R. López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva, Rioja, Spain, 2011

Overview of the Wine
It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Our founder, Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps.
Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine that would eventually become world famous. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three houses in the Rioja region.

For over a century our emotions have been rooted in our love and passion for this land and its harvest. We cherish our heritage, and this combination of love and the rigorous quality standards we apply, have become our trademark and remains our maxim for today and the future.

Bodegas López de Heredia stands out as one of the few family-run bodegas regulated by the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja - DOC (Appellation region).

A year officially rated as VERY GOOD. The year passed without severe climatological incidents, in lack of spring frost; but denoted with abundant spring precipitations and after the harvest. However, a mild and drier summer favoured the growth and health of the grapes; which led to a not very abundant, but lightly superior harvest than the previous one with similar quality. The weather conditions were exceptionally favourable during all the final phase of the vegetative cycle, something that is always decisive for the quality of the harvest. Our vineyard enjoyed the optimal conditions necessary to get a health state of the fruit almost perfect; and with balanced parameters of colour, acidity, degree of alcohol and balance during the maturation. All of these characteristics let us get a high quality harvest with a little inferior final volume compared to previous years.

Grape / Blend
Viura and Malvasia Bianca

Origin
Rioja, Spain

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The palate is beautifully fresh and super long, full of energy and lively grapefruit and lemon. Silky texture and a smooth, lightly toasted almond finish. They developed the superb 2007 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva following the founder of López de Heredia's admiration for the wines of Graves, austere and dry whites.

97 Points - James Suckling 
Complex, really finely nuanced, oxidative notes make this so attractive. Everything is very subtle here. A mixture of salted almonds, cashews, minerals, dried lemon peel, nougat and treacle. A full-bodied, slightly chewy Rioja that’s full of flavor. Concentrated, yet so zesty and taut. Extremely long and zingy finish. The longer you taste it, the more the wine will talk to you. Delicious now, but can hold for a decade, if not more.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva reflects a warm and ripe year, and the wine is more evolved and already hints at some caramel and honey. It has a mellow palate without the vibrancy of the 2010 I tasted next to it. This wine matured in used, ancient American oak barrels for six years.

Product size: 750ml