R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva wine bottle

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva 2014

Lopez de Heredia
$50.00

Grape: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano
Vintage: 2014
Type: Red

Produced from the small El Bosque vineyard in Haro, this traditional red Rioja is a blend of tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo, and graciano. The family monitors a slow, low-intervention vinification process, utilizing spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts inside large neutral oak vats. The wine undergoes an extensive five-year aging regimen in seasoned American oak barrels before release, completely avoiding modern styling. It represents a texturally round, unforced portrait of a classic vintage that values balance.

It displays a garnet hue, releasing cassis, cola, and oak-driven aromas over a baseline of underbrush. On the palate, the medium-bodied, smooth frame showcases a youthful expression of black fruit and fine-grained, well-integrated tannins. Savory layers of cedar and dried leaves add depth across the fluid core as the liquid opens up. A clean line of natural acidity cuts through the volume, keeping the texture fresh. It finishes dry with a light touch of anisette.

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.