R.LOPEZ DE HEREDIA, VINA TONDONIA RESERVA WHITE 2008
Production: Elaborated 100% from Viura (Macabeo) grapes.
Made in a very traditional winemaking style, hand harvested and grape selection from old vines sourced from their own vineyards. It has spent 4 years in oak barrels, raked twice a year and fined with fresh egg-whites, bottled unfiltered and followed by some ageing in bottle before being released.
The family owned bodega López Heredia, one of Rioja’s oldest and most traditional establishments, was founded in 1913 by Rafael López de Heredia, three generation later the family Lopez de Heredia continue to devote themselves to producing exceptional and unique wines.
Located in the heart of the Rioja Alta region, Viña Tondonia is a beautiful vineyard and one of the most spectacular in Haro, of over 100 ha. situated in a shell like depression on the right bank of the river Ebro, the soil is alluvial clay with a high proportion of limestone. The grapes from Viña Tondonia are always used in making their highest quality wine.
Winery: Bodegas R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia
Region: D.O.C. Rioja
Vintage: 2008
Bottle: 75cl.
Colour: Natural gold, developed. Nose: Fresh, complex and developed. Taste: Smooth, round, fine and developed.
Perfect with all kinds of fish, irrespective of their preparation; grilled seafood, well-seasoned white meat (see below).
If there is one bodega experienced in producing old white wines, it has to be López de Heredia, never averse to ageing white wines in oak for as long as reds, and the result is much more surprising than might be expected. When this type of wine has spent a long time in contact with oak, the oaky tastes and aromas are overly noticeable and even unbalanced. Nevertheless, when left for a few more years in bottles, the rough edges of oak become sufficiently polished and balanced to create a seductive bouquet of spice, bitter almonds, vanilla and walnut, trademarks of the majestic and opulent Viña Tondonia whites.