R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia is a truly unique winery that has made the concept of the most authentic Rioja classicism its own. Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012 was made with a blend dominated by Tempranillo, accompanied by Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo varieties. The grapes come from their own vineyards and have extremely long ageing of 6 years in barrels.
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
Oak barrels
Type of bottle
Bordeaux
Barrel aging time
6 years
Capacity (cl)
75
Total acidity (g/l)
6.6
Alcohol content (% vol.)
13
General Information
If there is a winery that embodies the concept of Riojan classicism, it is undoubtedly R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia. A winery that is unique in the world, with an unparalleled way of making wine and impervious to fashions. Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012 is a great wine made with patience. Designed from the winery's most emblematic vineyard (Viña Tondonia), through a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 10% Graciano and Mazuelo.
Viña Tondonia Tinto Reserva is the maximum expression of the R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia philosophy and is made in artisan, hand-crafted style: the grapes are selected from the winery's own vineyards, fermentation is in wooden vats, with extremely long ageing of 6 years in barrels, racked twice a year, clarified with fresh egg whites, and bottled unfiltered.
Founded in 1877, it is the oldest winery in Haro, a municipality recognised as the heart of Rioja wine. The López Heredia family remains there, making wines in their impressive facilities, reminiscent of cathedrals, with underground storage facilities where those fine, long-lived wines sleep for years; wines that embody the classic Rioja, and with a very differentiated profile. Four generations of the same family devoted to the purpose of achieving masterpieces of craftsmanship and refinement.
This red wine, Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012, will pair perfectly with a beef tenderloin or duck a l’orange.
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.