March 17, 2024 - I've never had a disappointing bottle of Gravonia, and this was no exception. Lovely intense lemon, nuts, oak, ripe yellow apple, good balance between fruit and oxidative notes. I do think it misses a tiny bit of intensity and complexity, that I suspect will come with few more years in the bottle. I will start drinking these in 2026.
February 18, 2024 - Butterscotch, vanilla, coconut, white flowers, yeast, just a bit of ripe yellow apple and ripe quince on the nose. Medium + intensity of aromas. The palate adds tea leaves and white pepper which are a nice counterpoint to all the oak flavors, which remain. The fruit remains too. Overall the flavors are consistent with the aromas. Medium + intensity of flavors with a similarily intense finish that lasts 35 seconds.
Medium + body with zippy medium + acid that really balances it out. I like the conbination of American oak and high acid. Developing. Drinking well now, but will continue to age for 5-10 more years in the bottle.
February 9, 2024 - [TASTED AT A WINEBAR @ GRAPES, MUNICH, GERMANY]
ENGLISH:
Nose: Funky fino sherry on the nose, salty but also candied light nuts, especially cashews and some macadamia, subtle butter, but also old, oxidized wood laying by the sea, light raisins and some unripe papaya, very aromatic but not loud, clover and wax, later also dried fruit fresh from the oven
Taste: Similar play in the mouth, Fino and Palo Cortado sherry, oxidative notes, cashew nuts, salt, beeswax, clover, light raisins and light wood, some unripe tropical fruit, medium body, acidity not as intense as you would think, even rather nice and playful, but dry
Comment: Funky single grape variety bottling with exciting characteristics, a dream for lovers of dry sherries, also develops for a long time in the glass...
GERMAN (ORIGINAL):
Nose: Funky Fino Sherry in der Nase, salzige aber auch kandierte helle Nüsse, insbesondere Cashewkerne und etwas Macadamia, dezente Butter, aber auch altes, oxidiertes Holz am Meer, helle Rosinen und etwas unreife Papaya, sehr aromatisch, aber nicht laut, Klee und Wachs, später auch Trockenfrüchte frisch aus dem Ofen
Taste: Ähnliches Spiel im Mund, Fino und Palo Cortado Sherry, oxidative Noten, Cashewkerne, Salz, Bienenwachs, Klee, helle Rosinen und helles Holz, etwas unreife tropische Frucht, mittlerer Körper, Säure nicht so intensiv wie man denken würde, sogar eher nett verspielt, aber trocken
Comment: Funky Reinsortler mit spannenden Eigenschaften, ein Traum für Liebhaber trockener Sherrys, entwickelt sich auch lange im Glas...
February 2, 2024 - This was awful. Who would want a creamy, minerally, saline, textural mouth-bomb? My mistake for buying it, please don't. Thanks!
January 20, 2024 - Fresh, aromatic, complex. Summer fruits with nuts and wax in the background -- but that's just the beginning. If this is so good, how heavenly do Tondonia Reserva and Gran Reserva must be?!
January 4, 2024 - Uh oh. Second bottle of this thats been corked. Anyone else have this issue ? Or am i just “lucky”
January 3, 2024 - 1/6, good cork.
Bright, pale gold.
Aromatic, petrol, cream, lightly nutty. Fumey. Medium/full, oily texture, creamy, nutty, fresh/vibrant acids with orangey notes on g/l finish. Excellent.
December 12, 2023 - My first time with Gravonia. I've had the Tondonia Reserva Blanco before. This crianza is by no means a down grade, though there are differences. Generally, the body here is lighter, concentration a little lower, overall a bit fresher.
This wine still has plenty of the oxidative, nutty, waxy character that make LdH blancos so distinctive. The amazing feat of this wine is its ability to balance these flavors with freshness and lift.
I'd wager that 99%+ of white wines out there are distinguished by fruit, minimality, and acid. This is not. This is driven by texture, flavors of the earth and flowers, characteristics like wax and mushrooms, length and complexity. The finish is long. The wine evolves with air like few others. It is protean over days, each manifestation enjoyable in its own way.
December 4, 2023 - JVIZ’s note below describes it beautifully. We’ve had these creatures (along with other LDH Blancos) going back 10+ years now, and consistently find them among the most fascinating wines in our cellar. Here’s to Gravonia!
December 2, 2023 - Another marvelous wine from LdH. I really like the gravonia blanco bottling in its youth. It’s already polarizing enough, but as much fruit and freshness as it will ever have makes this a more charming wine to share. I’ve said before I think it is one of the world’s best, most unique wines, and stand by that comment. And while the reserva and gran reserva wines are even better, they are more serious, especially as they age, while a young gravonia can really open the eyes of a novice drinker. If a red wine could do what this does, all the complexity, interest, evolution in glass, etc; well it would be $1k/bottle and named Rayas. These wines have a high annual production and have started to increase in price, but I find it more than justified. In any case, this was my first taste of 2015 and I find it in line with other vintages. No particular flaw or shortcoming. It’s a delight on PnP
Day 2 (and 3) don’t show the wine budging much. Plenty of golden apple fruit, walnut and juniper. It’s a sturdy vintage I imagine will hold up well.