2012 Viña Tondonia Tinto, Reserva, Bodegas R. López de Heredia, Rioja, Spain

70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 10% Mazuelo. Macerated for 10–14 days, fermented for 10–14 days. Aged for 6 years in old barrels, racked twice yearly and fined with egg whites. RS <2.5 g/l. Free SO2 ~17 mg/l, total SO2 ~90 mg/l.

It's a little sour and dusty but absolutely classic. For older wine drinkers only!

Drink 2020 - 2028

After six years in barrel produced at López de Heredia's own cooperage) and three in bottle prior to release, this is all you can expect from a classical Viña Tondonia with its focused intensity and muscular yet super elegant tannins. It is assertive but also super silky, with juicy fruit gliding through the palate while being pleasantly pulled back by an energetic, smoky verve. Broody, while at the same time mature - another accomplished vintage of a true classic.

Drink 2024 - 2040

The 2012 Viña Tondonia is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, cultivated on the meander of the Ebro River in Rioja Alta. This garnet wine reveals ash and plum marmalade aromas with a faintly herbal core and hints of oaky cedar. Dry and lean, the fairly chalky texture lingers long, concluding with a compact, flavorful and lasting finish. The 2012 is a beautiful old-school Rioja.

Drink 2024 - 2035

2012 López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Tinto Reserva 13%) Viña Tondonia can seem austere in its comparative) youth, especially when compared with sweeter Bosconia, but this is a wine that will reward patience. Picked earlier to assuage the effects of a warmer site, this blend of Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% each of Graciano and Mazuelo is structured and focused, with redcurrant, forest floor and green herb notes. Give it time.

Drink 2025 - 2032

250,000 bottles produced.

The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with a nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the ageing in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, with polished tannins and a long, dry finish. It has a textbook Tondonia nose and profile.

Drink 2025 - 2035 

Savoury berries, plums, iron, minerals, tobacco, ink, and blood oranges. Very bright, juicy, and structured, with sensational balance, aged savoriness, and brightness typical of Tondonia reds. Beautiful now.