López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja, Spain's most traditional winery. Part 1.

O.K. so more Spain.  Yeah!  Can you tell I love Spain and Spanish wines?  Anyway, on Monday night there was a tasting of wines from López de Heredia Viña Tondia at Union Square Wines.  I can normally get pretty excited by any wine tasting, but this one was truly special.  López de Heredia Viña Tondia, located in the Rioja wine region, is known as Spain's most traditional winery.  Heck, look at their bottles, you don't get more old school than that.  They are beautiful.  And so are the wines.  They are wines of unique character, and represent the singular dedication of a family, a place, and a style of wine making that has changed little since 1877.  I think that they so represent Spain, because Spain is nothing, if not traditional.  As the wines are made in a very traditional manner, they do not taste like anything made in an international modern style, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay or any other well known grape variety for that matter, especially the white wines.  The whites are done in an oxidated style which takes a bit of getting used to, but in a good experimental way.  And as María José López de Heredia, who was on had to talk about her families wines, said:  "Some people think we oxidize the wine, but we fight the oxidation."  Anyway, they poured all their current, red, white, and rose vintages, as well as a few older vintages.  This was a big tasting of a lot of wines, and there was a great turn out, the place was packed to the rafters.  It was a lot to taste in one night, and it might be a lot to digest for one posting, so I will break it into two postings over a couple days so it doesn't turn into a novel.  Here are the whites and rose tasted:


Heredia 1999 Viña Gravonia Crianza Blanco  $29.99
This was the younger of the two whites served, and for most white wines, this might be considered, over the hill.  And although the wine has an oxidized quality to it, I found it to be very fresh and complex and a pleasure to drink.  This was my favorite out of the white/rose bunch.  The color of this wine in the bottle is so interesting it's a medium rich yellow, with a hint of orange.  There is a sweet honey and pineapple fruit nose.  There is also a nutty almond quality and scents of charred whiskey barrel, caramel, and flint.  This really is an exotic and alluring wine that really breaks you out of the mold of what you have come to expect as a white wine today.  I couldn't recommend trying any of the wines from the tasting more than this one for its uniqueness.  92 Points.


Heredia 1990 Viña Tondonaia Reserva Blanco  $49.99
This white reserva takes us back two decades, and you would think for a white it would be long gone, but you'd be wrong.  Although it is not as fresh as the 1999 Gravonia, it was still surprisingly fresh for its age.  It has a medium rich yellow color, and a fresh citrus nose.  There are hints of white pepper and a bit of tartness on the finish.  It lacked some of the richness of the Gravonia, but was very compelling none the less.  88 Points.

Heredia 2000 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rose  $29.99
An interesting and dry rose, it has a nose of ginger ale and strawberry bubble gum, but is very subtle.  The wine is light and it has a slightly dry finish.  Loved the nose.  85 Points. 

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I will cover the reds and discuss the Tondonia winery a bit further.  Cheers!