R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado 2012
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado 2012
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R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado 2012

Lopez de Heredia
$300.00

Grape: Garnacha, Tempranillo, Viura
Vintage: 2012
Type: Rosé

This rosé wine is one of the rarest wines in Spain, a gran reserva rosado made only in the best years by López de Heredia in Haro, Rioja. It is about 60% garnacha, 30% tempranillo, and 10% viura. It spends about 4 years in the bodega's American oak barrels, where it turns from pink to a pale onion-skin orange. It was bottled in 2018 and released only after further rest in the cellar.

It pours a pale, glowing salmon-copper, opening with dried strawberry, orange peel, and hazelnut. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame balances delicate red fruit with savory, oxidative notes from long barrel aging. Spice, dried flowers, and a hint of salinity sit underneath. Fresh acidity keeps it vibrant. It finishes long, dry, and complex.

Winery

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.