R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva 2010

Robert Parker
The 2010 Viña Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva was hitting on all cylinders. It was produced with 60% Garnacho (they use the masculine of the name here), 30% Tempranillo and 10% white Viura from vines averaging 91 years of age. Like all the wines, it fermented with indigenous yeasts (they have never used selected yeasts) in the 142 oak vats they have used since the beginning and then matured in old American oak barrels for four years. There is tons of complexity and nuance here; it's super elegant and layered, and as the wine sat in the glass, it developed more and more complex aromas, a subtle combination of balsam, red acid berries, a hint of medicine, fennel and wet chalk, a diesel-like touch, old wood and mushroom (beetroot?), licorice and yellow flowers, sweet spices... There's a lot more of everything. It's clean and crystalline, fresh and long, with terrific balance and depth. This has to be the finest rosado of recent times... 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2016.

The Gran Reserva wines from López de Heredia come back to the market with the heralded 2001 vintage. Otherwise, when I asked them about news, the answer was "We continue making Viña Tondonia as we have always done." Basically, they are against change... From their 170 hectares of vineyards, 124 are currently in production, from which they produce around 400,000 bottles. They are the most traditional among Rioja traditionalists.

Vinous
The 2010 Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia from R. Lopez de Heredia is an absolute gem. Matured for four years in American oak, it has an ethereal bouquet with hints of wild strawberry, crème fraiche, garrigues and lanolin. It is very complex compared to just about any other Rosé you could think of. The palate is crisp and pure, dancing on the tongue with real intensity. There’s a paradoxical weight, yet it feels like it’s walking on tiptoes, gently fanning out on the finish that has a touch of viscosity.