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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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Red
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2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Something about this maker, as I seem to be settling on a 94 for almost every vintage that I try. Collector1855 did nothing but trash this wine, Spain and the Spaniards as a wine civilization, in no uncertain terms. What a crock.....right from the pnp the nose is floral cherry. The pour into the glass is of the clearest shimmering dark ruby I've ever poured.....just beautiful. Sampled for an hour before dinner, kept drinking thru dinner (of homemade tacos), and even though I had no plans of drinking this entire bottle tonight, that's exactly what happened later in the evening. 13% alc really allows the fruit and the winemaking to shine. Moderate tannins to start at the pnp but they softened and grew rounder thru the evening. Slight herbal component shows up more after 2-3 hours open but it's perfectly in balance and doesn't stand out at all. The red cherry fruit continues to grow and grow and the finish goes on and on! Make no mistake, this is not an Earth shattering wine that makes you want to quit your day job and move to Spain, but it's damn well made, clean, balanced and the qpr is off the charts for me. I hope the rest of my '10 stash is this good! Borders on a 95 for me, but not much left in the glass to get me through the rest of the night!
Addendum: slight amount left in the glass for an additional 3-4 hours so almost 8 in total open to air. The herbal component on the nose at hour 4 is completely gone. The fruit darkens slightly and the cherry has a little tartness on the very end. I am going to change my score on this one to a 95.
Additional addendum: I really don't care how many Commanderie de Bdx positions you hold, or how many First Growths you claim to have, or how many Chinese buyers you buy for......if you are such a snob as to think this wine is terrible and is beneath you, your opinions don't rate even a 1% consideration from me, personally. What a shallow way of living that must be......I just now looked up the WA score for this one and their 'expert' gave it a 96 for this vintage. All the more proof that some snobs on here know nothing about wine, no matter how long they've been drinking it, or how much their net worth.
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Red
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2007 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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My first LdH. No decant, but followed evolution in bottle slowly over 24 hours. Difficult for me to rate in a number of ways- every time I came up with an opinion on any aspect of the wine, another differing opinion popped up that made me rethink. Beautiful, intense, delicious wine? Absolutely. Relatively overrated/cultish with somewhat questionable QPR? Possibly. Similar to other (much less expensive) Rioja Reserva? Yes. Unique or more memorable than less expensive Rioja Reserva? Also yes- for better or for worse. Does it already feel quite old and softened? Yes. Does it feel like it could theoretically age WAY longer? For sure. Killer nose? Oh yeah. Weird/disjointed palate? Yep. Etc...
Pungent nose, deep and rich- tricky to tell where the oak ends and the fruit begins. Feels like mostly oak to me, although the best kind of unapologetic American oak - loads of coconut, cedar, milky vanilla bean, cigar/pipe tobacco, little nuances of wild herbs and damp autumn leaves. Awesome stuff, but the fruit itself feels buried on the nose- sort of a baked plum or redcurrant thing going on, but focuses on the sweet oak. It's genuinely interesting to me that super-noticeable, fruit-burying oaky notes are often considered a negative trait by serious old-world wine lovers, but then almost all of them worship this wine.
By contrast, the palate feels mostly about the fruit; it all feels like dried fruit to me. Dried cherry, dried cranberry, some tart red plum or underripe red mulberry. Super bright after a dark and oaky nose, but not really "lively" either. Lots of acidity that feels SUPER tart and puckery, good energy but not super well integrated (?), and a HUGE wash of dusty, chewy tannin that essentially lingers forever after swallowing, making the finish really harsh without food (and still relatively harsh with food.)
Usually I like more of a "fresh" fruit thing in wine, either really bright and juicy red fruit or extremely deep black fruit- this didn't really feel either refreshing/elegant nor particularly rich, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Awesome oak and interesting complexity, but definitely not more than the sum of its parts. It's possible that it needs to age far longer, as it might coalesce into something stunning - although I can't help but wonder what this tasted like when younger, when the fruit was a little more present (and as they release their wines so late, I'm not sure I'll ever know.) Would be unreal at the "usual" Rioja Reserva price of $25-$40. It's more often $60-$70, buuuut it might be particularly age-worthy. Thanks for reading my long note.
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White - Fortified
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1824 Pedro Domecq Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Bolivar Amontillado
Pedro Ximénez more
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Part 2 of 2
“Nanny,” I said. “It really is you. May I pour you a bit of this brandy?”
She blushed, shook her head, reminding me in a tremulous voice that she never took any alcohol at all, save for a bit of sherry now and again.
