Community Tasting Note

• Ara Kafafian wrote: 87 points

  October 21, 2019 - Slight brick rim, bitter, tart, acidic, menthol, vanilla and black tea notes. I thought I was drinking a $25 CAD old world wine, however when the bottle was unveiled, I thought the $55 CAD retail price wasn’t justified. Drink now.

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7 Comments

• NoTrollingerPlease commented:

  10/21/19, 11:18 AM - This one has not even reached its first peak :) It has decades ahead, given proper storage...

• Ara Kafafian commented:

  10/21/19, 11:42 AM - It was fresh off the shelves of the SAQ, I assume they stored it properly as they just received it.

• bravo.solares commented:

  10/21/19, 1:16 PM - To me, this wine is still several years before its peak, and should drink well through 2035 and likely longer. Do bear in mind this is “traditional” Rioja - entirely different from “modern” Rioja.

• NoTrollingerPlease commented:

  10/21/19, 1:59 PM - Ok, Ara, so maybe you simply don't like traditional Rioja style. If it is a properly stored bottle, it should have a) at least 10 years of development ahead and b) be a 90-92+ wine.
  BTW: The latest vintage of Tondonia GRAN Reserva is 1995! :)

• ProperClaret commented:

  10/21/19, 8:07 PM - The key to this wine, at this stage, is air. Air, air, and more air. Six hours. It’s just too young yet. The first time I opened a bottle of this wine, it was an ‘04, and I maybe gave it 15 minutes in the decanter. And I had the *exact* same experience you did. What you’re tasting isn’t a wine that has turned... it’s a wine that is simply immature. If you can get your hands on, say, a 2001 or older, that would give you a better impression of LdH.

• Eric.S commented:

  10/22/19, 8:49 AM - Agreed on the need for age or air. One of the best bottles of wine I’ve ever had was a young LdH Bosconia... on day 3.

• depechemoroder commented:

  10/25/19, 11:26 PM - I'd add to the age and air thing. I don't really start drinking these until they hit 20 years from vintage, but always worth seeing where it is. At this age, they need at least 24 hours of decanting. And it's perfectly possible you don't like this style - it's a divisive one, but we all like what we like so nothig wrong with that. When young, these are tart and closed with a tremendous amount of herbs.

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