A little closed and funky at opening, but reveals itself nicely after a while. Nut, honey, mushroom, apples. Acidity is great and a long aftertaste. Great with cheese and cured meat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Color dorado con destellos oro viejo. 2009 es una edad razonable para un blanco de Tondonia pero me pareció algo evolucionado. Comienza algo reducido en nariz, para dar paso a notas de ciruela amarilla, flores silvestres, especias dulces, tostados, corteza de pomelo, miel ligera y frutsos secos. En boca la entrada es buena, pasa bastante fluido aunque por momento hay cierto peso en boca, lo mejor la frescura, suaves amargos, cuerpo medio y bastante persistencia.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First time experiencing this wine and clearly a step above from the Gravonia. The ageing is integrated (but maybe too much wood for my taste, not an issue, just a question of preference), superb presence on the palate, long finish. Drink this with a nice selection of hard cheese and you'll be in heaven
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Expressive nose with lovely notes of white flowers, almonds, lemon, citrus, apple, and smoke. Nice acidity on the palate with deep and rich flavors of nuts, more lemon, flowers, and minerals. Long finish. This was outstanding, even better than the last bottle. The wine is complex and rich, yet doesn't feel heavy at all.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of ripe yellow fruit, brown sugar, with a lovely toasty oak and sweet marzipan note. Palate yellow fruit, melon, some lime acidity and a notable ferrous streak of minerality. Touch of the "blood" taste I'd tasted before in the 2006, but less pronounced. Certainly very interesting again. And indeed enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fragrant on the nose with notes of white flowers, apple, lemon, spices, chalk, and rich yellow fruit. Quite high acidity with a distinct saline note, minerals, lemon juice and zest, and just a tiny hint of vanilla/oak. Nice finish. Really interesting and complex wine, this should age beautifully. 94+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A medium gold N: Pronounced nose of yellow apple, ripe lemon, dried apricot, vanilla, acetaldehyde, baking spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, dried herbs, hazelnuts, honey, caramel P: Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium body, pronounced intensity, long finish C: This is more savory than ever. It is developing and so is suitable for ageing. The presence of primary, secondary and tertiary elements in the aromas/flavors are in fine balance in this developing wine. The persistent pomaceous , citrus and stonefruit push through with their high concentration to deliver a complex wine with over 6 descriptive clusters. This wine is of outstanding quality. There is sufficient acid to keep this fresh as the primary and secondary characters combine and further develop to add further complexity to this already outstanding wine. Outstanding wine. Not as smoky as I remember it
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The 2009 Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia showed extremely well with notes of dried apricot, almonds, vanilla, honey, fudge and spices. Very complex and a great long finish. @poemasbyhermanospadron
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
R. López de Heredia Tasting (Freiheit Vinothek, Ulm, Germany): Glass: Zalto Universal Tasted blind. Popped and poured. Clear, deep golden color. At the beginning a bit strange nose with lots of sweet/sour vegetables, but it vanished with temperature and air and become more Tondonia like. Seemed to me like a younger version of the 2003 vintage, probably even a bit lighter. The same beautiful saltiness, freshness, juiciness and elegance, beautiful grip. Long, lingering finish. 92-93
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Quite lovely. I'm not usually a fan of this oxidative style of wine but this handled it quite well. Beautiful mineral nose followed by a ton of stone fruit. I quite enjoyed this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Golden, oily, aromas of sherry, bees wax, wild honey, full bodied, sweetish, fresh, full of energy, a lovely Tondonia, will it get better? Probably but it’s in a lovely spot now 93+
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The wine looks yellow gold colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like toast, medium toast, cedar, oak, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, stoniness, honeysuckle, almond, hazelnut, sherry, leesy and biscuity. The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has high acidity. Exceptional wine!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
