Purchased 2007. Surprisingly translucent. This got going pretty quickly, despite being cellar cool. Really superb wine overall. Needed food initially as was a touch dry and acidic but this soon relaxed in to a compelling and complex wine with a long finish. Clean, compact and focussed notes of cranberry then raspberry, smoke, leather, liquorice, raw celery and wet pavement ((c) Alice). Later a deeper bass note with a slightly powdery texture. Long finish that - like a dying star - adds a flourish of spicy oomph just before it expires. Superb. Eaten with a tuna empanada with smoked paprika.
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My first bottle. Tannins soft, with acidity supplying structure but in perfect balance. Fruit is all secondary. Seamless and silky. Drink or hold if you prefer the tertiary notes of older Rioja.
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SO SOFT! I appreciate this wine so much. Why can't others make subtle wine like this? This was the last of many bottles. Hope to stumble into one again someday.
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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.
Compared to Tondonia Reserva 2004 tasted alongside, this is noticeably more translucent and paler in comparison with a orange-hued garnet color and noticeable bricking towards the rim. The nose is moderately developed and very savory with complex aromas of smoke-cured beef, leather, some dusty earth, light raisiny character, a little bit of sweet wizened dark berries, a hint of salty-umami beef jerky and a touch of wild strawberry. The oak aromatics seem to have completely integrated with the fruit. The wine feels smooth, juicy and full-bodied on the palate with complex tertiary tones of sour cherry bitterness, some developed non-oaky black chocolate tones, a little bit of sweet leathery funk, a hint of ripe dark berries and a touch of allspice and clove. The structure relies mostly on the high acidity, because the medium tannins have resolved quite a bit, contributing more to the texture than to the structure. The finish is long, complex and fascinating with attractive, layered flavors of stony minerality, saddle leather, moist tobacco, sour cherry bitterness, some dusty earth, a little bit of wizened dark fruits and even a hint of prunes, light smoky note of beef jerky and a touch of barnyard funk.
This is a very wonderful and beautifully evolved Tondonia Reserva, although one that feels surprisingly evolved given that this wine is relatively young - released only some 6-7 years ago. I've gotten used to that Tondonias evolve nicely at least some 10-15 years after release, but this particular vintage seemed surprisingly evolved and tertiary at this point, feeling like it was at its plateau of maturity or very near it. It might be because of the vintage - 1998 was otherwise a great vintage, but the rainy autumn forced many producers picking earlier than they wanted to - or then this bottle wasn't aged in optimal conditions at some point. Whatever the case, the wine is very lovely and drinking now really well, showing tons of very lovely old-school Rioja aromatics. Overall the wine is very savory, showing very little sweetness besides those developed fruit notes reminiscent of raisins and dried dark berries. The wine feels like it is drinking wonderfully right now and in no need of further cellaring. Fine, sophisticated and so damn tasty stuff.
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Translucent garnet hue with strawberry hints. Nose of tea leaf, leather, cherry pits, anise, hints of vanilla. Elegant and persistent on the palate with layers of leathery mulberry, strawberry, tobacco, and earth established at the core, accompanied by lower acidity and smoothed tannin. Long, gentle finish of autumnal red sweet fruit accompanied by exquisite grip and stone. Delicious drink and perfect pairing with grana padano after dinner. Fairly new to drinking Rioja so a nice surprise.
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1 hour decant. medium nose. tea and orange rind and some balsamic notes. Medium on palate. very feminine and long on finish. Drinking beautifully and mature.
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Stinky barnyard aromas with red meat and blood. Feminine and elegant on the pallet. Celery stalk and sour red cherries on the finish. Drying tannin yet so silky.
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Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of tar, pepper, black berries and black cherries. Flavors of berries, raspberries and cherries. Medium to tart acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
Garnet color, some opacity, and some brick hints at the rim. The aromas are crushed cherry, sweet tobacco, plum, leather, and currants. The tastes are sour cherry, brown sugar, vanilla, tobacco, and slightly tart red fruit. This wine is light on the palate and complex.
Shared w Andrew at Christmas - brick-red tinges noticeable. Tannins very soft and smooth, almost a velvety mouth feel. Fruit reserved but delicious. I've never had a bottle this old before, and I expect what I found is what I should have expected. Not unpleasant, just markedly transformed.
Drank too quickly! Decanted for almost an hour before dinner and it was good, but seemed too acidic. Four hours later, the last glass was finally mellowed out and quite delicious. Darn it!
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Purple-orange. Medium legs. Red fruit and strawberry nose. Strawberry, cranberry, and red raspberry throughout the entire palate, from initial impression til the moderate finish. Feather-light, with perhaps a bit too much acidity. Last bottle, and about as long as I'd like to hold this....
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Decanted around an hour before serving. Dark crimson core with a brick red rim. The nose showed American oak character at first with some savory notes backing it up. Light to medium bodied, this shows spicy red fruit with a hint of VA at first, some balsamic notes & figs on the mid palate. A bit angular, and not in a great window for drinking at this point, but the air from the decant is helping to pick up weight & intensity. Tannic and masculine on the back end. Dry mouthfeel, moderate acidity.
Drank this with a "Spanish take" on spaghetti & meatballs. Made a tomato sauce with cumin, lamb sausage & Serrano ham. The food married quite well here.