I knew well that she referred to the sort of vile cream sherry common to church rectories and pensioners’ homes, but I nevertheless summoned Aloysius (who had greeted Nanny with a sort of reticent gladness) to bring us a bottle of fine Oloroso.
And so began some weeks during which that kindly, gentle old woman and I drank bottle after bottle of the manor’s best sherry: from pale and austere Manzanilla with speck, to unctuous, blackstrap Pedro Ximenez. How we laughed, remembering earlier times! Nanny seemed to recall each detail of our shared life, reminding me with good nature of my high jinx from those days: sculpting ribald shapes from foie gras at dinner, or the terrible shock I once inflicted on her by placing the well-worn dust jacket from her Holy Bible on a copy of 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover.'
But alas, happy as we were for those weeks, even then I knew our joy could not last; for I could see that Nanny was not a well woman. She shivered sometimes for no reason at all; her appetite for organ meats wasn’t good. At first, I took her to be suffering from one among the very few illnesses that tend to afflict those in my own milieu: gout, the occasional touch of syphilis. I called for Dr. Enderby, who acted with such heroic distinction last autumn in curing Lord Willoughby’s bed sores, but when that good man emerged from her room it was with a grim and unyielding expression. There was nothing he could do for her now.
And so we found ourselves on that bleak winter night, drinking this exquisite Amontillado while I read to her from The Marquis de Sade by the delicate light of an old candelabra. Its aroma recalled an array of dried fruits; the spice chest I once saw at a fair in the village when I was allowed to go as a boy; great uncle Alfred’s tobacco urn, papered to look like a map of the world, where I used to hide marbles and other small toys. In the mouth, it recalled the dry skins of an almond, the burnt sugar sweetness of game on a grill.
As the candlelight began to flicker and wane, I looked up to see the window filigreed with fine frost. Nanny lay unmoving in bed, her breath slow and shallow, but evincing no labor. I watched her in that way for some time, seeming to fade, or perhaps to recede like the tide. I could not, I must now admit, help but notice that she had failed to finish her sherry. A pity.
Around midnight, the first of the candles burned out, and as a pale smoke twisted in the wake of the flame, I knew without even having to look that Nanny had parted from this mortal realm. For a long time I sat there, rent with my grief. Life had returned something precious to me, and now again it was taken away. But there had been pleasure—O, such pleasure! Such wine!—and there is, surely, something sacred in that. At some point, Aloysius knocked feebly at the door, and I bid him, wretchedly, leave me alone. Nanny’s hands lay peacefully on the bedspread, folded like the hands of a saint. Periodically, I looked up to steal a glance the sherry, at least two fingers high in the glass, a rich amber such as is known to preserve material from the beginning of time; it seemed to me then an object of infinite sadness, that glass, possessed of a stupid, mute eloquence that told of all life’s sorrow and love; it stood beside the bed on the table, alone, like the very cup of trembling.
Reader, I drank it.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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I always saw Ardanza as the fruit bomb in the Alta lineup on account of the garnacha. That's not the case this vintage - if you'd poured this next to the 904 (which I had a few weeks prior) I might have suspected the bottles had been switched because this has the fully tertiary, mature-wine profile I'd be more likely to expect from the 904 while the 904 was still holding on to some fresh, juicy fruit. Not so here - it might only be 9 years old but (especially for the price) this is a great wine to have on hand in quantity for whenever the itch for something nicely aged needs scratching - streamlined and suave with a perfume of leather and dried flowers, this is the profile you put wines in the cellar hoping to arrive at, but it usually takes longer. Not to say it's in any danger of decline but there is no reason to wait. Not even on the oak front, which has been aggressive in some past Ardanzas but is already fully integrated here.
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White - Fortified
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1824 Pedro Domecq Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Bolivar Amontillado
Pedro Ximénez more
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Part 1 of 2
I enjoyed this wine under rather heartrending conditions some months ago, on a gloomy afternoon at Ashton Manor, when rain streaked the leaded glass casements of the upper east wing, and bare tree branches stood black against a grey, mottled sky. Though fires burned amply in the hearths of each room, and the air was thick with the scent of its smoke, there remained nonetheless a certain chill to the air, as if the bent, shrouded figure of death had in fact been made a manifest presence.
This was the culmination, or perhaps the sad denouement, of a story that had begun still some months prior on an altogether different day—elysian, bright—when, picnicking with Lady Meredith Woodley beneath the great, ancient lime on Ashton Moor, I was approached by a wretched lady-pauper in rags, a poor creature of such repulsive physiognomy that it nearly put me off my caviar and sieved quail's egg.
