R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco Reserva 2013

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco Reserva 2013

Lopez de Heredia
$65.00

Grape: Viura Blend
Vintage: 2013
Type: White

This white Rioja is a traditional Reserva blend composed of ninety percent Viura and ten percent Malvasía from the Vina Tondonia vineyard. The López de Heredia family utilizes low-intervention protocols on the local alluvial and limestone terraces to capture structural density. The hand-harvested grapes ferment spontaneously with native yeasts in large neutral oak vats, completely avoiding modern adjustments. The wine undergoes a lengthy six-year maturation process in used American oak barrels before a prolonged bottle aging.

It displays a bright straw-gold color, releasing refined aromas of green orchard fruit, lemon peel, and chamomile blossoms. On the palate, a sleek, medium-bodied frame balances fresh citrus profiles with an underlying stony mineral core. A lively wave of natural acidity cuts through the waxy texture, maintaining great freshness and an athletic energy. The extended wood aging provides a subtle structure that frames the mid-palate cleanly. It finishes long, dry, and persistent.

This family-owned winery makes highly individual wines in a style essentially unchanged since its inception in 1877. They grow all their grapes using organic methods, ferment using only natural yeasts and do not filter their wines.

López de Heredia reputation as the ultimate Rioja traditionalist is undisputable: craft, farming, winemaking are all here and have been for a long, long time. Another remarkable feat is they also pioneered the single vineyard model in Rioja. Gravonia, Tondonia, Bosconia and Cubillo are all individual vineyards which have been in the family for generations.

Patience is a family watchword, as this bodega thinks nothing of waiting twenty years before releasing a wine. Their “Crianzas” are aged like others’ “Reservas” and “Gran Reservas”; the “Reservas” as long as others’ top “Gran Reservas”. And the ultimate accolade of “Gran Reserva” is accorded to only the very greatest vintages. Rarely are there more than three of these in a decade. These are uniquely traditional Riojas of massive, boundary-crossing repute. Both red and white are capable of staggering longevity.

Tondonia is the estate's top vineyard. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta planted Viña Tondonia in 1913. The gorgeous 170 hectare Tondonia vineyard is situated in on the right bank of the Ebro river, which flows through the Rioja region.