Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend

A classic that doesn’t get old

Sempre interessante. Indovinato alla cieca 😁

A fantastic vintage of tondonia. Still showing American oak on the palate but some secondary mushrooms/earth tones emerging. Will hold a while longer and fortunately have several more

What an absolute treat. Medium ruby in the glass with just a hint of garnet. Fruit and tannin almost completely resolved. The purity of the acidity is stunning but the most impressive part of the wine is the texture and mouthfeel. Silky and elegant. Earth and mushroom. Burgundian.

Dark berry and dried wood. Garrigue and mocha. Drying at the edges. Good fruit

Dark blue fruit. Intense and savory. Gnarly underbrush. Plums and salinity. Really delicious and deep

Sultry and perfumed. Seductive earthiness, combined with pure pure red fruit and mint on the nose. Amazing density and liveliness on the palate, it buzzes with energy. Iron, mineral and bloody. So soulful. Has some real life ahead of it still.

Popped and poured; consumed over two days. My second time enjoying the 1995 Gran Reserva (the most recent release from LdH). The wine pours garnet with a translucent core accompanied by some fine sediment and a slightly watery rim. Medium viscosity. On the nose, high intensity and seems to have some VA. There’s also a little bit of the funk too. Highly perfumed with cherry, red rope licorice, balsamic, cumin, horse saddle, dill, and iron rich earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium++ acid. Tart cherries and again with the red rope licorice. Also, there are blackberries and plums, buzz buttons, iron, tomato, leather, olives and exotic spices. Long, savory finish. Despite being 26 years from vintage, the wine comes across super bright and fresh. Just lovely.

Ever the benchmark for Rioja, Viña Tondonia shows very well again in the 2007 vintage, if slightly less powerful, and impressive, than the 2006.

The nose is a gentle affair offering aromas of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, dry cherry and vanilla pod, and takes some coaxing from the glass. The palate is so splendidly traditional: saturated, slightly tart with its orange peel acidity and long through the finish with sweet flecks of vanilla. I think the 2006 will be longer lived, but this is drinking very well now with good ageing potential.

WTF…This was amazing! Jose Maria is a rock star! Her personality is even in this wine! Wound with enough forgiveness to tease you sip by sip!