“Alms,” she said, in a quavering voice.
Lady Meredith screamed.
“Don’t look!” I exclaimed, shielding her eyes with the kerchief of raw silk that had been draped over the neck of our Champers (a delightful magnum of Sir Winnie’s Pol Roger). “This is no sight for a lady.”
But the old wretch drew nearer. “Alms,” she repeated.
Reader, know that for all his estrangement from the ways and the sufferings of the inferior classes, your Gilded Sage is not a cruel or unfeeling man. Indeed, I have long been of the opinion that true nobility and gentlemanly grace are conferred not merely by possession of a large home and stables, a library full of books, a fine cellar, but also by that humbler human instinct: compassion. Or—should disgust make the latter impossible—at least the good manners to hide one’s indifference.
It was for this reason that I forced myself to look upon this beggar, even to risk my own debasement by meeting her eye, and found there the faintest glimmer of recognition: ghostly, elusive, a faraway flame.
“Master Julian?” the crone quietly said. “Can it really be you?”
It was as if a hand had been laid on my heart.
By now, Lady Meredith Woodley had fainted and was thus quite insensible to what was unfolding. All the better, since I cannot pretend to have wished for any vague association that may have existed between this wretch and myself to be known.
And exist it did, emerging from the depths of my memory, a foundered vessel washed onto shore: for here, standing before me, was Nanny, the kindly and upright old woman from Fowey who had cared for me and seen to my education between the ages of nine months and six years.
“Nanny,” I said, scarcely believing. I think a tear had come into my eye.
“Ay, ’tis me,” she said, and threw wide her arms. “You’ve grown, I can see. No longer a lad!”
I leapt up, intending to embrace the dear woman, who had been kind to me in those formative years, strict only insofar as was needed, indulgent where she could be without risk. But when she smiled, and I saw the hideously discolored stalks of her teeth, indeed when I caught whiff of her... aroma, I stopped short, thinking better of touch. An awkward series of movements ensued, wherein Nanny seemed to lean forward, then back, and I patted my breast pocket with each hand, as if in vain search of the alms she’d requested (and which I knew well enough I would not come across, being in no habit so appallingly vulgar as carrying money on my own person).
“Oh dear,” I said. “I can’t seem to— But anyway. Wait. You must eat, Nanny dear,” and I bent to assemble a toast point for her, heaped generously with the Beluga and egg.
She ate quickly, not once remarking its taste; it might equally have been a cooked squirrel to her. Still, seeing my old nanny so humbly accept my munificence, I felt a great rush of emotion.
I was about to speak when I heard Lady Meredith stir. Recumbent on the soft grass, as if sleeping, her dignity in even that state undiminished, she turned herself and slowly sat up, in apparent confusion at first; then, blinking twice as her bearings returned, she looked up and, seeing Nanny again (her face now smeared with black caviar), let out another piercing scream and fell back, completely unconscious anew.
Forthwith, I summoned Lacey, my chauffeur, to drive Lady Meredith home. “If she wakes up,” I said, “make my apologies.” He returned, and we traveled back to the manor, Nanny riding in the front seat with him (since it would stand to reason that her remarkable fetor would be less apt to upset a man of his station).
All the way home, I could hear Nanny under her breath whisper, “Ay, it’s like old times. Ay, that it is.”
When she had been given a bath and a toothbrush, and had dressed herself in a pale linen shift of the kind I keep always on hand for my guests, Nanny shyly descended the grand staircase looking so much like her old self (only smaller), that for the second time that day, I nearly wept.
I was seated in my armchair with a snifter of brandy (a Calvados from among the unlabeled bottles, originally taken as spoils of war by a distant ancestor who’d served with distinction in John of Gaunt's army).
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Easily one of the best wines I've had this year, and I've had some good ones. This vintage just keeps getting better and better. Two years ago I said it had decades of life in it. It's still incredibly powerful and youthful and I expect that with good cellaring, the 2010s will age gracefully for years. What I love is just how good they are right now. I would say a characteristic of really fine wine is that, apart from the annoying closed stage (around 5-10 years in, commonly), they are interesting and appealing at every stage. The 904 is currently richly aromatic - lots of sweet spice (vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice), and really pure fruit (blackberries, cherries). But it is so, so silky - it's just a marvellous experience on the palate. You can detect a touch of bitterness/tobacco as well, which contains the sweetness well, and this "just so" acidity which is super elegant and lifts the wine, rounding it off. It's not only fabulous with food, but is itself food. You could dine on this alone. The day after, I can still taste this on my tongue. It's a profound wine, no doubt, and honestly, I want to be alive in 2050 (I won't) just to taste this at 40 years. I adored the 1964 Tondonia at 54 years old, and I would argue that 904 is better still than Tondonia, and capable of longer ageing. And it's not an unreasonable comparison: they're both Tempranillo-dominant classical Riojas. So... my advice is, live past 2050 so you can taste this then, or fork out the cash for older vintages! This is up there with 2005, 2004, 2001, 1995, 1994, 1989, 1982, 1981 and all the way back to 1964 itself of course.