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As always, an outstanding wine that is just pure fun to drink. Light ruby red color with some orange bricking around the rim. Elegance and finesse. Pure red berry fruit and loads of earth, underbrush, grilled herbs and autumn leaves. Slight orange peel/citrus on the finish. Very nice wine that is now drinking at peak. Finishes well and needs a few hours of air to show its best. Texturally, this is slightly reminiscent of aged Burgundy, but the flavor profile is entirely different. One of the go-to traditional Riojas.
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Popped and poured. Reddish purple. Red fruit and spice in nose and throughout the ethereal finish. Light from start to finish. A great food wine, and drinking well. Really well. Outstanding QPR.
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2nd time from my cellar /w good provenance (purchased in 07), and I love this wine. For a 100% Tempranillo, this wine out Burgundy's Burgundy. Light cherry red with a beautiful berry and earth nose. Fabulous food wine with cherry, licorice, mineral and hint of cedar on the palate. Not a big wine, just smooth as silk. Up and down ratings on CT, but just up for me. I really like mature Heredia Riojas!
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Orange brown. Red fruit nose. Immediate acidity overwhelms the fruit. Despite the nice black cherry, raspberry, and leather, it's unbalanced. More "zingy" than GV or SB. Just too much. A poor complement to dinner. Perhaps the bottle was off.
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Vibrant mahogany orange, rich flowers and cherry nose. Delicious ripe black fruit palate with bracing acidity and just a touch of wood at the edges. Long and cool finish with a bit of orange rind. Lovely balanced wine and totally fresh tasting. I am with GV, reminds me of 1970s Bordeaux.
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Quite soft, with very little tannin left. Very pleasant, laid back, but somewhat unidimensional. Light in body, Raspberry flavor quite noticeable to me, but not a whole lot else.
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Just showing a warming rim with an overall tinge of sherry style brown. Gently acidic with soft fruits, slight dryness on the mid palate with more dryness on the length. Some tannins left but quite soft ones, the fruit flavours are varied and i really cannot place anything more that berry fruits.
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Quite tart and acid driven when first poured. With air, and especially with food, this becomes quite pleasant and nuanced, with tobacco leaf, mulled spice, red fruit. Delicate, burgundy like in structure, with most of the pleasure in the nose. This seemed a little too young at first, but settles in with air. Hold or decant at the moment.
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Nicely aged bottle, some dustiness and funk that blew off with some time open. Some leather and spice but mainly extremely tart sour cherry fruit. This was nice, but a bit one dimensional. Perhaps this could use soem more years in the bottle to mellow.
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Elegant nose, slightly leafy green herbal element mixed with some cedar and tobacco. A little fruit, mostly savory elements. Feels surprisingly aged and mature in the mouth, but this came after a rather young and brutish purple Ribera del Duero. Still probably better to drink this sooner then later based on this bottle.
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I was pretty disappointed with this wine. I purchased it in Spain and was cellared properly. The wine was not offensive, but there was hardly any traces of fruit or anything identifiable to comment on as far as nose, palate and finish. It was so light that it wasn't worth drinking.
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There is nothing to see here spoof police, please move along…. And so goes this old school Rioja that left a very favorable impression. Decanted 2 hrs that came out of the gate with a slight sherry oxidized note but this soon morphed into more familiar notes of cedar shavings and subtle black currant perfume. The very first sip announces that this is a wine of a different character, breed, era, you name it. Transperent and focused, the delivery of spiced red fruit, sage leafs, and a touch of leather leaves less of an impact and more of companionship. Calm, yet carries a quiet confidence in its delivery and finish. By definition, wine is supposed to be a partner with our food, not dominate, I’d lost that focus, this was a great reminder.
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A lot of cigar tobacco leaf in the nose, pretty ripe fruits with good acidity. Medium length. Soft tannins. Better than a previous bottle which was a little flat and had more dried fruit flavors.
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Tart and a bit unyielding on opening, but really evolved into a beauty with some air and a bit of warming. Unmistakably LdH, lovely and long and just a perfect match with a fat grilled pork chop over white beans.
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A very interesting and extraordinary wine. One of those that on your first few sips you think you will not like it, but when you return to it later it is just outstanding. Dark cherry in color. After a half hour, a fabulous complex nose: Cherry, fig, rose, earth, and vanilla-like a garden. Delicious on the palate-sour cherry, earth, plum, cedar and vanilla. Very complex. I think the secret to this wine is to let it air for a while. I would love to decant the next bottle for at least an hour and maybe two.
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Substantial nose, warm, sweet plums and cherry, a lot of oak. Though the tannins on this thing were tough, it opened up after about 2 hours. High acid, plenty of oak but I don't think this has the quality of fruit to survive until the tannins calm down (at least this bottle didn't). A little thin, no new surprises on the palate after the nose, but a decent finish. Very drinkable, needed food, not as good as I'd hoped.
