R. López De Heredia, Viña Tondonia Reserva, Rioja, Spain, 2012

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
70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo

Origin
Rioja, Spain

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The finished wine is a stunner from the first sip. It pours a lucid ruby with very slight bricking at the edges. The nose brings a plethora of red and purple fruits—crushed raspberry, plum skin, black cherry pit, dried cranberry, dried red currant—alongside beguiling tertiary notes like cedar, fresh leather, cigar box, cured tobacco, and baking spice. The texture here is thrilling, the depth of fruit belying its warm-climate origins, but the structure is defined by freshness and delineation above all else. The 2012 is firing on all cylinders, one of the very best “young” Tondonia bottlings we’ve ever had, and we know from first-hand experience that a vintage like this is going to perform well far.

96 Points - James Suckling
Savory berries, plums, iron, minerals, tobacco, ink and blood oranges. Very bright, juicy and structured, with sensational balance, aged savoriness and brightness that are typical of Tondonia reds. Beautiful now.

95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, with polished tannins and a long, dry finish. It has a textbook Tondonia nose and profile. 250,000 bottles produced.

95 Points - Vinous
The 2012 Viña Tondonia is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, cultivated on the meander of the Ebro River in Rioja Alta. This garnet wine reveals aromas of ash and plum marmalade, with a faintly herbal core and hints of oaky cedar. Dry and lean, the fairly chalky texture lingers long, concluding with a compact, flavorful and lasting finish. The 2012 is a beautiful old-school Rioja.

Product size: 750ml