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Red
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2004 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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A blend of Tempranillo (75%), Garnacha (15%), Graciano and Mazuelo (10%). Fermented spontaneously in old oak fermenters, aged in old American oak barriques for 6 years, bottled unfiltered and then aged for further 50 months in bottle. This wine could be easily labeled as Gran Reserva, but R. L. de Heredia chooses not to, because the wines labeled as Gran Reservas are aged even longer. 13% alcohol. Total production 260,000 bottles.
Deep and very slightly translucent black cherry color. Rich, ripe and dark-toned nose, that is still more savory than sweet despite all its obvious ripeness. There are brooding aromas of black cherries, brambly dark berries, some earthy mushroomy character, a little bit of pruney fruit, a hint of old leather jacket and a touch of sweet wood and vanilla-driven spice. The wine is quite ripe and moderately full-bodied on the palate with rather concentrated and dense feel, giving the wine rather imposing, chewy texture. The difference to the lighter and brighter Bosconia Reserva 2004 is quite noticeable here. However, just like the nose, the taste department feels really savory despite the sweetness with lively, dry flavors of fresh blackcurrants and crowberries, sour cherry bitterness, some juicy plummy fruit, a little bit of pipe tobacco, a hint of autumnal earthy character and a subtle hint of of vanilla oak. The mouthfeel is pretty smooth due to the long, slightly oxidative aging, but the structure still remains very tightly-knit and impressively stern with high acidity and quite ample tannins, that however feel more ripe and manicured than angular and aggressive. The finish is rich, juicy and complex with long sweet'n'sour flavors of ripe plummy fruit, sour cherries, some tart cranberries, a little bit of sweet pruney character, a little bit of vanilla oak and a hint of smoky earthiness.
A very wonderful and pretty stern vintage of Tondonia Reserva that shows some obvious sense of ripeness, yet it doesn't really express itself as sweetness of fruit, but instead as a sense of concentration, intensity and breadth of fruit. In this sense this wine is pretty similar to Bosconia Reserva 2004, which was similarly ripe, yet dry, acid-driven and pretty tightly-knit. The biggest difference seems to be in that this wine is even more muscular and although impressive, also a bit dumb and understated. Even a few hours of decanting wasn't enough to unwind the wine fully, but that is not to say this is an underwhelming vintage - on the contrary, this feels more like a vintage that needs another 10 years to show its best. Bosconia Reserva 2004 felt like a long-lived vintage and this does even more so. A spectacular and pretty dead-serious old-school Rioja (Gran) Reserva that is spectacular now and will definitely get only better during the next decade or two. Stunning value at only 22€.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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A blend of Tempranillo (80%) from 30-yo vines and Garnacha (20%) from La Pedriza vineyard planted at high altitude in La Rioja Baja, all picked in mid-October. This is the third vintage that was made completely from fruit sourced from estate vineyards (traditionally at least a part of Garnacha has been purchased). Fermented and macerated in stainless steel, aged in stainless steel tanks until March 2011. The Tempranillo wines were aged for 36 months in American oak barriques averaging 4 years old and the Garnacha wines were aged for 30 months in 2nd and 3rd use American oak barrels. Blended and bottled in May 2015. 13,5% alcohol, 6,01 g/l acidity and pH 3,56. Total production 50,000 cases. Tasted blind.
Moderately translucent and very slightly evolved black cherry color with a pale rim. Very big and sweet-toned nose dominated by classic Rioja aromas of vanilla and wizened figs, some leathery tones, a little bit of ripe red cherry, light toasty notes of mocha, a hint of redcurrant jam and a touch of cloves. The wine is dry, firm and surprisingly fresh on the palate with a medium body and rather oak-driven flavors of vanilla and toasty oak spice and with notes of fresh redcurrants and wild strawberries, some tart lingonberries, a little bit of clove, light sweeter notes of dried figs, a funky hint of sweaty leather saddle and a nice bitter touch of sour cherry. The structure relies mostly on the rather high acidity and somewhat noticeable bitterness, as the ripe and quite gentle tannins mainly contribute to the silky texture of the wine, rather than to the structure. The finish is rich, long and gently grippy with layered flavors of vanilla oak and clove-driven spice, some toasty oak tones, a little bit of dried figs, light red-tone notes of redcurrants and wild strawberries, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of old leather.
