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Lopez de Heredia, Rioja Reserva 'Tondonia', 2012

Red Wine from Rioja, Spain
by Lopez de Heredia
$69.99
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"The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, with polished tannins and a long, dry finish. It has a textbook Tondonia nose and profile. 250,000 bottles produced." —Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate (95 points)

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Antonio Galloni

95 points

"The 2012 Viña Tondonia is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, cultivated on the meander of the Ebro River in Rioja Alta. This garnet wine reveals aromas of ash and plum marmalade, with a faintly herbal core and hints of oaky cedar. Dry and lean, the fairly chalky texture lingers long, concluding with a compact, flavorful and lasting finish. The 2012 is a beautiful old-school Rioja." —Vinous

Robert Parker

95 points

"The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, with polished tannins and a long, dry finish. It has a textbook Tondonia nose and profile. 250,000 bottles produced."

More about Lopez de Heredia

Four generations of the López de Heredia family have guarded Rioja's traditions since 1877. They release their Crianzas and Gran Reservas only after 5–10 years in bottle, letting the wines develop complexity and elegance the way they were meant to. Four estate vineyards, 170 hectares, some of Spain's greatest whites. This is what patience looks like.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Grenache , Other Red Grape , Red Blend , Tempranillo

  • Vintage

    2012

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Earthy , Elegant , Rich

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Full Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What Bowler Wine has to say about this wine:

A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. The wine ferments in the original wooden vats present at the winery since its foundation. After malolactic the wine is transferred to very old American oak and rests on the mythical galleries of the winery in Haro. It is bottled unfined and rests again in the glass until released, usually 10+ years after harvest.

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Roasted poultry, grilled lamb, herb-crusted meats, aged cheeses, Rioja cuisine

Tasting Profile

Medium-bodied red with cherry and earth aromas, refined tannins, balanced acidity, elegant finish with mineral and herb notes.

One of the many clichés employed by the wine world is the adjective “traditional”. However, there is one winery where that adjective very appropriately applies. Little about López de Heredia has changed in the more than 130 years since its founding. It occupies the same historic cellars and unlike most of their competitors, which are now owned by outside investors, López de Heredia is owned, and every detail of its operation is handled by the family who founded it.

Due to the way the industry has evolved in Rioja, most bodegas buy grapes from dozens of small growers, but not López de Heredia. They own every inch of the vineyards that supply their wines. In addition, they eschew any use of commercial yeasts and rely only natural yeasts present in their ancient cellar.

A visit to Lopez makes this all very clear. When you descend into the cellar you are met with a rush of cool air tinged with the telltale odor of penicillin. Carved out of solid rock, fifty feet underground, the cellars are at a constant 54 degrees, perfectly situated for the aging of wine and the cultivation of friendly microbes. The walls are black and wet with the occasional patch of white mold. Inside you will find 12,900 American oak barrels and 72 ancient fermenters as well as one of the worlds great collection of cobwebs.

The bodega is now in the capable hands of the family’s youngest generation—Maria José, Mercedes and Julio César. Yet, still nothing changes. In fact, these three are as philosophically committed to the winery’s traditions as their parents and grandparents were before them.

The wines are always masterful but in certain vintages can be transcendent. Lopéz labels their wines in all three rioja categories, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. Technically almost all of their wines meet the regions criteria for Gran Reserva but as usual they do it the old ways, making Gran Reserva only in exceptional vintage.

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