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Perhaps because it was served sooner, this was fresher and seemed less evolved than the last bottle. Respi-Aerate to decanter, let sit 30 min. Color brick red with slight orange tinge, clear, medium light body. Rather like a fruit bomb, explosive sweet aromas of ripe strawberries, blackberries, fresh earth, pipe tobacco, smoke, and hardwood. Definite old school on the attack, with dirt and cigarette mixed with strong SOUR cherry and red currant transitioning to tomato juice, celery, and a shot of Worcestshire. Perhaps my buds were blasted last time amid the party atmosphere, because I was mistaken in saying the finish is short. There is excellent concentration and balance here, and it has an extended finish (35s) of sour cherry, tomato juice, and tobacco. Light on mouthfeel, acidity medium-high if not high, and tannins noticeable and adding dryness to the back end, but not obtrusive. For me the best of this wine was the complexity of the nose and the extended finish; the taste was completely different than the bouquet suggests. The primary flavors were better suited for food. QPR OK (not great) at $38.
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Still good, but weird night. I broke the base of the bottle b4 we drank any. It was a bit tired. Flat, musty wood. But still had a spark, somewhere............
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Nice cedary typical of these traditional riojas but somewhat muted palate, some fruit a good amount of acidity, I'll hold my remaining bottle and see if it improves.
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Very nice, consistent with my previous tasting back in 2007. Light body, red cherry, this bottle seemed much more open from the start than a few years ago. Improved a bit after one hour, but certainly good to go off the bat. Fresh, bright, medium long finish, well resolved tannins. Drinking very well now but I don't see much upside.
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Fresh gentle nose of tight red cherry. Light body, long finish. Very gentle tannins, fully resolved, but quite present and mouth coating. Not a powerhouse, but quite alluring and exotic.
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A very nice Christmas hostess gift. Ready to go, not sure I would hold it much longer. Traditional and a real treat with chicken Marabella. Very enjoyable.
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A bright, fresh nose, ending in black fruits with a hint of chocolate. Light and fresh on the palate, but just a little too high toned. Possibly suffering from timing in the evening and too much vanilla with the steak, but this doesn't seem a particularly Tondonia to me.
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Ruby to carmine red color. Almost port-like nose with some raisins and spices. Medium bodied with great dryness and v=bracing acidity. Plum and rec currants with some very subtle leather. Finishes long and earthy/leafy. Reminds me a little of good burgundy or recent bottles of Montevertine, but much better than Montevertine...just in a similar style. Will be best for old world fans. New world fans will find this too thin and insipid. This wine is not about the fruit. It's all about texture and tertiary qualities.
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really nice, and probably in its prime. The rim was brickish in color, and there was pronounced spicy fruit on the nose, moderate bodied but nice balance of fruit, cinnamon spice and acidity, with moderately long length. It was so good that we went and opened up another 98 Rioja. This is what a Reserva Rioja ought to be. Get some more.
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Still purple but beginning to fade slightly. Cherry and cedar nose. Tastes of cherry, spices, and cranberry (!). Clearly a fruit juice, with remarkable acidity running through to the adequate finish. Tannins have fully resolved.
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Wanted to give this a chance to be wide open, so I decanted a full four hours before the party. Color brick red with slight orange tinge, clear, medium light body. I did not smell initially upon decanting, and that may have been an error on my part. Regardless, the bouquet was the best part, with strawberry, autumn leaves, tobacco, and earth. On the attack was sour cherry transitioning to tobacco, tomato, and earth. Pleasantly dry, and a short finish. A nice drink, but overall quite light and subtle; nowhere near the level of depth or complexity I was expecting, which is quite disappointing. If I was drinking this blind I would never guess the price point as 40, so in that regard this is a non-recommend.
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Not as good as the previous bottle. This one didn't showed the same weight and complexity. Still enjoyable with a lot of leather, spices, sage, vanilla and good fruit.
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Popped the cork about 2 hours before dinner. A bit more soft wood/balsa wood than i remember in the past. Someone at the table noticed some chocolate in either the smell or taste, I forget which.
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Drunk over a couple of day. Relatively light in color, with some color signs that look like what oxidization does. Some of that on palate, along with bright acidity, sour cherry/pits. Dry on the mid palate, but well balanced and a pleasure to drink. Dried flowers/moss on the nose. It's 80 some degrees, and interestlngly this wine is quite in step with the day.. and is refreshing.. must be the tartness... which I like.
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Sour cherries and earth on the nose of this brick red, translucid wine. The palate is medium body and mature, with thetannins all but gone, but with very lively (almost volatile) acidity. Medium finish with echoes of earth, tart cherries, and licorice. Drink now.
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Old wood and soft cherries and strawberries. Just lovely mouthfeel. Two infrequent wine drinkers over for dinner said it was the best wine they'd ever had. OLD WINE is where it's at! Still going strong. So glad i have a few more.
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fairly light in color, sort of a dark brick. on the nose hints of damp earth, cherry, and mineral -- perhaps iron. light bodied in the best sense of the word. on the palate bright cherry and leather with a "sweet" midpalate. a bit more tannic than the handful of bosconias i've had. well integrated acidity. wine was pleasant on it's own and excellent with steaks.
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Rioja - Where Old Meets New (Ronald Reagan Building): Orangish-Reddish hue throughout the wine. On the palate was rustic, musty, with raisins, bright cherries, slight leather, grapefruits, dates, plums and figs with a seemingly high acidity level.
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Quite closed on first day, not giving much - some old world nose, and cherry, menthol, licorice on palette - needs more time, notes are really from the second day.
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Light tile color. Classic style. Taste of wood, well balanced, easy drinking. Suitable to drink alone or to be paired with any food. I find it too overpriced.