I honestly thought of La Rioja Alta from the first sniff and with the first taste I thought this must be either Ardanza or Arana, from a relatively recent vintage. Close enough - right with the first guess. However, although very recognizable for the house style, the wine still felt a bit unbalanced: first off, the nose was not only bursting with vanilla notes, but also showing quite a bit of toasty mocha oak character, which felt a bit out of place for a LRA wine. Furthermore, the wine otherwise came across as a bit more evolved than I anticipated for a 2010 and only from the quite unresolved structure and still very prominent oak tones I guessed that this must be a relatively recent vintage - otherwise I would've went with a vintage 10 years older! Nevertheless, I'd say that the wine might be just lacking in age; it might now feel a bit awkward, but there seems to be good promise for future evolution (even if the tannic structure was surprisingly soft and mellow for a 2010 LRA!). The wine really could use some additional aging and I guess it needs another 10 years or so before it really starts to come together. What I've learned from drinking young and old Ardanza is that these wines really can take on some aging and they really benefit from it.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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So, the wine that got lots of critics excited and at £22 it could be the best purchase ever......?!
Deep, dark and very youthful appearance. Almost impenetrable and it's 10yrs old.
The nose just screams; "I'm a huge, full flavoured Rioja". It has tonnes going on with the nose. Strawberry, blackberry, spice, cigar box with a huge frame of vanilla oak. You just know it's too young but the bottle is open and it's still a joy to drink.
Medium full bodied and pretty tight. Tannins are ripe but plenty of them, beautiful line of acidity running through it. The palate matches the nose but it's like an over stuffed suitcase, we're only tasting the bits that are escaping and they are superb! Give it time, lots.
I've got 5 bottles left and if I open one every 5yrs I think the wine will cope. Where I'll be in 2046 who knows but I believe this wine will still have something to give.
If you've got some, enjoy it! If you haven't, try and get some. Great wine.
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Red
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2007 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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The 2007 Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia is showing well, bursting with rich aromas of dark berry fruit, spices, vanilla pod and subtle hints of the tertiary complexity to come. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with bright girdling acids and fine tannins, this is the ripest Tondonia of the decade so far, but remains beautifully balanced in its somewhat more muscular style.
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Red
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2006 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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I guess this will always be a polarizing wine as all the super classic and traditional Lopez de Heredia wines, since this is lighter, with high acidity and the typical Americsn oak notes of traditional Rioja.
Medium garnet color. Notes of dark red cherries, plum, sweet tobacco, graphite, leather, some flowery notes, vanilla, dill and some cinnamon and pepoer. It's medium bodied, has high acidity adding to the depth without weight impression and still medium-high tannin adding structure. Very good length.
An uber classic Rioja, that is still young but you just have to love a winery that releases their wines after 10 years. It's starting to develop more and more complexity. Fascinating.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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As you might know if you sometimes read my TN´s I got a problem with the change of style at La RIoja, most of the bodegas and LRA is no exception unfortunately have changed their bottlings to an more easy going more tasty driven fruit style young,
same with the 904 I tasted some time ago, so when I glanced on the label there are again this 13,5% ABV, which normally indicates a warm, fullbodied red from Haro,
this is the fourth vintage labeled as an Especial, following 64,73 and 2001, so there are expectations..........
being curious purchased one bottle and now pnp,
NO fruit driven nose, more balsamic, tertiary and red fruit in the background, meat,
initially biting acid, a surprise for me, this one is not easy going on the palate, should have decanted for a while,
very savoury cherry fruit, still a little unbalanced acid following, the tannin punches back, clean and expressive, what the hell?
My prejudice about the fruit bombs from La Rioja and elsewhere is wrong this time for sure, the 13,5% alc is totally covered by the punching acidity, all components tigth, very fresh and with enormous tension,
lingering finish, I am really surprised by this one, again a vintage and bottled liquid for the next decade(s)!
And this is a bargain, around 20(+)€ per bottle in the old world, will try to find some magnums for cellaring! Highly recommended! *(***-*****), 93- 95(+) potential
5/21/2020: last third of the bottle, more balanced showing now, the fruit savoury still, and meaty as meaty can be, in a very good way, multilayered, no aromas of oxidation, supporting lively acid, will mature gracefully for about two decades for sure!
