2010 Viña Tondonia Tinto, Reserva, Bodegas R. López de Heredia, Rioja, Spain

Viña Tondonia has over 100 hectares on the right bank of the River Ebro, comprising 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 10% Graciano and Mazuelo. Vines are between 438 and 489 m in elevation. The wine is matured for six years in used American Appalachian oak barrels.

Mid bricky red. Classic traditional Rioja aroma: sweet senescent fruit, undergrowth, polished wood, dried fruits, almost nutty. Smooth tannins still have a very gentle friction, giving them shape and further longevity. Scented with age and red fruit and old-oak sweetness. Extremely long and silky on the finish. Impossible not to love this wine.

Drink 2022 - 2032

The 2010 Viña Tondonia Reserva has all I expect from a Reserva from Tondonia, complexity, elegance and evolution, a developed nose with notes of forest floor and wild berries, herbs and flowers, a touch of iodine, brick dust and very fine, polished tannins. It has the seriousness and elegance of Tondonia.

This is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho they use the masculine form of the name of the grape) and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo that fermented in the ancient oak vats from when the winery was created 144 years ago and matured in well-seasoned, American oak barrels for six years. It has 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.6 grams of acidity. 260,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2017.

Drink 2022 - 2034

This is as complex and savory as the rest of the Viña Tondonia wines, but also shows a tad more depth, with a hint of black plum and blue fruit on top of the orange rind, iron, tobacco and earthy spices. Expect some cedar and truffle to develop in the future. Juicy, zesty and tight, with dusty tannins and bright berry fruit on the medium-to full-bodied palate.

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