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A gift from Maryilnne. Requires at least an hour to open up and shed a metallic edge, two hours is better. Once it’s open though, it’s quite lovely. Dry, dusty red fruit with a sour cheery element in the nose. Medium weight, initial finish really builds with an earthy and slight medicinal lift, finish is a little short, but trails for a while. A classic old style Rioja, I’m certainly picked up more.
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Beautiful and elegant, but again, possibly slightly off. Confounding. Agree with previous user's note of decaying wood, dust and high acidity. Possibly a hint of absynth too. Do I really love this stuff this much or am I fooling myself?
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Deep translucent tawny garnet with some lightening at the rim. Unmistakably oldschool Rioja and unmistakably R.L. de Heredia Vina Tondonia. Massive nose of decaying wood, dried cranberries, leather, asian spice / soy sauce, caramel, bitter orange peels, dust and more. On the palate it is medium bodied with a dominant streak of dried red fruits with bits of bitter chocolate, quite bright acidity, supple and elegant tannin. Long, elegant finish with bright acidity. Perhaps the acidity is a bit high for some tastes, for me it is a little high but nothing to lessen the wine. This is a beautiful glass of wine now but is still clearly a ways from maturity, I would stay away from it for at least two to three years, perhaps more. 91 now, upside in the future for sure.
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A nice, old-style Rioja. A refined, subtle style that develops constantly in the glass. Tangy fruit, nose of floral berries. Notes of maybe dried herbs? Also leather. This actually got more complex on day 2 and day 3, very enjoyable. This may taste muted to those used to fruit bombs, but I enjoyed the change of pace a lot and really appreciate the style. Will consider buying more to hold, if I can get some space free in my cooler.
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Polaner Selections Fall Preview Tasting (New York City): Light ruby color with a tawny rim. On the nose, intense notes of spice, orange peel and leather with a bit of sour cherry. On the palate it is a bit thin though could be refreshing with food.
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My wife and I absolutely loved this one. Starting to age, changing color, soft tannins, very mellow. What a pleasure. Wish i had a few more bottles. Nice old world style, with a blend of Garnacha, Gracion and Mazuelo mixed with the Tempranillo.
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Yummie. Love this grape. Can't get enuf of the old world syle riojas. Drank with cedar plank grill orange ruffy, basked in lemon-pepper sauce with a mushroom & truffle risotto. The bomb! Delicate summer fruit like strawberry, bosenberry and cherry - lightly tart, but not bitter nor dry...balancing the the meals cedar & earthy tones just right.....
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3/26/2024 - king-bing wrote:
Purchased 2007. Surprisingly translucent. This got going pretty quickly, despite being cellar cool. Really superb wine overall. Needed food initially as was a touch dry and acidic but this soon relaxed in to a compelling and complex wine with a long finish. Clean, compact and focussed notes of cranberry then raspberry, smoke, leather, liquorice, raw celery and wet pavement ((c) Alice). Later a deeper bass note with a slightly powdery texture. Long finish that - like a dying star - adds a flourish of spicy oomph just before it expires. Superb. Eaten with a tuna empanada with smoked paprika.
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6/5/2020 - MAOC wrote:
Not at same level as previous bottle. Bit unbalanced with VA and fruit a bit muddled. NR
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12/6/2019 - MAOC wrote:
Exactly as you would expect - very enjoyable, perhaps a little mellow than some vintages but v good ****
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3/29/2019 - GonzaloManzaneda wrote: flawed
Nivel del vino correcto, corcho entero, todo tenía buena pinta...
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11/13/2018 - cweiss wrote:
My first bottle. Tannins soft, with acidity supplying structure but in perfect balance. Fruit is all secondary. Seamless and silky. Drink or hold if you prefer the tertiary notes of older Rioja.
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6/7/2017 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 92 Points
SO SOFT! I appreciate this wine so much. Why can't others make subtle wine like this? This was the last of many bottles. Hope to stumble into one again someday.
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3/25/2017 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points
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.
Compared to Tondonia Reserva 2004 tasted alongside, this is noticeably more translucent and paler in comparison with a orange-hued garnet color and noticeable bricking towards the rim. The nose is moderately developed and very savory with complex aromas of smoke-cured beef, leather, some dusty earth, light raisiny character, a little bit of sweet wizened dark berries, a hint of salty-umami beef jerky and a touch of wild strawberry. The oak aromatics seem to have completely integrated with the fruit. The wine feels smooth, juicy and full-bodied on the palate with complex tertiary tones of sour cherry bitterness, some developed non-oaky black chocolate tones, a little bit of sweet leathery funk, a hint of ripe dark berries and a touch of allspice and clove. The structure relies mostly on the high acidity, because the medium tannins have resolved quite a bit, contributing more to the texture than to the structure. The finish is long, complex and fascinating with attractive, layered flavors of stony minerality, saddle leather, moist tobacco, sour cherry bitterness, some dusty earth, a little bit of wizened dark fruits and even a hint of prunes, light smoky note of beef jerky and a touch of barnyard funk.
