All wines
Boris· @Anna Z
R. López de Heredia
Viña Tondonia Reserva
2008
4.2
Region
Spain › La Rioja › Rioja DOCa
Type
red · still
Grapes
Grenache, Tempranillo, Graciano, Cariñena
Alcohol
13%
Volume
750 mL
Tasting Notes(1)
4.2
Super charged and not easy to read - it's still closed, elegant under all that, fresh with an herbal twist. Medium-bodied, very fresh. Sicilian orange, a touch of maple syrup, licorice, fruit still very much in place. Beautiful wine, but the energy is way out ahead of itself - this one needs more cellar time.
About
The Tondonia Reserva from R. López de Heredia's Viña Tondonia vineyard - a 100-hectare shell-shaped amphitheatre on the right bank of the Ebro at Haro, alluvial clay over limestone. The classic Tondonia Reserva blend: Tempranillo around 75%, Garnacho 15%, Graciano and Mazuelo 5% each. Hand harvest, fermentation in large oak vats, then six years in 225-litre American oak casks coopered on-site by the family's cooper, racked traditionally (the family says by candle), fined with egg whites from their own hens, bottled unfiltered. Released roughly a decade after the vintage. 2008 in Rioja was a cool, slow-ripening vintage with moderate yields and naturally high acidity - the kind of profile that lends itself to Tondonia's slow-burn template.
