Viña Tondonia Rioja Rosé Blend

All bow to our host who broke out the big guns for a spicy cod meal he prepared. As the only wine I’ve ever witnessed such grotesque price appreciation (from 20 to 100, within a five year span?), it’s hard not to project all kinds of feelings & opinions about it. Still, it remains a wine of reflection & complexity, not to mention of a unique deep copper color I’ve always adored. Such waves of strange & wonderful flavors, including dried hibiscus, turmeric, licorice & porcini mushrooms. Moderate acidity, like an elegant aunt who dresses just right. And still young, within the Lopez universe.

We must be getting old as my homeboy & I remembered when this was 20$— now it’s north of 79$. First, that incredible, shimmering copper color, as if a siren call to the rewards that await. So many layers that never seem to stop: sherry- like on nose, with high pitched iodine, but deeper & round on the palate. Hints of bergamot, cinnamon bark, oyster mushroom, clove, faded citrus fruit. So so alive. What a treat. Part 2 with slow roasted grapefruit chicken, roasted eggplant with yogurt sauce & the early innings of a another wild Mets win.

Fluffy peach skin, toasted coconut, fresh Marizipan , nutty, and marshmallowness. Gummy peach rings, apple skins. But dry, salty, and savory. 🦄

I’m not normally into “unicorn” wines but an opportunity to get this wine popped up so I took it. Does it live up the hype? To me, yes. Very concentrated floral notes. Rose petals and perfume, sea breeze, orange pith, marzipan, clove, cherry. Gastronomic. Worth trying if you can!

Unicorn wine. 🦄

So heavy on that 10 Viura but maderized beautiful. Rosy, marzipan, lavender and yet wet earth. Triumphant. Hot as fuck.

The 2009 ‘Gran Reserva’ Rose by Vina Tondonia is an impressive blend of 60% Garnacho with 30% Tempranillo and 10% Viura. This beautiful Rose wine was aged for four years in American oak and another five years in the bottle. On the nose this opens with bright red fruits with blood orange and wild mushroom that are wrapped around toasty oak in the glass. The palate is silky smooth, revealing a seductive texture and a bright minerality with a brilliant beam of salinity. Remarkably light on its feet, this ‘Gran Reserva’ unveils beautiful red fruits and suggestions of kumquat and teaberry with peat moss undertones. Highly novel and complex, simply put, there is nothing like this wine. While delightful now this will age gracefully for at least another decade. Drink 2019-2029- 94

Color of dried orange peel or Hot Tamales. Beautiful little firecracker.

Smells oxidized, though crisp in the mouth. A duality of candy and fresh fruit, like biting into a caramel apple. Deep, and whole, and very appley indeed. Also dried apricots and butterscotch and fresh peach.

A deep, complex wine that could go the million and one directions of a human mind.

Had this at Le Clan, Quebec City.

You could call it a rose, but that would miss the point. Subtle. Bold. Multi-level flavor that rises up line the tide.