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Red
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2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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This pours medium to light garnet in the glass with light bricking. The nose is very suave and seductive, featuring seamless layers of complexity and fruit. Moderately intense and high complexity. Aromas are of dried cherry, dried strawberry, dried orange peel, animal fur, dried rose petals, fire pit, stony soil, sweet cedar, dried ginger powder, and a vague whisp of toasted coconut. The palate enters on the bright dried cherry and strawberry turning to high orange tinged acid and medium minus tannin. This shows the telltale high LdH acidity, but is very balanced especially compared to other recent vintages. The finish is long replaying just about everything on the nose. Overall I'm quite blown away by this wine. Easily my favourite vintage of Tondonia Riserva since I began tasting them on release with the 2004 vintage. The complexity, balance and profile here is just lovely, and I expect this to age flawlessly. This confirms for me that 2010 is a very special vintage for Rioja.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Viña Ardanza is the epitome of classical Rioja. Rich, generous, vibrant Tempranillo fruit, gentle oak, perfect sweetness, perfect acidity and pure elegance. But Selección Especial is where it really shines. La Rioja Alta make this only in occasional, outstanding vintages. The 2010 is shaping up to be a classic. At 10 years, it's still full of the vigour of youth. I don't doubt that this wine will still be giving pleasure at 50 years of age. After all, I'm 52 and I've heard rumours that I still give pleasure, so if I can achieve that, so can this wine. The colour is a dark red ruby with hints of inky blue and no orange tint of age whatsoever. Fragrance is wonderful: blackberry, cassis, nutmeg, vanilla. Tannins soft and silky. Perfect structure, long and luscious finish. There's a lot more to come. When it ages, we're going to see tertiary notes - spices and fruit compote. For now, the wine tastes great, is a stunner, in fact. Another great virtue of this wine: it is amazing in every decade of its lifecycle.
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Red
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2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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I could smell this all night. Cherry in the forefront, supported by sweet spices: allspice and cinnamon. Some dried fig paste and tobacco. Upon opening, you get the typical American oak notes of vanilla and coconut, although not overbearing like some other Riojas. After some air the oak reminds me more of walking into an old wooden house in South Louisiana.
Palate is sour cherry, blackberry, balsamic, baking spice, fig preserves, and subtle, almost not there oak (vanilla and coconut). High acidity, medium+ body, medium+ tannins that have had the edges rounded off by time in barrel and bottle.
My first Tondonia and lives up to the reputation. Needed a few hours of air to open up, so need to be patient with it. Great right now, but feels very young still. I would wait at least 2 years or more to try the 2010 again.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1946 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Selección
Montilla-Moriles
Pedro Ximénez more
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Of all wines with more than 50 reviews on CellarTracker, this wine has the highest average score, edging out the 2001 Chateau d'Yquem (a wine with four separate perfect scores by top critics) by 0.1 points as of this note, meaning this wine could claim, with a straight face, to be "the best wine in the world". Needless to say, I had extremely high expectations when I finally pulled this bottle out of my cellar and spent approximately twenty minutes carefully chipping off the wax seal.
Poured into a glass, this "wine" resembles nothing so much as a test tube full of pure bromine, staining the glass a rich brown color as it swirls and drains from the walls at a glacial rate. The nose is vastly more complex than any other PX sherry I've tasted- there's fig and raisin and honey and all other the usual suspects, but there's also rosemary, balsam fir, soy sauce, yuzu, all notes I've never even detected in any other wine.
The first sip is- I won't say "intoxicating" because I can't even detect any alcohol despite the 17% ABV on the label- but it's an incredibly elegant and refined mix of savory umami, burnt caramel, 91% cacao chocolate, a well-hidden oxidative nuttiness (even if you don't like sherry this works so well) and polished acidity balancing out the treacly sweetness. It doesn't really ever "finish", per se, you just keep tasting different aspects as time goes by- 15 seconds in it's honey, then it transitions after 30 seconds to a peppery, bacon-like Syrah note, and then it's bitter herbs and menthol after a minute, then back to figs after 1'30- it's truly astounding how it continued to evolve. I splashed a few drops of water into the glass when I finished and swirled it around- it's very viscous so a lot of wine gets stuck on the sides of the glass- and even just the mostly-water wash was better than some moscatels I've had.