This is a very wonderful and beautifully evolved Tondonia Reserva, although one that feels surprisingly evolved given that this wine is relatively young - released only some 6-7 years ago. I've gotten used to that Tondonias evolve nicely at least some 10-15 years after release, but this particular vintage seemed surprisingly evolved and tertiary at this point, feeling like it was at its plateau of maturity or very near it. It might be because of the vintage - 1998 was otherwise a great vintage, but the rainy autumn forced many producers picking earlier than they wanted to - or then this bottle wasn't aged in optimal conditions at some point. Whatever the case, the wine is very lovely and drinking now really well, showing tons of very lovely old-school Rioja aromatics. Overall the wine is very savory, showing very little sweetness besides those developed fruit notes reminiscent of raisins and dried dark berries. The wine feels like it is drinking wonderfully right now and in no need of further cellaring. Fine, sophisticated and so damn tasty stuff.
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3/5/2017 - DougLee wrote: 91 Points
Translucent garnet hue with strawberry hints. Nose of tea leaf, leather, cherry pits, anise, hints of vanilla. Elegant and persistent on the palate with layers of leathery mulberry, strawberry, tobacco, and earth established at the core, accompanied by lower acidity and smoothed tannin. Long, gentle finish of autumnal red sweet fruit accompanied by exquisite grip and stone. Delicious drink and perfect pairing with grana padano after dinner. Fairly new to drinking Rioja so a nice surprise.
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8/2/2016 - lolo66 wrote:
1 hour decant. medium nose. tea and orange rind and some balsamic notes. Medium on palate. very feminine and long on finish. Drinking beautifully and mature.
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12/17/2015 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light Garnet. Saddle leather and licorice on the nose. Cherry, cranberry with nice elegance and full maturity.
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7/16/2015 - Poisey Likes this wine: 93 Points
Stinky barnyard aromas with red meat and blood. Feminine and elegant on the pallet. Celery stalk and sour red cherries on the finish. Drying tannin yet so silky.
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12/15/2014 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
WIML92
Tasted non blind.
Garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of tar, pepper, black berries and black cherries. Flavors of berries, raspberries and cherries. Medium to tart acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
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12/14/2014 - hackey37 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Garnet color, some opacity, and some brick hints at the rim. The aromas are crushed cherry, sweet tobacco, plum, leather, and currants. The tastes are sour cherry, brown sugar, vanilla, tobacco, and slightly tart red fruit. This wine is light on the palate and complex.
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9/26/2014 - hitechnomad Likes this wine: 93 Points
drinking very nicely after 16 years. bricking on the edges. great tannin/fruit balance now, still some acid to keep it going. long finish
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1/1/2014 - dbarco wrote: 87 Points
Shared w Andrew at Christmas - brick-red tinges noticeable. Tannins very soft and smooth, almost a velvety mouth feel. Fruit reserved but delicious. I've never had a bottle this old before, and I expect what I found is what I should have expected. Not unpleasant, just markedly transformed.
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10/20/2013 - MBannon Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank too quickly! Decanted for almost an hour before dinner and it was good, but seemed too acidic. Four hours later, the last glass was finally mellowed out and quite delicious. Darn it!
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8/5/2013 - rustyRudy wrote: 90 Points
Garnet with some bricking at the edges
Leather,tobacco and minerals on the nose
Crisp cherry, grilled herbs and some mild spicy notes
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6/4/2013 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
Sensational wine. Amazing purity and evolves in the glass with each sip. A tantalizing earthy bouquet and lingering finish.
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5/17/2013 - Lype Likes this wine: 89 Points
No formal notes.
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2/2/2013 - roasted hill wrote:
Purple-orange. Medium legs. Red fruit and strawberry nose. Strawberry, cranberry, and red raspberry throughout the entire palate, from initial impression til the moderate finish. Feather-light, with perhaps a bit too much acidity. Last bottle, and about as long as I'd like to hold this....
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12/19/2012 - Anthony Lombardi wrote:
Decanted around an hour before serving. Dark crimson core with a brick red rim. The nose showed American oak character at first with some savory notes backing it up. Light to medium bodied, this shows spicy red fruit with a hint of VA at first, some balsamic notes & figs on the mid palate. A bit angular, and not in a great window for drinking at this point, but the air from the decant is helping to pick up weight & intensity. Tannic and masculine on the back end. Dry mouthfeel, moderate acidity.
Drank this with a "Spanish take" on spaghetti & meatballs. Made a tomato sauce with cumin, lamb sausage & Serrano ham. The food married quite well here.
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9/1/2012 - BillB656 wrote:
bright acid, not a lot of development, very young
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5/5/2012 - SteveG wrote:
Barely tasted, but what I got was delicious. Certainly not close to too aged.
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4/21/2012 - gcarrillo wrote: 90 Points
Elegante y Fino maravilloso como la botella anterior
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1/31/2012 - gcarrillo wrote: 90 Points
elegante y fino frutos negros tierra piedra caliente humo maravilloso vino para comer.
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8/22/2011 - steffenpelz wrote:
As always, an outstanding wine that is just pure fun to drink. Light ruby red color with some orange bricking around the rim. Elegance and finesse. Pure red berry fruit and loads of earth, underbrush, grilled herbs and autumn leaves. Slight orange peel/citrus on the finish. Very nice wine that is now drinking at peak. Finishes well and needs a few hours of air to show its best. Texturally, this is slightly reminiscent of aged Burgundy, but the flavor profile is entirely different. One of the go-to traditional Riojas.
