2008 Lôpez de Heredia 'Viña Tondonia' Tinto Reserva Rioja Tempranillo
There are many wines from Rioja but none as iconic as Vina Tondonia ("vin-ya tonn-dough-knee-ah"). Named after one of the family's vineyards, this is their Reserva-level Rioja which is a blend of approximately 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho (Grenache), 10% Graciano and Mazuelo.
R. Lopez de Heredia have been producing wine in Haro, Rioja Alto, since 1877 and their methods remain largely unchanged over this time. These are very true, very traditional wines that totally capture the essence of Spanish wine. The wines here are hand harvested, macerated in large open top fermenters and then matured in barrel for 6 years before being rested in bottle for an additional 2 years before being released. In this case, this wine has been bottle some 11 years!
This is a wine that is equally rustic yet elegant, rich yet refreshing, complex yet easy to enjoy. Some of the staff at Everyday Wine have been serving this wine in New Zealand for over a decade and it has never let us down.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes:
A year officially qualified as "Very Good" by the Rioja control board. The year passed without severe climatological incidents, in lack of spring frost; but denoted with abundant spring precipitations and after the harvest. However, a mild and drier summer favoured the growth and health of the grapes; which led to a not very abundant, but lightly superior harvest than the previous one with similar quality. The weather conditions were exceptionally favourable during all the final phase of the vegetative cycle, something that is always decisive for the quality of the harvest. Our vineyard enjoyed the optimal conditions necessary to get a health state of the fruit almost perfect; and with balanced parameters of colour, acidity, degree of alcohol and balance during the maturation. All of these characteristics let us get a high quality harvest with a little inferior final volume compared to previous years. The harvest started the 9th of October in "Viña Tondonia" with the red varieties.
Colour: Vibrant red leading slightly towards amber.
Nose: Light fresh texture with notes of vanilla and dried berry aromas.
Taste: Rich, very dry, smooth, developed. Firm tannins and balance.
NB: This is a fine, aged wine; we suggest you stand the wine upright a day before opening (to settle any sediment to the bottom of the bottle), and then decant into a tall, skinny decanter, being careful not to over-expose the wine to oxygen.