[Restaurant purchase] very curious to see how this would perform as I have a couple (04, 05 & 10) in the cellar. No detailed notes. Sherry on the nose and as it got warmer a bit of butterscotch, beewax. Similar on the palate, with a bit more vanilla. Long finish. On the young side
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was my first time trying this, after picking up this bottle on a whim a few years ago. Dark yellow/amber, with a nose and palate that borders on sherry-like. Better at cellar or even room temperature than colder — it’s almost a red wine in white wine’s clothes. Unique and very good, and I enjoyed it more and more as The night went on, but I don’t rate this quite as highly as this site as a whole seems to, or what current prices might suggest. I’d happily rebuy at the ~$60-ish I paid though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Hazy gold color with loads of butterscotch on the nose. Medium body, medium-to-medium-plus acid. Waxy mouthfeel with honey, lime, sea salt and orange juice. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Stellar! An intoxicating nose flowers, vanilla, spice. Just a hint of oxidation, with perfect structure and texture. So good. This wine never disappoints.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep yellow with an amber tinge. Just the slightest hint of oxidation, almond paste, and soil. Medium weight, excellent glycerine feel. Honeysuckle, bitter citrus, and earth backed up by strong acidity. As usual, incredibly interesting and long. My pathetic descriptors don't do it justice.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cracked into another of these for a Spanish wine tasting. I buy a lot of this wine because it simply puts a smile on my face every time. Singular and expressive per usual, there’s nothing else like these bottlings besides the sibling Gravonia and Rosado. See my other post for TN’s. Out of 10 Spanish bottles this was my WOTN.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Un vin assez extraordinaire qui présente beaucoup de complexité. Il prend un peu de temps à se placer lors de l’ouverture. Des saveurs de noix, de miel avec un petit fonds de tabac se dévoilent progressivement. Un vin vraiment savoureux, unique et intéressant.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Couleur dorée mais un peu plus pâle qu’à l’habitude. Arômes de fruits confits, miel, un peu de noix enrobée de caramel en finale. Un peu moins de fraîcheur en ce millesime, c’est riche mais l’alcool reste faible (12,5%!) et l’acidité présente pour contrebalancer l’aromatique mûre. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Consistent with past notes, I get a lot of marshmallow and sucrosity on the nose this vintage. It comes across a good deal fruitier and more sunny than the complex and serious 2006. Perfectly balanced vintage. As usual, the difference between the gravonia and riserva blanco is small.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium gold color, lots of waxy and honeycomb notes on the nose. Super fresh palate. High acid with fine balance. Day 5, holding great. Gets real suave on the palate. Nutty, and really nice. Day 6, complexity is finally starting to show more on the palate. This could probably go two weeks in the fridge from opening and still keep getting better. A mineral snap on the palate today.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Open 24hr ahead. Super nutty and savoury on the nose. Almond and marzipan, beeswax, it actually smells like the scent I experience when opening a new bag of mixed nuts. Also caramel. Massively austere waxy attack with rich, dense mouthfeel. Thirty plus second salty finish with some fresh coconut. Some sour, brown apple. So textural. All in balance. Hard to articulate its greatness. So much more to give though, the Gravonia from the same vintage was more evolved. I have the 2007 and I’ll be leaving it for a while.
Opened 24 hours in advance. Deep gold in the glass. Few wines deliver such clear distinction and typicity as the Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva or for that matter their younger sibling the Viña Gravonia. Oxidative in style and supremely complex and layered with beeswax, honeycomb, sandalwood, roasted almonds, marzipan, fino, bruised yellow apple, dried apricots, wild mushrooms, an intense saline quality, and an array of white fruits. Incredibly dense, concentrated and waxy with a slightly phenolic bitterness, an intensely saline-driven finish, and pitch perfect acidity. Such uniquely charming and enchanting wines that are impossible to tire of.
