Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2014

179,00 €

Year	2014
Manufacturer
Format	75 Cl
Origin	Spain
Typology	White Wine
Grape Variety	Macabeu, Malvasia
Label	Indigenous Yeast, Wood

Description
Manufacturer

Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2014 – R. López de Heredia

Six years in barrel and two in bottle before release: Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2014 is one of the world’s great oxidative whites, saline and able to defy decades.

Overview

Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2014 is a white Rioja made by R. López de Heredia, from 90% Viura and 10% Malvasía sourced from the historic Tondonia vineyard. It is one of the most iconic and long-lived whites in the world, aged for around six years in American oak and a further two in bottle before release. Its oxidative, complex and deeply saline style makes it the antithesis of the modern fresh white and a collector’s wine able to evolve for decades. The 2014 vintage won over international critics, with scores reaching and surpassing 96 points.

The story of the wine

Tondonia Blanco is the white expression of the legendary Tondonia vineyard, made the same way for over a century by the oldest winery in Haro, founded in 1877. It perfectly embodies the house’s anti-fashion philosophy: the wine is not released when the market demands it, but only when the family judges it ready, even five or ten years after the harvest. It is a white that, as the critics write, “makes demands of the taster”, far removed from the logic of immediate freshness. A bottle that tells of a way of making wine that has all but vanished.

Philosophy in the vineyard

The grapes come from the Tondonia vineyard, a shell-shaped meander on the right bank of the River Ebro, on white, rock-rich soils combining alluvial and limestone elements. The old Viura and Malvasía vines have an average age of around 63 years, and this seniority, together with restrained yields, gives the wine concentration and that unmistakable salinity. The house is entirely estate-grown, meaning it vinifies only its own grapes, strictly hand-harvested. The viticulture follows a tradition unchanged for generations, where every choice is geared towards the wine’s longevity rather than yield or early drinkability.

Approach in the cellar and grape varieties

The blend is 90% Viura and 10% Malvasía Riojana. Fermentation takes place in ancient oak vats with indigenous yeasts only, followed by ageing of at least six years in well-seasoned, neutral American oak barrels, made in the cooperage inside the winery. During this period the wine is racked twice a year and fined with fresh egg white, in the traditional way, before a further rest of around two years in bottle. It is the slow, controlled oxygenation in wood that builds the characteristic profile of dried fruit, spice and complexity that defines this white.

Tasting notes

Colour: bright, luminous gold, almost fluorescent, a sign of the long oxidative ageing.

Nose: complex and layered, on lemon peel, aromatic herbs, macadamia and dried fruit, with hints of resin, mushroom, beeswax, tea and a smoky note.

Palate: dry, dense and intensely saline, with a creamy texture and a slight tannic grip, vibrant acidity and a very long, mineral finish.

Food pairings

A gastronomic white of great structure, best served not too cold. It shines with rich, fatty fish such as sablefish and salt cod, with shellfish and paella, as well as with aged cheeses like Manchego. It is also ideal with mushroom dishes, spiced and curried preparations and cured meats, where its oxidative complexity finds the perfect counterpoint.

Technical sheet

Producer: R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia
Appellation: DOCa Rioja (Rioja Alta), Haro, Spain
Type: Dry white wine, traditional oxidative style
Grapes: 90% Viura, 10% Malvasía
Farming: Traditional, from estate vines of around 63 years
Winemaking: Fermentation in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, at least six years in used American oak, racked twice a year, fined with egg white, further rest of around two years in bottle
Alcohol: 12.5% vol.
Serving temperature: 14–16 °C (stated indication for this wine)
Sulfites: Contains sulfites

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia

Founded in 1877 and almost unchanged ever since, R. López de Heredia is the most stubbornly traditional winery in Rioja, where a wine is released only when it is ready, even after ten years in barrel.

The story

R. López de Heredia was born in Haro, in the heart of Rioja Alta, around 1877, when Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta designed and built the complex that still houses the bodega today. It is the oldest winery in Haro and one of the first three in the entire region. Its history reaches back to the mid-nineteenth century, when French négociants, their vineyards devastated by phylloxera, travelled up to Rioja in search of quality grapes: it was from them that the founder learned the art of wine. From a simple bulk wine trader, Don Rafael soon decided to control the entire chain by acquiring his own vineyards. Today the house is led by the fourth generation, with María José López de Heredia at the helm, and it is the only bodega to have received the Diploma de Garantía for the exclusive use of native Rioja grapes since its founding.

Philosophy in the vineyard

López de Heredia owns around 170 hectares of vineyards in Rioja Alta, all surrounding Haro, of which about one hundred are in active production: the rest is left fallow for up to fourteen years before replanting, a rare and almost anachronistic choice. The house is entirely estate-grown, meaning it vinifies only its own grapes, an uncommon condition in Rioja. The flagship vineyard, Viña Tondonia, acquired between 1913 and 1914, stretches over a hundred hectares in a shell-shaped meander on the right bank of the River Ebro, on alluvial and limestone soils that mark the boundary with Rioja Alavesa. Alongside Tondonia, the house farms the Bosconia, Cubillo and Gravonia vineyards, with the region’s historic grapes: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo for the reds, Viura and Malvasía for the whites.

Approach in the cellar

In over a century, López de Heredia has changed almost nothing, and has made that its signature. Fermentations take place with indigenous yeasts, and every barrel is built and repaired in the cooperage inside the winery, one of the last still active in Rioja, which holds more than thirteen thousand American oak barrels. In the underground cellars, the moss-covered walls naturally regulate humidity, while the spider webs are left in place as allies against insects. The ageing is of an off-the-scale length: six years in barrel for the Reserva wines, up to ten years for the Gran Reserva, made only in exceptional vintages. The wines are racked twice a year, fined with fresh egg white and bottled without filtration. Above all, they reach the market only when the family judges them ready, even five or ten years after the harvest.

Style and icon wines

The result is an unmistakable style: reds and whites with an oxidative, perfumed and savoury profile, of great complexity and ageing potential, light years away from the fashions of extraction and new oak. The top of the range is Viña Tondonia Reserva and Gran Reserva, a Tempranillo-led blend, flanked by Viña Bosconia, more structured, and the younger Viña Cubillo. Among the whites stand out the legendary Viña Tondonia Blanco, from Viura and Malvasía, capable of defying decades, and the Viña Gravonia, pure Viura. But the absolute cult wine is the Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado, a rosé aged around four years in wood, a rarity unique in the world whose production resumed with the 2008 vintage after a long pause. These are bottles that have become objects of veneration among critics and collectors, because they tell of a Rioja that barely exists any more.