R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia is a truly unique winery that’s embraced the concept of the most authentic concept of classical Rioja. Viña Tondonia Reserva 2011 (Excellent year) is made from a blend chiefly of Tempranillo enhanced with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. The grapes come from the firm’s own vines and the wine has been aged for a whopping 6 years in oak barrels. Very elegant, fresh nose with toasty notes and subtle aromas of vanilla, smooth and rounded in the mouth.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
20% Garnacha tinta, 70% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano y mazuelo
Type of barrel
6 years
Type of bottle
Bordeaux
Barrel aging time
Oak barrels
Capacity (cl)
75
Total acidity (g/l)
6.6
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13
General Information
If there is one winery that embodies the concept of classical Rioja it has to be R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, a firm that’s unique in its kind, with a winemaking process that’s unrivalled and impervious to changing trends. Viña Tondonia Reserva 2011 is a superb wine made with great patience. It’s designed from a blend of Tempranillo (70%), Garnacha (20%), and Graciano and Mazuelo (10%) grapes from the firm’s most iconic vineyard (Viña Tondonia).
Viña Tondonia Tinto Reserva is the fullest expression of the philosophy of R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia and is made using artisanal methods: grapes selected from the winery’s own vineyards, fermentation in wooden vats, a very long 6-year stint in barrels, twice-yearly racking, clarification with fresh egg whites, and bottling without filtering.
Founded in 1877, it’s the oldest winery in Haro, a municipality hailed as the heart of Rioja winemaking. Since then the López Heredia family have been making wine in their impressive facilities that resemble cathedrals, equipped with underground cellars where the fine, long-living wines that are the embodiment of classical Rioja slumber for several years. Four generations of the same family, all devoted to achieving masterpieces of craftsmanship and refinement.
This Viña Tondonia Reserva 2011 is perfect with game or stewed hare.
Creators' opinion
Leuchtendes Rubinrot mit leicht ziegelrotem Rand. Sehr feine, frische, geröstete Nase mit leichten Vanillearomen. Sehr hartnäckig. Sehr trocken, weich, rund und entwickelt.
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.