Expectations absolutely blown out of the park. Full 100 points because I can't give more. You owe it to yourself to buy a bottle of this and pop it open ASAP- it's the best deal in wine at twice or three times the current price. I would buy this before Yquem, I'd buy this before a Tokaji Essencia, I'd buy this before a first-growth Bordeaux or a cult Cali cab. What's more, since it's heavily oxidized and mostly sugar already, you don't need to worry about futzing around with a Coravin or opening it at a huge party so everyone drinks it- it's completely shelf stable, just cork it and put it back in its wooden box and it will last for months at a time, if not years, with no perceptible deterioration.
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Red
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2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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94/95. A beautiful Tondonia, the best ever! 13%. Almost profound wine. Fantastic value at 34 pounds! 7-8 hrs aeration.
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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From The Wine Exchange
La Rioja Alta is one of Spain’s greatest and most beloved wineries. It produces classically elegant and polished Rioja wines that are always released after quite some time aging in their cellars. They do all the work, you don’t pay the price.
It’s a treat visiting them. It’s kind of like wine church when they throw open the doors of their massive aging cellars and you get the rush of decades of greatness just sitting there…waiting…for you. The only difference being most folks generally don’t have the Pavlovian reaction of uncontrollable drooling when actual church doors are opened.
And, honestly, this estate, which was already the pinnacle of Riojano winemaking, has taken their game to another level.
Case in point? The La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Viña Ardanza Seleccion Especial 2010, one of the finest wines ever made in Rioja, and virtually historically unmatched for the price.
The winery only produces their Viña Ardanza in outstanding vintages and they only make the wine a ‘Seleccion Especial’ in the greatest of greats.
How picky are they? Since 1964 there have been exactly four Viña Ardanza Seleccion Especial wines, 1964, 1973, 2001…and this wine, the epic 2010.
The 2010 harvest is indeed going to go down as an all-time great one in Rioja. The quality here is easily that of other legend harvest like 1964, 1994, 2001, 2004 and a couple others I’m probably leaving out. In short, perfect growing conditions lead to what may be the perfect example of classic Rioja.
How did we get to this point? We’ll let the folks at La Rioja Alta tell you.
The Tempranillo grapes (80%) come from our 30-year-old La Cuesta and Montecillo vineyards, located in Fuenmayor y Cenicero. The Garnacha (20%) comes from La Pedriza vineyard in Tudelilla (Rioja Baja). This 70 hectare property offers unbeatable conditions for growing this variety. Its nutrient-poor soil, covered with boulders, results in low grape yields and significant varietal typicity, rich in aromas, with a pleasant, elegant structure.
In March 2011, the selected wines were put in barrels to start ageing separately: the Tempranillo for 36 months with six manual rackings in American oak barrels averaging 4 years in age and the Garnacha for 30 months with five manual rackings in American oak barrels with two and three wines. The final blend took place after barrel ageing was completed. The wine was bottled in May 2015.
After that, the wine rested in bottle for several more years until the winery deemed it fit to release. Honestly, even at almost 10 years of age the wine remains remarkably embryonic, it is certainly still basking in the glow if its youth, quietly chuckling at those that would even assign a ‘drink’ or ‘full maturity’ date to it. Those dates simply don’t exist in this wine’s world, all of us will be able to enjoy its delight for the next half century…at least.
It’s certainly up there with the 2001 and 1964 as a pinnacle Rioja experience considering the absurdly reasonable price charged. There’s a reason us ‘normal’ folks drink buckets of Rioja, and this wine’s price/value is it.
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Red
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2010 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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This wine was sublime and one of the better incarnations of the tondonia reservas. Still young and will need another decade before it shows it stuff. Long cedar finish.
Disclaimer: I do not only drink Leroy/drc/1st growths but appreciate wine for more than just the label.
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Red
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2008 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Those who dislike this vintage from this producer do not "get" this wine. That's their loss. This is OLD WORLD RUSTIC Spanish wine. Pairs with tapas: brined olives, cured pork, sardines, manchego or other hard cheeses. Needs some air to open up.
Wine is HIGH acidity; medium tannins; nose is med- aromas of dried red fruit and dried flowers; palate is bone dry with med+ flavors of savory charcuterie, brine, and salinity. Vegetal, dairy (cheese!) and autolytic notes prevail; the earthiness is driving the bus, and the primary fruit flavors have largely died away leaving tertiary characteristics of the oxidative aging in American oak. Tannins are med- and have settled down at this stage.
Drink now; it's not going to be any more interesting in the future (and this is why the producer held on to it as long as they did before releasing it, which is something they're famous and belovèd for doing).
