1999 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia

Community Tasting Notes (80) Avg Score: 91.2 points

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  5/5/2023 - forceberry wrote: 85 Points

  A blend of Viura aka. Macabeo (90%) and Malvasia Riojana aka. Alarije (10%). After the spontaneous fermentation, the wine is aged for 6 years in predominantly old American oak barrels, bottled unfiltered and aged for a further 5-6 years in the bottles before release. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Medium-deep straw-yellow color. The nose feels evolved, complex and moderately oxidative with aromas of chopped nuts and browned butter, some bruised apple tones, a little bit of tart key lime, light creamy notes of panna cotta, a hint of grated lemon zest and a touch of stony minerality. Unlike the nose, which seemed complex and somewhat oxidative yet fresh, the wine seems much more tertiary and tired on the palate with a medium body and very developed, slightly dull flavors of bruised apple and tart lemony citrus fruits, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of saline tang, light earthy tones, an oxidized hint of rancid nuts and a touch of sharp rancio character. The crisp, noticeably high acidity lends great sense of freshness and structure to the wine. The finish is crisp, long and pretty racy with an oxidative, somewhat tired aftertaste of lemony citrus fruits and some rancid nuts, a little bit of hay, light bruised apple tones, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of tangy salinity.
  
  The nose here was very lovely, showing exactly that oxidative complexity that makes Heredia whites so magical. However, on the palate the wine failed to deliver, tasting noticeably older than the nose would suggest, having a rather dominant streak of rancid nuts, making me think the wine wasn't just oxidative but also a bit oxidized. It felt the wine wasn't really in prime shape, but as the same vintage was in such a superb condition just a little bit over a year ago, I suspect this wine might've had a faulty cork that had permitted a little bit of oxygen into the bottle. Unless all the '99 Tondonia Reservas are going to be more oxidized rather than oxidative like this (and I hope I get to taste many more '99 Tondonia Reservas!), I suspect this was just an off bottle. However, some people thought the wine was in a good shape and how it was supposed to be, I'm rating the wine instead of marking it as "oxidized". The wine got two points from nine participants in our tasting of nine blind whites, finishing on shared sixth place.

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  8/13/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:

  Wine and BBQ Dinner (At home in leafy West London): I so wish the rest of the world hadn't come to love this wine so much. Deep colour - on the nose that wonderful nuttiness and oxidative notes. On the palate - just all there, such a vivid wine. Of all the wines I drank last night, this (along with the 08 MB) is the one that I can recall the most clearly.

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  3/20/2022 - LT98 wrote: 94 Points

  These are just phenomenal wines, but not for everyone. Bracingly dry with tannic notes, mild phenolics and a rich complex nuttiness. I could go on and on but this is one type of wine that I find hard to describe - much more fun to drink.

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  1/15/2022 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  A blend of Viura aka. Macabeo (90%) and Malvasia Riojana aka. Alarije (10%). After the spontaneous fermentation, the wine is aged for 6 years in predominantly old American oak barrels, bottled unfiltered and aged for a further 5-6 years in the bottles before release. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted in Tondonia Blanco 1999-2005 vertical.
  
  Somewhat evolved and quite deep golden yellow color with a pale bronze core. Rich, expressive and moderately evolved nose full of classic Heredia aromas: creaminess, some bruised apple tones, a little bit of savory wood character, light notes of rosin, evolved hints of caramel and dried yellow fruits and an oxidative touch of nutty complexity. This just phenomenal. The wine feels dry, somewhat concentrated and moderately intense on the palate with bold, complex flavors of evolved creaminess, some stony minerality, light tart notes of lemony citrus fruits and Granny Smith apple, a little bit of savory wood spice, evolved hints of hay and browned butter and a touch of tangy salinity. Despite its full body and somewhat concentrated feel, the wine is wonderfully high in acidity, lending it great sense of freshness and intensity. The finish is ripe, complex and wonderfully acid-driven with persistent flavors of lemony citrus fruits, some tart green apple tones, a little bit of savory wood spice and nuttiness, light mineral notes of tangy salinity, evolved hints of bruised apple and browned butter and a touch of smoke.
  
  An outstanding, wonderfully complex and exceptionally balanced vintage of Viña Tondonia Blanco that is just singing now, yet still holding tons of promise for the future. At first this seemed like the best of the bunch, but with some air other vintages seemed to blossom whereas this vintage seemed to fire on all cylinders after just pop'n'pour, developing surprisingly little in the glass. However, none of the vintages seemed to deteriorate even with extended airtime, speaking volumes of the aging potential here. Although not the best vintage out there, this is one remarkable vintage of this label that offers tons of pleasure right now but will continue to reward any patient fans of traditionalist, subtly oxidative Rioja Blanco that are willing to let this wine age for another decade or two. Highly recommended.

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  12/29/2021 - Paul D wrote: 90 Points

  8/9, vg cork.
  Medium/deep gold. Creamy, nutty, fumey nose, touch of orange rind. Medium bodied yet weighty and lightly creamy, nutty, mature, balanced acidity, very good length finish. Not the most vibrant bottle but still delicious.

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