Vina Tondonia vertical with Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia.

On a sunny spring day I crossed over to Manhattan to check out the David Bowler Portfolio tasting.
With all of the chaos and time restraints that come with a tasting like this, it was pleasant to take a calm 15 minute chill out period with Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia to taste her families wines.  When the winery was founded over 130 years ago Maria's Great Grandfather began making Rioja wines and it has remained the same since.

After tasting the gorgeous 2000 Gran Reserva Rose I moved onto some of their reds. I tasted the 2005 Cubillo Crianza and then looked down the line and realized Maria was pouring a vertical of Vina Tondonia all the way back to 1964!

She poured: Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia - 2001 Reserva (in magnum) 1994 Gran Reserva, 1976 Gran Reserva and 1964 Gran Reserva with a Bosconia Gran Reserva 1981 thrown in the mix.

Tondonia wines consist of 75% Tempranillo 15% Garnacha 10% Mazuelo and Graciano and usually spend 9 years in Barrel. The Bosconia vineyard is known for its complex minerality while the Tondonia vineyard produces wines with bolder fruit than minerality.

The 1981 Bosconia Gran Reserva had lost almost all of its fruit but was still very complex and drinkable with banging acidity, crazy minerality and herbal notes. The 1976 Tondonia Gran Reserva was insane and my favorite wine of the day.  Amazing dried red fruits showing, a clay and dirty brick character with a generous length which made me look in the opposite direction of the spit bucket. The 1964 Tondonia Gran Reserva had much less desirable fruit but there were some surviving and it was quite dirty complex and long on the palate with a slightly weaker acidity.

Heredia by the lake

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rosè Gran Reserva 2000

60% Garnacho 30% Tempranillo Viura 10%

Ageing in barrels: 4 and a half years, being racked twice a year and fined with fresh egg whites.

It was a hot and unpredictable summer afternoon with blue skies accompanied by threatening clouds.  I met up with Caitlin at her lake house and stepped out of a beat up Ford Focus carrying a crinkled up paper bag.  I pulled out some Manchego cheese, barlotti beans prepared in the style of my Calabrian great grandfather and a bottle of 2000 Heredia Rosè.  The first mistake I made was pouring the wine at fridge temperature as it is definitely best served around cellar temp (60F - 16C).  The nose was straight funk from the beginning, but on the palate all I got was the oxidative character.  At first I thought shit! it might be a bad bottle.  We waited ten minutes. If its a faulty bottle its gonna get really gnarly with little time... if its good it will improve and be delicious.  Sure enough it was just too cold and the fruit started to emerge with time.  The acidity and that oxidative character matched up perfectly along with layers of hazelnut and strawberries.  What a fucking gorgeous 11 year old Rosè we have here!

Earlier, looking for advice on what to pair this bottle of wine with.  I asked a couple of bloggers what they preferred.

Samantha of Samantha Sans Dosage:  Cured ham and Comte.  That wine is too complex to get crazy with the food. Let the wine be the star and the salty and fatty bits frame it. 

Jeremy of Do Bianchi:  Our friend Brad at our favorite restaurant in Austin, Fonda San Miguel, keeps a stash of Lopez (and Produttori) just for us (well, not just for us, but we like to pretend it's just for us!). My all-time fav pairing for that wine (so far) is... Huitlacoche Tamales because, as Sam points out, the purity of the flavors in the dish doesn't fight the crazy goodness and subtleties of the wine. So there you go!  (Or do it with some fresh east coast oysters!)

I say, if your tasting a Heredia wine for the first time go super simple as Samantha suggests.  If you've had it and know what to expect get a little more daring Do Bianchi style.

Caitlin and I throwing down before the storm on Onota lake, Pittsfield MA

cruising through Espana!