Viña Tondonia 2001 Blanco Reserva

Wine: Viña Tondonia 2001 Blanco Reserva
Winery: R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia (Haro, Rioja Alta)
Appellation / Zone: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: 90% Viura, 10% Malvasía
ABV: 12.5%

Winemaking:
Grapes are sourced from the Tondonia vineyard on the right bank of the Ebro River (438–489m altitude), featuring alluvial to clay-limestone soils with gravel and pebbles. Harvest began on October 8th. Fermentation took place in 60-hectoliter oak vats without temperature control. The wine was aged for 6 years in used 225-liter American oak barrels, with two manual rackings per year. Fined with fresh egg whites and bottled unfiltered directly from the cask. Limited production of 11,000 bottles. It rested for at least 6 years in the winery’s underground cellars before release.

 

Tasting Notes

 

Appearance: Intense golden yellow; clean and brilliant. Displays vibrant copper and orange reflections. Highly glyceric with dense, persistent legs.

 

Nose: Fine, complex, and exceptionally elegant. Open from the start, it gains intensity with aeration. A layer of ripe fruit and sweet citrics yields to a prominent presence of smoke, white pepper, turmeric, and vanilla, all over a high-quality mineral (gunpowder) backdrop. Orderly, perfectly defined, and with no element out of place. A magnificent wine.

 

Palate: Full-bodied and deeply serious, with the oak integrated to a degree rarely seen. Savory and austere at once, featuring soft citric notes that melt into perfect acidity. The fruit has a slightly sweet entry that remains poised, leading into an exceptionally long finish.

 

Commentary:
An absolute triumph of traditional winemaking. The integration of the long oxidative aging is flawless, resulting in a white of profound character and balance.

 

Personal Score: 93
Tasting Group Average:
Price: €22

 

Tasting Notes (08/01/2016)

 

Appearance: Intense golden yellow; clean and brilliant. Displays vibrant copper and orange reflections. Features the customary glyceric texture with dense, persistent, and slow-moving legs.

 

Nose: Deeply complex and profound, layered with minute details. Suggestive, though slightly elusive and yet to fully "explode." It feels as though it has been opened a few years too early. It weaves together notes of dried apricots and loquat jam with orange peel, citrics (grapefruit, lemongrass), star anise, and white pepper, all over a vanilla and smoke-infused backdrop. Impeccable and precise.

 

Palate: It arrives with great presence, possessing the framework of a truly great wine. Serious, thick, and structured, though it mirrors the nose in its initial tightness and austerity. Sharp, vibrant, and piercing, driven by an intense acidity and great nerve. It flows obstinately with a fresh, tart persistence.

 

Commentary:
A white wine in its infancy, still unpolished but brimming with future potential. One can sense an extreme growth potential and raw material of immense quality; all of this backed by a splendid Rioja vintage. While other Tondonia whites have been more accessible and brilliant in their youth, I cannot recall another with such potential for further development. It deserves to be purchased in large quantities.

 

Personal Score: 93
Tasting Group Average: 94
Price: €22