López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja, Spain's most traditional winery. Part 2.

Part two of Heredia Tondonia.  The revenge.  The sequel. This installment covers the current red releases as well as the older red vintages poured at the tasting.  I guess I should start out by thanking Monica Nogues of Think Global Wines, the distributor for Heredia Tondonia here in the states.  She is pictured pouring at the tasting, which she did with grace and composure throughout the night.  Thank you Monica!  Well, I raved about the whites, which are truly among the most unique wines produced today, except that they have been produced that way for a very long time.  About the only thing that is not traditional about this winery that I can find is the modern structure which has been literally dropped over an older structure.  But then again, that is Spain.  Think Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, for example.  And let's discuss the history of the winery a bit more shall we.  Start with those beautiful old school bottles.  Why are they covered in wire you ask?  Well, good question, they were traditionally covered in wire as an additional protection against fraud.  See, back in the olden days, unscrupulous sorts would uncork and drink the wine in transit and replace it with god knows what.  The wire became an additional precaution to labeled corks and labeled capsules (the foil thing that is usually over the top of the bottle and the cork).  Heredia Tondonia covers the tops of their gran reserva bottlings with wax, as opposed to the standard capsule.  Additional insurance.  Anyway, I think it is time to move onto the reds, which can be equally as interesting as the whites or the history of the Heredia Tondonia.

Heredia  2004 Viña Cubillo Crianza 2004  $29.99
This medium bodied Rioja is garnet in color, with a nose of roses, fresh earth, and pepper cured meats.  It also has good acidity and freshness.  A young traditional Rioja that could pair with almost any type of fair, but a evening of mixed tapas sounds about right.  88 Points.

Heredia 2000 Viña Tondonia Reserva  $49.99
For me this was the star from the reds.  Medium garnet in color, as all the reds turned out to be, not much browning of the edges of these wines, no matter what the age.  There was a slight oxidized quality to this wine on the nose, but it also packs eucalyptus, charred oak sherry barrels, and blood sausage with subtle red fruits and floral aromas.  This wine seems equally mature and young at the same time.  91 Points.

Heredia 2001 Viña Bosconia Reserva  $37.99
This wine is a bit different, the bottle shape suggests a different style of wine as well.  To me, it has hints of a Rhone wine in terms of the fruit.  Medium garnet color with a nose of sour cherry, pomegranate and red cherry.  There is a good round mouth feel and good acidity.  89 Points.

Heredia 1991 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva  $110.00
This was the first of the older vintages that were opened at the tasting.  There was only one bottle of each and it was great to taste these older wines as they are pretty rare.  The 1991 had a great bright berry quality, a bright garnet color, and good acidity.  There are also flavors of liquorish, black pepper and dried Italian herbs.  90 Points.

Heredia 1985 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva  $149.99
This wine had a richer quality than the 1991.  There are flavors of grilled meat, and a rose like floral nose.  89 Points.

Heredia 1981Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva  $144.99
Still bright garnet in color, as all the red wines seemed to be.  There were hints of smoked fire, and lots of bright cherry and floral notes.  Good acidity and still drinking very well.  90 Points.

Well that concludes the wines tasted from Heredia Tondonia.  It was an epic tasting, though these wines are not power houses, but rather restrained and subtle wines which leave you searching for the words to describe them.  As María José López de Heredia stated:  "The best wine is the one you cannot describe."