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8/21/2011 - roasted hill wrote:
Popped and poured. Reddish purple. Red fruit and spice in nose and throughout the ethereal finish. Light from start to finish. A great food wine, and drinking well. Really well. Outstanding QPR.
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6/3/2011 - cos82 wrote: 93 Points
2nd time from my cellar /w good provenance (purchased in 07), and I love this wine. For a 100% Tempranillo, this wine out Burgundy's Burgundy. Light cherry red with a beautiful berry and earth nose. Fabulous food wine with cherry, licorice, mineral and hint of cedar on the palate. Not a big wine, just smooth as silk. Up and down ratings on CT, but just up for me. I really like mature Heredia Riojas!
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2/13/2011 - roasted hill wrote:
Orange brown. Red fruit nose. Immediate acidity overwhelms the fruit. Despite the nice black cherry, raspberry, and leather, it's unbalanced. More "zingy" than GV or SB. Just too much. A poor complement to dinner. Perhaps the bottle was off.
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1/10/2011 - SteveG wrote: 92 Points
Vibrant mahogany orange, rich flowers and cherry nose. Delicious ripe black fruit palate with bracing acidity and just a touch of wood at the edges. Long and cool finish with a bit of orange rind. Lovely balanced wine and totally fresh tasting. I am with GV, reminds me of 1970s Bordeaux.
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1/2/2011 - dbarco wrote: 83 Points
Quite soft, with very little tannin left. Very pleasant, laid back, but somewhat unidimensional. Light in body, Raspberry flavor quite noticeable to me, but not a whole lot else.
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12/25/2010 - andrew@carvedras.co.uk wrote: 91 Points
Just showing a warming rim with an overall tinge of sherry style brown. Gently acidic with soft fruits, slight dryness on the mid palate with more dryness on the length. Some tannins left but quite soft ones, the fruit flavours are varied and i really cannot place anything more that berry fruits.
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9/24/2010 - marc d wrote:
Quite tart and acid driven when first poured. With air, and especially with food, this becomes quite pleasant and nuanced, with tobacco leaf, mulled spice, red fruit. Delicate, burgundy like in structure, with most of the pleasure in the nose. This seemed a little too young at first, but settles in with air. Hold or decant at the moment.
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8/10/2010 - kenito799 wrote: 89 Points
Nicely aged bottle, some dustiness and funk that blew off with some time open. Some leather and spice but mainly extremely tart sour cherry fruit. This was nice, but a bit one dimensional. Perhaps this could use soem more years in the bottle to mellow.
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7/31/2010 - marc d wrote:
Elegant nose, slightly leafy green herbal element mixed with some cedar and tobacco. A little fruit, mostly savory elements.
Feels surprisingly aged and mature in the mouth, but this came after a rather young and brutish purple Ribera del Duero.
Still probably better to drink this sooner then later based on this bottle.
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7/29/2010 - WST wrote:
Bellingham Grand Crew Visits Spain: Tasted older than 12 years. Soft, tannins resolved and gone. Smokey; nicely balanced. Drink.
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5/14/2010 - PowerJ wrote: 78 Points
I was pretty disappointed with this wine. I purchased it in Spain and was cellared properly. The wine was not offensive, but there was hardly any traces of fruit or anything identifiable to comment on as far as nose, palate and finish. It was so light that it wasn't worth drinking.
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5/2/2010 - Dale M wrote: 92 Points
There is nothing to see here spoof police, please move along…. And so goes this old school Rioja that left a very favorable impression. Decanted 2 hrs that came out of the gate with a slight sherry oxidized note but this soon morphed into more familiar notes of cedar shavings and subtle black currant perfume. The very first sip announces that this is a wine of a different character, breed, era, you name it. Transperent and focused, the delivery of spiced red fruit, sage leafs, and a touch of leather leaves less of an impact and more of companionship. Calm, yet carries a quiet confidence in its delivery and finish. By definition, wine is supposed to be a partner with our food, not dominate, I’d lost that focus, this was a great reminder.
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3/18/2010 - marc d wrote:
A lot of cigar tobacco leaf in the nose, pretty ripe fruits with good acidity. Medium length. Soft tannins. Better than a previous bottle which was a little flat and had more dried fruit flavors.
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2/27/2010 - JamesSanders Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tart and a bit unyielding on opening, but really evolved into a beauty with some air and a bit of warming. Unmistakably LdH, lovely and long and just a perfect match with a fat grilled pork chop over white beans.
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1/28/2010 - cos82 wrote: 92 Points
A very interesting and extraordinary wine. One of those that on your first few sips you think you will not like it, but when you return to it later it is just outstanding. Dark cherry in color. After a half hour, a fabulous complex nose: Cherry, fig, rose, earth, and vanilla-like a garden. Delicious on the palate-sour cherry, earth, plum, cedar and vanilla. Very complex. I think the secret to this wine is to let it air for a while. I would love to decant the next bottle for at least an hour and maybe two.
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9/5/2009 - Benj wrote: 87 Points
Substantial nose, warm, sweet plums and cherry, a lot of oak. Though the tannins on this thing were tough, it opened up after about 2 hours. High acid, plenty of oak but I don't think this has the quality of fruit to survive until the tannins calm down (at least this bottle didn't). A little thin, no new surprises on the palate after the nose, but a decent finish. Very drinkable, needed food, not as good as I'd hoped.
