R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva wine bottle

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva 2012

Lopez de Heredia
$42.00

Grape: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano
Vintage: 2012
Type: Red

This traditional red wine is an estate bottling sourced from the historic El Bosque vineyard plot in Rioja Alta. The López de Heredia family manages the vines sustainably on clay-limestone terraces, producing eighty percent tempranillo blended with garnacha, mazuelo, and graciano. Spontaneous fermentation relies entirely on native oak-vat wild yeasts, completely avoiding modern temperature styling or chemical adjustments. The wine undergoes a long maturation process, aging for five full years in old neutral American oak barrels.

It pours a translucent ruby color with garnet reflections, opening with expressive aromatics of sour cherry, cedar, tobacco leaf, and underbrush. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is exceptionally round and earthy, showcasing a Burgundian sibling quality of sensuality and litheness. Fine, integrated tannins provide a smooth structural grip across the fluid mouthfeel without feeling heavy. A clean wave of limestone acidity runs through the center, keeping it fresh. It finishes 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.

Bosconia is a single vineyard that leans more toward blackberries and plums, with classic leather and cigar box notes emerging from the extended time in barrel.