2005 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia

Community Tasting Notes (107) Avg Score: 91.0 points

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  12/31/2022 - seemore glass Likes this wine:

  Our last 2005 held up beautifully. It's been stored at 55 degrees since being purchased over 3 years ago. The slightly dry cork came out fine with a standard puller.
  
  Full bodied but with no excess fat; rich, candied, nutty, fruity, generous but wonderfully clear tasting, complex and integrated. Good structural acidity, but after 30 minutes open, it did not register as tart.
  
  The oxidative notes on the nose faded slightly after aeration, and on the palate it all but disappeared an hour or so after pulling the cork. Either that, or we were so enveloped with so much rich complex beauty that the oxidative quality went completely unnoticed over time (on the palate).
  
  Equally stunning as either the center of attention, or with food.

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  11/27/2022 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 92 Points

  The original retail price tag is on my bottle: $28.99. Cellar stored since release, cork is dry and tight. Needs 15 minutes of swirling to open. Parchment, matcha tea, hazelnut, an impression of slightly bitter stone fruit pits, gently oxidized. Creamy, still good acidity and complexity, but leaning toward sherry dominant. Drink up. Paired beautifully with the umami rich pleasures of a Chinese fish ball soup, w a dashi style broth. Pair it with something light, chewy, and fishy for it to show its best, letting the acidity and golden minerality come through.

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  8/24/2022 - Phenol73 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Straw coloured. Notes of bees wax, hazelnuts and ripe tropical fruits. Fleshy and with plenty body; med acidity but not cloying or flabby. Held together well over two days. Remarkable for a 17 year old white, but probably drink up over the next 5 years.

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  6/19/2021 - chrisdgsmith@hotmail.co.uk Likes this wine: 93 Points

  SB's last bottle of the 2005. Glorious deep colour and stunning nose. Fabulously rich on the palate, this is classic traditional white rioja. So resinous and rich. Finish must've lasted minutes. Would love to drink more of this!

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  5/8/2021 - lozatron Likes this wine:

  May 2021 “Running” Club Outdoor Vintage Pairs Evening (Outside by the firepit in Icy West London): #woof - my WOTN (and the group’s #2). Lovely white Rioja in that oxidative, slightly sherry-ish style. Super balanced. Hints of pineapple, almost bacon fat, lovely acidity but also a generous mid palate. Goes on and on in the mouth. This is seriously lovely stuff.

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