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8/29/2009 - krobb wrote:
A bit funky upon opening
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6/21/2009 - Vinacull wrote: 88 Points
Perhaps because it was served sooner, this was fresher and seemed less evolved than the last bottle. Respi-Aerate to decanter, let sit 30 min. Color brick red with slight orange tinge, clear, medium light body. Rather like a fruit bomb, explosive sweet aromas of ripe strawberries, blackberries, fresh earth, pipe tobacco, smoke, and hardwood. Definite old school on the attack, with dirt and cigarette mixed with strong SOUR cherry and red currant transitioning to tomato juice, celery, and a shot of Worcestshire. Perhaps my buds were blasted last time amid the party atmosphere, because I was mistaken in saying the finish is short. There is excellent concentration and balance here, and it has an extended finish (35s) of sour cherry, tomato juice, and tobacco. Light on mouthfeel, acidity medium-high if not high, and tannins noticeable and adding dryness to the back end, but not obtrusive. For me the best of this wine was the complexity of the nose and the extended finish; the taste was completely different than the bouquet suggests. The primary flavors were better suited for food. QPR OK (not great) at $38.
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5/30/2009 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 88 Points
Still good, but weird night. I broke the base of the bottle b4 we drank any. It was a bit tired. Flat, musty wood. But still had a spark, somewhere............
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4/25/2009 - mburke wrote:
Nice cedary typical of these traditional riojas but somewhat muted palate, some fruit a good amount of acidity, I'll hold my remaining bottle and see if it improves.
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3/28/2009 - Mark wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, consistent with my previous tasting back in 2007. Light body, red cherry, this bottle seemed much more open from the start than a few years ago. Improved a bit after one hour, but certainly good to go off the bat. Fresh, bright, medium long finish, well resolved tannins. Drinking very well now but I don't see much upside.
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3/28/2009 - BailliSacks wrote: 90 Points
Fresh gentle nose of tight red cherry. Light body, long finish. Very gentle tannins, fully resolved, but quite present and mouth coating. Not a powerhouse, but quite alluring and exotic.
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12/28/2008 - Al Ehrhardt wrote:
A very nice Christmas hostess gift. Ready to go, not sure I would hold it much longer. Traditional and a real treat with chicken Marabella. Very enjoyable.
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12/5/2008 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 85 Points
A bright, fresh nose, ending in black fruits with a hint of chocolate. Light and fresh on the palate, but just a little too high toned. Possibly suffering from timing in the evening and too much vanilla with the steak, but this doesn't seem a particularly Tondonia to me.
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11/16/2008 - steffenpelz wrote:
Ruby to carmine red color. Almost port-like nose with some raisins and spices. Medium bodied with great dryness and v=bracing acidity. Plum and rec currants with some very subtle leather. Finishes long and earthy/leafy. Reminds me a little of good burgundy or recent bottles of Montevertine, but much better than Montevertine...just in a similar style. Will be best for old world fans. New world fans will find this too thin and insipid. This wine is not about the fruit. It's all about texture and tertiary qualities.
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11/14/2008 - wilmette vino wrote: 91 Points
really nice, and probably in its prime. The rim was brickish in color, and there was pronounced spicy fruit on the nose, moderate bodied but nice balance of fruit, cinnamon spice and acidity, with moderately long length. It was so good that we went and opened up another 98 Rioja. This is what a Reserva Rioja ought to be. Get some more.
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9/21/2008 - roasted hill wrote:
Still purple but beginning to fade slightly. Cherry and cedar nose. Tastes of cherry, spices, and cranberry (!). Clearly a fruit juice, with remarkable acidity running through to the adequate finish. Tannins have fully resolved.
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8/31/2008 - Vinacull wrote: 88 Points
Wanted to give this a chance to be wide open, so I decanted a full four hours before the party. Color brick red with slight orange tinge, clear, medium light body. I did not smell initially upon decanting, and that may have been an error on my part. Regardless, the bouquet was the best part, with strawberry, autumn leaves, tobacco, and earth. On the attack was sour cherry transitioning to tobacco, tomato, and earth. Pleasantly dry, and a short finish. A nice drink, but overall quite light and subtle; nowhere near the level of depth or complexity I was expecting, which is quite disappointing. If I was drinking this blind I would never guess the price point as 40, so in that regard this is a non-recommend.
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8/16/2008 - french16 wrote: 88 Points
Not as good as the previous bottle. This one didn't showed the same weight and complexity. Still enjoyable with a lot of leather, spices, sage, vanilla and good fruit.
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7/10/2008 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 90 Points
Popped the cork about 2 hours before dinner. A bit more soft wood/balsa wood than i remember in the past. Someone at the table noticed some chocolate in either the smell or taste, I forget which.
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7/10/2008 - Colima74 wrote: 90 Points
Drunk over a couple of day. Relatively light in color, with some color signs that look like what oxidization does. Some of that on palate, along with bright acidity, sour cherry/pits. Dry on the mid palate, but well balanced and a pleasure to drink. Dried flowers/moss on the nose. It's 80 some degrees, and interestlngly this wine is quite in step with the day.. and is refreshing.. must be the tartness... which I like.
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5/16/2008 - Maestro wrote: 87 Points
Sour cherries and earth on the nose of this brick red, translucid wine. The palate is medium body and mature, with thetannins all but gone, but with very lively (almost volatile) acidity. Medium finish with echoes of earth, tart cherries, and licorice. Drink now.
