Viña Cubillo Crianza 2015 s a red that’s unique in its kind: an entry-level wine that’s a real luxury, created from top-quality grapes that have been aged for a very long period in both barrel and bottle. The winery that makes it, R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, embodies the concept of the most authentic, classical Rioja style.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
25% Garnacha tinta, 65% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano y mazuelo
Type of barrel
American oak barrels
Type of bottle
Bordeaux
Barrel aging time
3 years
Capacity (cl)
75
General Information
Viña Cubillo Crianza 2015 is a masterpiece of craftsmanship that comes from a Very Good-rated vintage notable for the freshness and elegance of the wines. It was grown on old vines that the winery owns in Haro, in the Rioja Alta subzone. Four varieties went into making it: Tempranillo (65%), Garnacha (25%), Mazuelo and the remaining percentage Graciano. It has an ageing process equivalent to that of a Gran Reserva, with three years in barrels. It was clarified with egg whites and bottled unfiltered.
Founded in 1877 in Haro, in the heart of the Rioja wine region, R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia is unique worldwide for its incomparable winemaking method that continues to employ century-old practices and techniques. It’s run by the fourth generation of the López de Heredia family and remains true – with slight tweaks – to its original philosophy. The López de Heredias define themselves as grape growers – their supply of grapes comes from their own vineyards, where they use natural methods and keep intervention to a minimum – and above all as artisanal winemakers.
Viña Cubillo Crianza 2015 (D.O.Ca. Rioja) is perfect with rice dishes such as risotto with boletus and truffles or mixed paella with seafood.
Tasting notes
COLOUR: Bright ruby-red.
NOSE: Fresh and light aroma of liquorice with a firm texture and lingering aroma.
TASTE: Fine, fresh and long lasting
Creators' opinion
FARBE: Leuchtendes Rubinrot.
NASE: Frisches und leichtes Lakritzaroma mit konsistenter Textur und anhaltendem Aroma.
GESCHMACK: Fein, frisch und anhaltend
The winery
Winery
Oenologist
Winemaker
If there is one winery that embodies the concept of the purest classicism in Rioja, it is undoubtedly R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia. A unique winery in the world, with an unparalleled winemaking style, impervious to trends. To begin with, R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia is a 100% family-run business, managed by four successive generations of the López Heredia family since its foundation in 1877 by Rafael López de Heredia in Haro, the oldest winery in this town recognized as the capital of La Rioja Alta and the heart of Rioja wine. There, they maintain impressive facilities reminiscent of cathedrals, and their unique underground cellars where those fine and long-lived wines, embodying classic Rioja with an absolutely distinctive profile, rest for years.
Currently, the three López Heredia Montoya siblings (María José, Mercedes, and Julio) are at the helm of this house, which remains faithful (with minor adjustments) to its original philosophy. They define themselves as viticulturists: the grape supply comes from their own vineyards, all acquired by their great-grandfather, where they are committed to natural methods and minimal intervention; and above all, as artisans in winemaking: fermentations in wooden vats (instead of stainless steel), manual rackings, and very long aging periods in barrels and bottles that far exceed those established by the Regulatory Council of the D.O.Ca. Rioja. Another distinctive example of maintaining tradition in this house is that it has its own cooperage workshop, being the only Spanish winery today that still builds all its barrels by hand.
At the beginning of 2021, in the sixth edition of the Rioja Report, the prestigious British journalist and Master of Wine Tim Atkin selected Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco 2001 as the best wine among more than 1,200 analyzed creations. Additionally, he named Mercedes López de Heredia as the best winemaker of 2021 and selected Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 2010 as the best rosé of the year.