oak barrels for 24 months. They bottled the wine with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.76 grams of acidity. It has spicy notes from the oak, vanilla and coconut, and is aromatic and expressive, clean, with a classic Gran Reserve profile. 295,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021, and the bottles are kept for at least three years before they are released. Drink 2024-2034. (02/19/24)."

91 points Tim Atkin, MW: "[14%] Very reliable stuff from María Larrea and the CVNE team, this is a well-judged cuvée of Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, mostly from CVNE's own vines in Torremontalbo. Skilfully aged in French and American oak, it's still pretty youthful, exhibiting layers of strawberry, black cherry and aromatic kitchen spices. 2024-2029. (2024)."

90 points Wine Spectator: "A savory red, leading with smoke and espresso notes before a plushly textured mix of black cherry, Kalamata olive and black tea pushes through. Sinewy tannins firm the fresh, spiced finish. Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo. Drink now through 2029. 4,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported. (12/31/24)."