Producer | Lopez de Heredia |
Country | Spain |
Region | Rioja |
Varietal | Tempranillo |
Vintage | 2011 |
Sku | 56084 |
Size | 750ml |
ABV | 13.00% |
One of the most traditional producers of Spanish reds, Lopez de Heredia crafted another amazing Vina Tondonia Reserva in one of Rioja's best vintages ever: 2011. Not a typo, the 2011 is the last of the current release for Lopez de Heredia, as they hold back the wine 10+ years until it is "ready to drink." To give some perspective, Wine Spectator's #1 Wine of the Year of 2020 was the Marques de Murrieta Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010, and our other top Reserva from Vina Ardanza is now the 2016 Vintage. The work in the cellar is already done for you, which makes the $44.99 price even more astonishing! The 2011 is a beautiful red wine, that has long been a favorite at The Wine Buyer. For the past 150 years, wine society has worshiped these wines, as Neil Martin writes, Lopez de Heredia is the "apotheosis of traditional, classic wines: taut, fresh, bucolic, utterly charming and amazingly long-lived." Their traditional methods of crafting wine have withstood the test of time. Our #1 Wine of the Year in 2012 (2001 Vintage) these wines always seem to amaze!
"A traditional beauty that effuses iron, warm earth and savory tobacco leaves, together with plums, spices and orange zest. This is juicy and still tight, with firm but savory tannins. Medium-weight and quite zesty in texture, as is the case with the other López de Heredia reds tasted this session. Drink now or hold." James Suckling, 95 Points
"The 2011 Viña Tondonia Reserva is darker and shows riper fruit, a rounder palate and some dusty tannins. A year of ripeness, concentration and tannin, the wine is powerful with the finesse of Tondonia. Tasting this next to the textbook 2010 Tondonia revealed how this has more muscle and a wider back and the 2010 epitomizes the finesse and elegance." The Wine Advocate, 94 Points