Special Offer Price - $149.95 per bottle with code TONDONIA
At Rioja’s Lopez de Heredia, both ‘Gran’ and ‘Reserva’ remain deeply meaningful indicators. The family needs to be persuaded to produce a Gran Reserva, a decision dependent on simultaneous perceptions of exceptional quality and rare ageability. 'Tondonia' has been released as 'Gran Reserva' just 25 times since its 1890 debut.
The 2001 strikes me as the finest rendition of the past few decades, perhaps the strongest since the superb ’81. The nose reveals a wine at a moment of beautiful transition, time layering leather and smoky notes into the still-primary cherry and black raspberry fruit. A short decant goes a long way in polishing up the texture. The fruit trends suppler just as the edges of the wine melt into soft curves.
If you like your Rioja more foresty and umami’d a couple hours further should get you there. By then you may, like us, feel like someone dropped a couple shiitakes into your decanter.
Cheers,
Jason
