R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco Reserva 2013

Lopez de Heredia:

This family-owned winery makes highly individual wines in a style essentially unchanged since its inception in 1877. They grow all their grapes using organic methods, ferment using only natural yeasts and do not filter their wines. 

López de Heredia reputation as the ultimate Rioja traditionalist is undisputable: craft, farming, winemaking are all here and have been for a long, long time. Another remarkable feat is they also pioneered the single vineyard model in Rioja. Gravonia, Tondonia, Bosconia and Cubillo are all individual vineyards which have been in the family for generations.

Patience is a family watchword, as this bodega thinks nothing of waiting twenty years before releasing a wine. Their “Crianzas” are aged like others’ “Reservas” and “Gran Reservas”; the “Reservas” as long as others’ top “Gran Reservas”. And the ultimate accolade of “Gran Reserva” is accorded to only the very greatest vintages. Rarely are there more than three of these in a decade. These are uniquely traditional Riojas of massive, boundary-crossing repute. Both red and white are capable of staggering longevity.

Tondonia is the estate's top vineyard. 

Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta planted Viña Tondonia in 1913. The gorgeous 170 hectare Tondonia vineyard is situated in on the right bank of the Ebro river, which flows through the Rioja region.