Lanolin, lemon pledge, beeswax, mushroom, wildflowers, burnt orange peel, and some vanilla on the nose. Tremendous acidity on the entry, with a wonderful layered texture. Crazy how bright and lifted this is in spite of the bruised apple, smoke, and marzipan flavors that flood through. Excellent sharp minerality that cleanses the palate and lasts long into the finish. So different. One of my favorites. Drink or hold. Only about 1500 cases produced.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Seven weeks after the prior — and equally distinctive and lovely, again going beautifully with sautéed firm white fish. (Unfortunately, no local access to turbot, which, grilled over coals, would be the perfect match.)
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rich, deep brassy gold - almost honey in colour. A prominent sherry note on the nose. Then almondy-apples, leavened by a little lemon zest with confected fruits and a hint of creme caramel; all the while, there's a mineral-like backbone; also some curious mango notes. A surprise initially to be less sherry-like than the nose - starting with a lovely apple and tropical fruit juice blend. Some orange in there too. Fino sherry comes through later siting alongside a fruitier, unctuous taste. Really very good.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Almonds, walnuts and honey on the nose. A mild lemon acidity on the palate. The best part is it's just going to get better. For now, it's an absolutely stunning wine and my all time favorite bottle of white.
La botella se abrió vaciando una pequeña copa para favorecer la aireación. En el momento de servirlo a no daba aromas, esta circunstancia nos obligó a decantarla durante unas dos horas y sólo al final el vino se abrió y empezó a dar aromas válidos. No tengo costumbre de decantar estos vinos, pero esta botella debió ser una excepción.
El color es amarillo oro intenso. El aroma que dio una vez estuvo a punto era de carácter medio, y se distinguían lacas, ceras, melocotón blanco y notas críticas, concretamente piel de naranja rallada, con ligero fondo mineral, más las notas oxidativas tan características de este vino.
En boca encontramos estructura, sensaciones glicericas una acidez muy marcada pero equilibrada, deja notas florales, frutales y de frutos secos, ligeramente amargo y salino y con un final muy largo
Seguramente está todavía demasiado joven para consumir, pero encontrar este tipo de vinos en su mejor momento de consumo es labor casi imposible. Y ya no hablemos del Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco - uno de los mejores bancos del mundo- que, o han dejado de producirlo o lo hacen en cantidades tan mínimas que sólo están al alcance de unos pocos afortunados
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Three months after the prior: After finding some more of these (and doubling our supply), we opened another. The intervening notes capture it well. To that we will add & echo: Savory marzipan; texture and sensation of lovely waxiness; brilliant and refreshing acidity. This is such a distinctive creature. Exceptionally enjoyable over four nights. Again it sang with lime infused foods. And as we’ve noted recently, it goes beautifully with pan fried sole.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
As usual, the LdH Blanco reserva presents with a complex nose of marshmallow, almond paste, and lime. Surprising acidity and juiciness on the palate, with the roundness and sherry-like complexity this oxidative wine is known for. Another fabulous vintage ready to drink or hold for 30 years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
These LdH whites are such brilliant and beguiling wines. Complex and confounding nose that just pours from the glass: mechanical oil, honey, almond, lemon, waxy polish. The palate is slightly oxidative and waxy, then you are hit with waves of white fruit, nuts, mushroom, oak and honey. It's also wiry, rich, sweet and strong salinity - a lot of umami character that keeps drawing you in for more. Just kept coming on and was still morphing at the the three hour mark and showing no signs of tiring. Terrific.
Wow. So unique and interesting. The nose was explosive and dense with notes of pineapple, honey, coconut and almond. The palate followed through with high strung acidity and such a full and creamy mouth feel. I’m glad I’ve listened to other CT reviews about this and bought a few. Gonna go raid the local shop and buy up a few more if they’ve got any left!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep golden. Immediately from the nose, it gave itself away — these wines are just so very distinctive. Savory chamomile. Beautifully and judiciously “oxidative.” (Not oxidized!) Deep and complex. Fabulous acidity. A worthy successor to its lovely siblings that we’ve enjoyed going back to the 2001 vintage. Extremely enjoyable over three nights — and as usual, it really sings with lime infused foods.
