2013 Lopez de Heredia - Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva (750ml)

R. López de Heredia was founded in 1877 by Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, who had followed a wave of French négociants into Rioja after phylloxera devastated their own vineyards back home. Convinced by the region's soil and climate, Rafael built an elaborate bodega complex in Haro's Barrio de la Estación, today considered one of the oldest wineries in the appellation and one of its three founding houses. In 1913 he planted the vines that would become Viña Tondonia, a shell-shaped bend of vineyard along the Ebro River that remains the estate's most celebrated holding. The winery is now led by María José López de Heredia, the fourth generation, who has preserved her great-grandfather's exacting methods almost unchanged, still fermenting with native yeasts, aging everything in the family's own hand-repaired American oak barrels, and releasing wines only when she judges them ready.

This Reserva is a blend of roughly 70% Tempranillo with Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo, drawn entirely from the Tondonia vineyard's alluvial clay and limestone soils. Fermentation still takes place in century-old oak vats without temperature control, and the wine then spends around six years aging in barrel before further time resting in bottle, a schedule well beyond Rioja's legal minimums for the category.

The wine shows a vibrant garnet color with amber edges, offering dried berry, vanilla, dill, and forest floor alongside wild herbs and a hint of iodine. The palate is rich and dry, with firm, polished tannins and real length. It pairs beautifully with roast lamb, aged cheeses, or hearty stews.