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5/4/2008 - beezer6 wrote: 87 Points
Muted berries with some nice cinnamon notes. Fine, but not living up to the hype and reputation of this fine winery.
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4/18/2008 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 91 Points
Old wood and soft cherries and strawberries. Just lovely mouthfeel. Two infrequent wine drinkers over for dinner said it was the best wine they'd ever had. OLD WINE is where it's at! Still going strong. So glad i have a few more.
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4/8/2008 - cvvhrn wrote: 87 Points
Dinner at Andy's (Spanish wines); 4/7/2008-4/8/2008 (Andy's house): Hints of fruit, cedar and spice on the nose with a palate of minerals, BBQ, and mace. Decent finish
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3/11/2008 - suthersm wrote:
fairly light in color, sort of a dark brick. on the nose hints of damp earth, cherry, and mineral -- perhaps iron. light bodied in the best sense of the word. on the palate bright cherry and leather with a "sweet" midpalate. a bit more tannic than the handful of bosconias i've had. well integrated acidity. wine was pleasant on it's own and excellent with steaks.
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3/2/2008 - sstitt wrote: 92 Points
Rioja - Where Old Meets New (Ronald Reagan Building): Orangish-Reddish hue throughout the wine. On the palate was rustic, musty, with raisins, bright cherries, slight leather, grapefruits, dates, plums and figs with a seemingly high acidity level.
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12/1/2007 - mas01950 wrote: 90 Points
Quite closed on first day, not giving much - some old world nose, and cherry, menthol, licorice on palette - needs more time, notes are really from the second day.
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11/23/2007 - jackarmando wrote: 89 Points
Very old style Rioja. Good acidity, and strong cherry flavor.
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11/2/2007 - luisdelafuente wrote: 89 Points
Light tile color. Classic style. Taste of wood, well balanced, easy drinking. Suitable to drink alone or to be paired with any food. I find it too overpriced.
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10/29/2007 - Mark wrote: 91 Points
A gift from Maryilnne. Requires at least an hour to open up and shed a metallic edge, two hours is better. Once it’s open though, it’s quite lovely. Dry, dusty red fruit with a sour cheery element in the nose. Medium weight, initial finish really builds with an earthy and slight medicinal lift, finish is a little short, but trails for a while. A classic old style Rioja, I’m certainly picked up more.
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6/27/2007 - TheAcrobaticFish wrote: 90 Points
Sour cherry, cottage cheese. Yummy and definitely old school.
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6/8/2007 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful and elegant, but again, possibly slightly off. Confounding. Agree with previous user's note of decaying wood, dust and high acidity. Possibly a hint of absynth too. Do I really love this stuff this much or am I fooling myself?
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5/7/2007 - pbjosh wrote: 91 Points
Deep translucent tawny garnet with some lightening at the rim. Unmistakably oldschool Rioja and unmistakably R.L. de Heredia Vina Tondonia. Massive nose of decaying wood, dried cranberries, leather, asian spice / soy sauce, caramel, bitter orange peels, dust and more. On the palate it is medium bodied with a dominant streak of dried red fruits with bits of bitter chocolate, quite bright acidity, supple and elegant tannin. Long, elegant finish with bright acidity. Perhaps the acidity is a bit high for some tastes, for me it is a little high but nothing to lessen the wine. This is a beautiful glass of wine now but is still clearly a ways from maturity, I would stay away from it for at least two to three years, perhaps more. 91 now, upside in the future for sure.
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4/9/2007 - amateurwino wrote: 92 Points
A nice, old-style Rioja. A refined, subtle style that develops constantly in the glass. Tangy fruit, nose of floral berries. Notes of maybe dried herbs? Also leather. This actually got more complex on day 2 and day 3, very enjoyable. This may taste muted to those used to fruit bombs, but I enjoyed the change of pace a lot and really appreciate the style. Will consider buying more to hold, if I can get some space free in my cooler.
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11/1/2006 - Harley1199 wrote:
Pure cream full of red berries well integrated in vanillas and wood aromas.
Cremita llena de frutos rojos maduros bien conjuntados en madera y vainillas
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8/22/2006 - Mlermontov wrote: 89 Points
polaner fall 06: dusty, old style but a bit out of balance. perhaps it needs time. acid and alc still out of whack.
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8/22/2006 - dougsmith wrote: 88 Points
Polaner Selections Fall Preview Tasting (New York City): Light ruby color with a tawny rim. On the nose, intense notes of spice, orange peel and leather with a bit of sour cherry. On the palate it is a bit thin though could be refreshing with food.
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7/26/2006 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 92 Points
My wife and I absolutely loved this one. Starting to age, changing color, soft tannins, very mellow. What a pleasure. Wish i had a few more bottles. Nice old world style, with a blend of Garnacha, Gracion and Mazuelo mixed with the Tempranillo.
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4/11/2006 - gildedwon wrote: 88 Points
Yummie. Love this grape. Can't get enuf of the old world syle riojas.
Drank with cedar plank grill orange ruffy, basked in lemon-pepper sauce with a mushroom & truffle risotto. The bomb! Delicate summer fruit like strawberry, bosenberry and cherry - lightly tart, but not bitter nor dry...balancing the the meals cedar & earthy tones just right.....
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