But good luck finding — we had to purchase ours from a shop across the country. And then we had to endure nearly 2 weeks of delivery delay by overextended and unreliable FedEx. Fortunately, these wines are quite tough creatures, the weather has been moderate, and there seems to have been no ill effect. We will hold the remaining bottles for as long as we can resist.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
We love these wines and albeit the reserva is a glimpse of the beauty of the Gran Reserva this still was very charming and was a bit of a hybrid between a white rioja and a Vin Jaune from Jura with its pronounced healthy oxidation. Good use of oak too. A solid wine and albeit lacked a bit of elegance frankly was still very nice to enjoy and held it self very well with rich Chinese food. 90-91
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/29/2023 - Utstein Likes this wine: 93 Points
A little closed and funky at opening, but reveals itself nicely after a while. Nut, honey, mushroom, apples. Acidity is great and a long aftertaste. Great with cheese and cured meat.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/24/2023 - PacoHigon Likes this wine:
Color dorado con destellos oro viejo. 2009 es una edad razonable para un blanco de Tondonia pero me pareció algo evolucionado. Comienza algo reducido en nariz, para dar paso a notas de ciruela amarilla, flores silvestres, especias dulces, tostados, corteza de pomelo, miel ligera y frutsos secos. En boca la entrada es buena, pasa bastante fluido aunque por momento hay cierto peso en boca, lo mejor la frescura, suaves amargos, cuerpo medio y bastante persistencia.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2023 - MasterWis Likes this wine: 94 Points
First time experiencing this wine and clearly a step above from the Gravonia. The ageing is integrated (but maybe too much wood for my taste, not an issue, just a question of preference), superb presence on the palate, long finish. Drink this with a nice selection of hard cheese and you'll be in heaven
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/13/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 95 Points
Expressive nose with lovely notes of white flowers, almonds, lemon, citrus, apple, and smoke. Nice acidity on the palate with deep and rich flavors of nuts, more lemon, flowers, and minerals. Long finish. This was outstanding, even better than the last bottle. The wine is complex and rich, yet doesn't feel heavy at all.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/1/2023 - canan wrote: 91 Points
Lopez di Heredia BYO (@MichaelsPlace): Apple-core bitterness, mint and barnyard.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/31/2023 - remyworldpeace Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of ripe yellow fruit, brown sugar, with a lovely toasty oak and sweet marzipan note. Palate yellow fruit, melon, some lime acidity and a notable ferrous streak of minerality. Touch of the "blood" taste I'd tasted before in the 2006, but less pronounced. Certainly very interesting again. And indeed enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/4/2023 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fragrant on the nose with notes of white flowers, apple, lemon, spices, chalk, and rich yellow fruit. Quite high acidity with a distinct saline note, minerals, lemon juice and zest, and just a tiny hint of vanilla/oak. Nice finish. Really interesting and complex wine, this should age beautifully. 94+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/17/2023 - Heynetty Likes this wine:
A medium gold
N: Pronounced nose of yellow apple, ripe lemon, dried apricot, vanilla, acetaldehyde, baking spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, dried herbs, hazelnuts, honey, caramel
P: Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol, medium body, pronounced intensity, long finish
C: This is more savory than ever. It is developing and so is suitable for ageing. The presence of primary, secondary and tertiary elements in the aromas/flavors are in fine balance in this developing wine. The persistent pomaceous , citrus and stonefruit push through with their high concentration to deliver a complex wine with over 6 descriptive clusters. This wine is of outstanding quality.
There is sufficient acid to keep this fresh as the primary and secondary characters combine and further develop to add further complexity to this already outstanding wine.
Outstanding wine. Not as smoky as I remember it
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2023 - merlotsmile wrote: 93 Points
The 2009 Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia showed extremely well with notes of dried apricot, almonds, vanilla, honey, fudge and spices. Very complex and a great long finish.
