Viña Real Reserva Especial 1954 C.V.N.E. (Haro, La Rioja) Compañia Vinicola del norte de España D.O.: RIOJA Top scores (1954 vintage): 98/100 Robert Parker 19/20 Jancis Robinson Robert Parker 98/100 "The 1954 Viña Real Reserva Especial was my Rioja epiphany wine, the one that made me realize Rioja was truly capable of producing world-class wines, among the very best in the world. The wine is 13.7% alcohol, slightly above the average among old vintages and the growing cycle was long, 205 days. The vintage as such was qualified as merely "Good," and so did CVNE internally. However the Viña Real must have been exceptional among all the wines from them, as the wine was not bottled until May 1967, meaning it had an extremely long élevage of nearly 13 years! The bottle we uncorked was superb. The nose was refined and elegant with notes of sandalwood, truffles and pencil lead, complex and balanced, fragrant and hypnotizing, vivacious and very complete in the palate. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025..."