R. López De Heredia, Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain, 1970

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).

Grape / Blend
Tempranillo

Origin
Rioja, Spain

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Vibrant red leading slighty toward amber in the glass. Prolonged aging in old oak has lent this Gran Reserva a complexity and wealth of mysterious nuances. On the palate the wine retains its vitality as if it wanted to conceal its true age.

An excellent pair with all kinds of meats.

97 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 
The 1970 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva has a wonderful bouquet that transports you directly to the vineyard: scents of gravel, wild mushroom, cherries and dusty attic. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine tannins and thrilling, almost rapier-like acidity. There are notes of decayed red berry fruit, sour lemon, rosemary and sage. The finish is rustic but so full of energy, with hints of orange peel on the finish. Wonderful. Drink now-2020+

94 Points - Vinous
(aged in American oak barrels for nine years and then in bottle for a minimum of eight more years) Faded brick-red. Aromas of red berries dried rose cedar and tobacco show outstanding delineation and pick up woodsmoke and herb nuances as the wine opens up. Sweet and seamless in texture offering mineral-accented red currant cherry and blood orange flavors that spread out steadily on the back half. The extremely long tannin-free finish shows compelling sweetness lingering florality and an echo of smoky oak

Product size: 750ml