@poemasbyhermanospadron
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2022 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 92 Points
R. López de Heredia Tasting (Freiheit Vinothek, Ulm, Germany): Glass: Zalto Universal
Tasted blind. Popped and poured. Clear, deep golden color. At the beginning a bit strange nose with lots of sweet/sour vegetables, but it vanished with temperature and air and become more Tondonia like.
Seemed to me like a younger version of the 2003 vintage, probably even a bit lighter. The same beautiful saltiness, freshness, juiciness and elegance, beautiful grip. Long, lingering finish. 92-93
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2022 - Barsacpinci Likes this wine:
Quite lovely. I'm not usually a fan of this oxidative style of wine but this handled it quite well. Beautiful mineral nose followed by a ton of stone fruit. I quite enjoyed this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2022 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 93 Points
Golden, oily, aromas of sherry, bees wax, wild honey, full bodied, sweetish, fresh, full of energy, a lovely Tondonia, will it get better? Probably but it’s in a lovely spot now
93+
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Utregs Wijnhuis Lopez de Heredia Tasting (Restaurant Maeve, Utrecht. NL): Spicy oak and tart citrus on the nose, fresh and elegant palate, almond cream, lemon curd, salted butter, very energetic and elegant, floral finish, youthful, so bright.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2022 - gornals Likes this wine: 99 Points
The wine looks yellow gold colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like toast, medium toast, cedar, oak, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, stoniness, honeysuckle, almond, hazelnut, sherry, leesy and biscuity. The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has high acidity. Exceptional wine!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/29/2022 - ThijsV Likes this wine: 93 Points
[Restaurant purchase] very curious to see how this would perform as I have a couple (04, 05 & 10) in the cellar. No detailed notes. Sherry on the nose and as it got warmer a bit of butterscotch, beewax. Similar on the palate, with a bit more vanilla. Long finish. On the young side
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2022 - shza Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was my first time trying this, after picking up this bottle on a whim a few years ago. Dark yellow/amber, with a nose and palate that borders on sherry-like. Better at cellar or even room temperature than colder — it’s almost a red wine in white wine’s clothes. Unique and very good, and I enjoyed it more and more as The night went on, but I don’t rate this quite as highly as this site as a whole seems to, or what current prices might suggest. I’d happily rebuy at the ~$60-ish I paid though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/18/2022 - Matata Likes this wine: 92 Points
Intens duft. Oliven, salt, ristede nøtter. Heftig konsentrasjon og lengde.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/6/2022 - timothynbond Likes this wine: 90 Points
Hazy gold color with loads of butterscotch on the nose. Medium body, medium-to-medium-plus acid. Waxy mouthfeel with honey, lime, sea salt and orange juice. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/23/2022 - xwine wrote:
Stellar! An intoxicating nose flowers, vanilla, spice. Just a hint of oxidation, with perfect structure and texture. So good. This wine never disappoints.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2022 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deep yellow with an amber tinge. Just the slightest hint of oxidation, almond paste, and soil. Medium weight, excellent glycerine feel. Honeysuckle, bitter citrus, and earth backed up by strong acidity. As usual, incredibly interesting and long. My pathetic descriptors don't do it justice.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2022 - Bgropp4 wrote: 95 Points
Cracked into another of these for a Spanish wine tasting. I buy a lot of this wine because it simply puts a smile on my face every time. Singular and expressive per usual, there’s nothing else like these bottlings besides the sibling Gravonia and Rosado. See my other post for TN’s. Out of 10 Spanish bottles this was my WOTN.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/14/2021 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Orange rind, nutty and leesy at the cork pull.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2021 - Morrisson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Un vin assez extraordinaire qui présente beaucoup de complexité. Il prend un peu de temps à se placer lors de l’ouverture. Des saveurs de noix, de miel avec un petit fonds de tabac se dévoilent progressivement. Un vin vraiment savoureux, unique et intéressant.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2021 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2021 - ludwigbpm wrote: 94 Points
Couleur dorée mais un peu plus pâle qu’à l’habitude. Arômes de fruits confits, miel, un peu de noix enrobée de caramel en finale. Un peu moins de fraîcheur en ce millesime, c’est riche mais l’alcool reste faible (12,5%!) et l’acidité présente pour contrebalancer l’aromatique mûre. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2021 - jviz wrote: 94 Points
Consistent with past notes, I get a lot of marshmallow and sucrosity on the nose this vintage. It comes across a good deal fruitier and more sunny than the complex and serious 2006. Perfectly balanced vintage. As usual, the difference between the gravonia and riserva blanco is small.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2021 - cos65 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Light gold
Tons of gushing acidity, bruised apple flavors. This stuff is absolutely tireless and highly recommended.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/22/2021 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Medium gold color, lots of waxy and honeycomb notes on the nose. Super fresh palate. High acid with fine balance.
