We received a very small allocation of white and rosé wines from Lopez de Heredia and rather than put them on the shelf we thought we have them as a special tasting. Join us Sunday evening to try these very unique wines, along with some Tapas and we’ll still get you home for Sunday dinner. Space is limited. Sign up to save a spot.
López de Heredia began in the nineteenth century when French negociants visited Rioja looking to find quality grapes since phylloxera had decimated their vineyards. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, an enthusiastic student of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps. Don Rafael fell in love with the region. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three houses in the Rioja region.
López de Heredia is renowned for long aging of their wines, ageing the white wines in oak for as long as reds. After the wines spend a long time in oak, the oaky tastes and aromas are overly noticeable and unbalanced. But, when left for a few years in bottles, the rough edges of oak become polished and balanced to create a seductive bouquet of spice, bitter almonds, vanilla and walnut, trademarks of the majestic and opulent Viña Tondonia whites.
2009 Viña Tondonia Rosé Gran Reserva $28
60% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo, 10% Viura
Beautiful flavors of blood orange, berries, peach skin and almonds only begin to describe this wine, which also has a silken texture unlike any other rosé you have likely ever had.
2010 Viña Gravonia Blanco Crianza $27
The Gravonia comes from 45-year-old Viura vines in poor and stony soil. It has aged 4 years in barrel and 5 years in bottle before release. The wine is complex, nutty and truly unique with notes of petrol, beeswax and chamomile.
2005 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva $45
90% Viura, 10% Malvasia
Iconic white Rioja. Extremely complex, spicy, nutty and herbal thanks to 6 years of oak ageing. Loads of lemon and orange peel with green tea and fresh kumquat. Its palate profile is of wax, honey and pebble stones.
2010 Lopez de Heredia Viña Cubillo Crianza $24
65% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacho, 5% Mazuelo, 5% Graciano
From the vineyard Viña Cubillas, whose vines average 40 years of age, with a mixture of clay and limestone soil. This crianza ages for three years, being racked twice per year and then 5 in bottle before release.
2006 Viña Tondonia Reserva $44
75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 5% Graciano, 5% Mazeulo
A remarkable red with no concession to modernity, this Reserva is fermented in 140-year-old wooden vats followed by six years of ageing in oak casks, the rest in bottle. The wine has complex notes of spice, leather, cherries, balsamic and cigar box with a long savoy finish.
Madrona Wine Merchants offers free wine tastings featuring 4-5 selections on a theme every Saturday from 2 until the bottles run out and on Sunday, we offer a mini-tasting of two wines all day from 11-5.