This wine is an intellectual gem and a sommeliers' darling for a reason. People who just like fruit bombs don't like this because they don't understand it. Pair this with cured ham, manchego, olives, sardines, and an olive oil loaf. Let it breathe an hour. Explain the above to your high-society friends and watch them come back for more.
You're welcome.
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Red
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2006 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Tasted a few times over a few days.
Arguably the most enjoyable vintage of this wine that I have experienced. Here is why. It features highly appealing levity without bite (wood tannin), excessive fruitiness, and over-the-top, in-your...er...my-face oak. While American oak is unmistakably present, so is overall balance in direct relation to formidable terroir-driven substance of loam, precious stone hardness, and layered minerality. The bouquet and profile also offer notes of cured meats, smokehouse, and essential oils. Among the best balanced Riojas that I have crossed paths with.
Impressive structure will allow this to evolve over the next 12 to 15 years, perhaps longer. While highly enjoyable now, greater pleasure awaits the patient. A cut, or three, above the oak-laden, less substantive 2007 vintage. 92-94.
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Red
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2005 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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I love 904. It is always a great wine for my palate.
I recently had the newly released 2015, as well as the 1997. This (as you would expect) fits perfectly in the middle. The 1997 had developed deep tertiary characteristics that I found highly enjoyable. The 2015 is delicious, but could use a few years to come into better balance/mellow a bit. The 2005 feels like it is in perfect harmony right now, and I think it is in an ideal drinking window. I think further aging will lead to the tertiary elements to start to dominate, which is not necessarily bad, but will just create a completely different experience. If I had several of these on hands, I'd drink most of them now, and keep a few to open in 5-10 years to experience its evolution to a tertiary-dominated wine
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Oh my god. Pure infanticide here. I know that these wines are immortal but I need more of this to see it to its peak. Nose is gorgeous, mouthwatering, with just-ripe blackberry, resinous dried mint, dill, nutmeg, pina colada, cigar box, cola. Palate has huge juicy acid, lovely medium leathery tannin, cherry, beautifully savory at the end. I'd suggest not even touching this for another 5 years - the oak still needs some time to integrate and the development of tertiary flavors will help round out the acidity. But, at this stage of its development, I think this is the best Viña Ardanza since 2001 - it has the same incredible vivacity of that vintage. It might even be better. I can't believe I only paid $25 for this - are you kidding me? Even at its normal retail of $30-40 it is a screaming QPR. 13.5%
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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We're still novice tasters, but it was clear to us why this is getting such good scores. It's very nicely balanced and a good example of what it means for a wine to have complexity. We kept picking out flavor after flavor -- smokiness and fig were the two that I saw immediately, but with things like cherries and curry emerging as we sipped. Medium garnet color, medium+ acidity on opening, tannins that made a point but did not dominate, and a finish that's like a gymnast's clean landing. Very nice!
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Red
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
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Bought this bottle yesterday, curious to know if there is something new to spot on the LRA horizon, as you might have read I am among the critics of the for me "new" or lets say "everybodys darling" style from Rioja.
Since the 2001 vintage I found most of the filled bottles from LRA too less Rioja origin style, which means not really made for the long haul, low ABV, very elegant without much weight, and for a long life ahead if young with a demanding acidity, we or better I cannot escape the fact that most of the LRA Gran Reservas y Reservas come along with a juicy fullbodied fruit to impress young since 2001,
after this introduction of my thoughts lets pnp!
Initially this shows a strong note of licorice and tar, but in a very good way, on the palate licorice again, the american oak with nutty, earthy and smoky aromas, fresh, no....., lets say lively fruit on the midpalate, more red fruit driven at the moment, the again 13,5% alcohol is very well covered and balanced by the enormous pronounced acid, mouthfilling after swallowing, ripe tannin, this wine is a baby so far but that delicious tonight, cause in this case the bodega has found the right proportions between drinkability young and if you like, to cellar this one easily two decades(+), since the 2001 vintage the first really great showing in my honest opinion, highly recommended! **(* *-*****), 93-96(+) potential in a decade+!
And I forgot to post something about the incredible QPR, this is one of the blue chips from the whole wine world, you can buy this for around 35-40€, dollars, pounds etc, you get an extraordinary quality and for me the best argument, you are free to enjoy this bottling during the next decades, so there are many reasons to purchase at least one whole case.
Update 24 hours later: nothing has changed essentially, refined showing with great elegance, fresh fruit and this vibrant mouthwatering acidity!
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