Day 5, holding great. Gets real suave on the palate. Nutty, and really nice.
Day 6, complexity is finally starting to show more on the palate. This could probably go two weeks in the fridge from opening and still keep getting better. A mineral snap on the palate today.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2021 - Amberissey Likes this wine: 92 Points
Open 24hr ahead. Super nutty and savoury on the nose. Almond and marzipan, beeswax, it actually smells like the scent I experience when opening a new bag of mixed nuts. Also caramel. Massively austere waxy attack with rich, dense mouthfeel. Thirty plus second salty finish with some fresh coconut. Some sour, brown apple. So textural. All in balance. Hard to articulate its greatness. So much more to give though, the Gravonia from the same vintage was more evolved. I have the 2007 and I’ll be leaving it for a while.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
10/16/2021 - paintinginacave Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened 24 hours in advance. Deep gold in the glass. Few wines deliver such clear distinction and typicity as the Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva or for that matter their younger sibling the Viña Gravonia. Oxidative in style and supremely complex and layered with beeswax, honeycomb, sandalwood, roasted almonds, marzipan, fino, bruised yellow apple, dried apricots, wild mushrooms, an intense saline quality, and an array of white fruits. Incredibly dense, concentrated and waxy with a slightly phenolic bitterness, an intensely saline-driven finish, and pitch perfect acidity. Such uniquely charming and enchanting wines that are impossible to tire of.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
10/4/2021 - rjmp96 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lanolin, lemon pledge, beeswax, mushroom, wildflowers, burnt orange peel, and some vanilla on the nose. Tremendous acidity on the entry, with a wonderful layered texture. Crazy how bright and lifted this is in spite of the bruised apple, smoke, and marzipan flavors that flood through. Excellent sharp minerality that cleanses the palate and lasts long into the finish. So different. One of my favorites. Drink or hold. Only about 1500 cases produced.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/19/2021 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Seven weeks after the prior — and equally distinctive and lovely, again going beautifully with sautéed firm white fish. (Unfortunately, no local access to turbot, which, grilled over coals, would be the perfect match.)
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/29/2021 - Keith Clark Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rich, deep brassy gold - almost honey in colour.
A prominent sherry note on the nose. Then almondy-apples, leavened by a little lemon zest with confected fruits and a hint of creme caramel; all the while, there's a mineral-like backbone; also some curious mango notes.
A surprise initially to be less sherry-like than the nose - starting with a lovely apple and tropical fruit juice blend. Some orange in there too. Fino sherry comes through later siting alongside a fruitier, unctuous taste. Really very good.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2021 - DavilaDC Likes this wine: 94 Points
Almonds, walnuts and honey on the nose. A mild lemon acidity on the palate. The best part is it's just going to get better. For now, it's an absolutely stunning wine and my all time favorite bottle of white.
