2016 Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gravonia Blanco

The Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gravonia Blanco is a real traditional oak matured and very old Rioja coming from very old Viura vines (90 years old!) located on gravel soils. Everything continues using nature and very authentic and no yeasts are added. The Gravonia ferments in hundred year old barrels and matures for 4 years in used barriques. It was bottled unfiltered. The Gravonia has the right balance between youth and freshness and the more developed aromas. The notes of dried flowers, honey, nuts are mixed with aromas of quince, medlar and other yellow fruit, with hints of saffron and spices, quite developed. The taste is very nice with those typical oxidative notes and ends with a salty aftertaste. Year in, year out this is one of the most sought after wines next to those of Remirez de Ganuza (also very nice white but more modern and more on the fruit). The wine is perfectly drinkable now, but has a drinking window until at least 2030. Try it with grilled sea bream, calvados brie or epoisse. Always very scarce.

95/100 Parker / 96/100 Suckling

There is a whole history behind making these unique wines possible. It all started in the mid-nineteenth century when French negociants entered the Rioja in search of alternative sources to transform quality grapes into wine, as the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. The founder: Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta followed in the footsteps of the French and learned the art of winemaking. Don Rafael fell in love with the region and in particular the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He noticed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate and that this was the perfect environment for wine production. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is now known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three bodegas in the Rioja. Bodegas Lopez de Heredia distinguishes itself as one of the few private (family) bodegas of such size. For more than a century they have been making wine in a classic way, but they also move with the times. Love for their own vineyards and strict quality requirements make this a fantastic wine family that brings wonderfully elegant and subtle Riojas to the market. The Gran Reserva is kept in barrels for at least 9 years and then in the bottle for a considerable time before the wine is allowed on the market. The nose consists of spicy, leather, tobacco, fruit liqueur and something of pastry bakery.