5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
8/13/2021 - FEDEVIDAL Likes this wine: 92 Points
La botella se abrió vaciando una pequeña copa para favorecer la aireación. En el momento de servirlo a no daba aromas, esta circunstancia nos obligó a decantarla durante unas dos horas y sólo al final el vino se abrió y empezó a dar aromas válidos. No tengo costumbre de decantar estos vinos, pero esta botella debió ser una excepción.
El color es amarillo oro intenso. El aroma que dio una vez estuvo a punto era de carácter medio, y se distinguían lacas, ceras, melocotón blanco y notas críticas, concretamente piel de naranja rallada, con ligero fondo mineral, más las notas oxidativas tan características de este vino.
En boca encontramos estructura, sensaciones glicericas una acidez muy marcada pero equilibrada, deja notas florales, frutales y de frutos secos, ligeramente amargo y salino y con un final muy largo
Seguramente está todavía demasiado joven para consumir, pero encontrar este tipo de vinos en su mejor momento de consumo es labor casi imposible. Y ya no hablemos del Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco - uno de los mejores bancos del mundo- que, o han dejado de producirlo o lo hacen en cantidades tan mínimas que sólo están al alcance de unos pocos afortunados
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/5/2021 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Three months after the prior: After finding some more of these (and doubling our supply), we opened another. The intervening notes capture it well. To that we will add & echo: Savory marzipan; texture and sensation of lovely waxiness; brilliant and refreshing acidity. This is such a distinctive creature. Exceptionally enjoyable over four nights. Again it sang with lime infused foods. And as we’ve noted recently, it goes beautifully with pan fried sole.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2021 - jviz wrote: 94 Points
As usual, the LdH Blanco reserva presents with a complex nose of marshmallow, almond paste, and lime. Surprising acidity and juiciness on the palate, with the roundness and sherry-like complexity this oxidative wine is known for. Another fabulous vintage ready to drink or hold for 30 years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2021 - decaturwinedude wrote: 93 Points
These LdH whites are such brilliant and beguiling wines. Complex and confounding nose that just pours from the glass: mechanical oil, honey, almond, lemon, waxy polish. The palate is slightly oxidative and waxy, then you are hit with waves of white fruit, nuts, mushroom, oak and honey. It's also wiry, rich, sweet and strong salinity - a lot of umami character that keeps drawing you in for more. Just kept coming on and was still morphing at the the three hour mark and showing no signs of tiring. Terrific.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
6/6/2021 - Bgropp4 wrote: 94 Points
Wow. So unique and interesting. The nose was explosive and dense with notes of pineapple, honey, coconut and almond. The palate followed through with high strung acidity and such a full and creamy mouth feel. I’m glad I’ve listened to other CT reviews about this and bought a few. Gonna go raid the local shop and buy up a few more if they’ve got any left!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/27/2021 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Deep golden. Immediately from the nose, it gave itself away — these wines are just so very distinctive. Savory chamomile. Beautifully and judiciously “oxidative.” (Not oxidized!) Deep and complex. Fabulous acidity. A worthy successor to its lovely siblings that we’ve enjoyed going back to the 2001 vintage. Extremely enjoyable over three nights — and as usual, it really sings with lime infused foods.
But good luck finding — we had to purchase ours from a shop across the country. And then we had to endure nearly 2 weeks of delivery delay by overextended and unreliable FedEx. Fortunately, these wines are quite tough creatures, the weather has been moderate, and there seems to have been no ill effect. We will hold the remaining bottles for as long as we can resist.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2021 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
We love these wines and albeit the reserva is a glimpse of the beauty of the Gran Reserva this still was very charming and was a bit of a hybrid between a white rioja and a Vin Jaune from Jura with its pronounced healthy oxidation. Good use of oak too. A solid wine and albeit lacked a bit of elegance frankly was still very nice to enjoy and held it self very well with rich Chinese food. 90-91
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment