New releases from Lopez de Heredia - Two superb white Rioja
One of the most traditional of all Rioja producers
2016 Rioja Blanco, Viña Gravonia, López de Heredia - £150 per 6 in bond
2013 Rioja Blanco Reserva, Viña Tondonia, López de Heredia - £300 per 6 in bond
This morning sees the release of two impressive white Rioja from Bodegas López de Heredia.
López de Heredia is one of the most traditional of all Rioja producers – little has changed here since the estate was founded in 1913. It possesses a reputation for producing complex wines that invariably have the capacity age over the long-term. The estate is extensive with 170 hectares of vineyard and 124 currently in production. Then again, the range of wines is also extensive – they produce 9 different wines in most years across all levels, including some great white and rosé Gran Reserva.
The Tondonia vineyard must be the most famous that they own, comprising 100 hectares in Haro, next to the River Ebro, where the area of Rioja Alta borders Rioja Alavesa. The vineyard lies in a shell-like depression on a soil of alluvial clay with a high proportion of limestone. The Gravonia comes from the Zaconia vineyard, this is another vineyard on the Ebro with similar soil composition to Tondonia.
Please see below for full details and Luis Gutiérrez's recent reviews.
2016 Rioja Blanco, Viña Gravonia, López de Heredia
£150 per 6 bottle case in bond
95 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
2016 was a superb vintage in Rioja, and the 2016 Viña Gravonia Blanco, which has the cellar aroma that all the wines, especially the whites, have, due to the longer time the wines spend in barrel. The white vines in this vineyard are now 92 years old and their juice was fermented in old oak vats with indigenous yeasts. They explained, "We have never used selected yeasts." It was matured in their well-seasoned American oak barrels for four years. It's paler than any of the other whites, and it has a little less pungency, with very good freshness. It's elegant, subtle, clean and ethereal. They had good yields and a good climatic year. 42,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2022. I give these wines a conservative drinking window, but they will probably last much longer. Drink : 2025-2032
2013 Rioja Blanco Reserva, Viña Tondonia, López de Heredia
£300 per 6 bottle case in bond
94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
We talked a lot about the challenging 2013, but they defended the wines. "There was a big crop, and it was not easy, but it was possible to make great wines." The 2013 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva has nutty aromas, perhaps showing a little more development, but according to Mercedes López de Heredia, "[With] the old vines with the right rootstock, in the right soils, you can have more or less quality, but you're not going to have a disaster." It's a wine that has to have aging potential, and they need to start with good grapes, so they harvested earlier, as their grapes were riper because they had lowered their yields. They took risks, and I think they got it right. The palate has intense and pungent flavors, a velvety mouthfeel and a vibrant core of acidity, with a fine thread and a chalky finish. But it's a slightly weaker year. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2022. Drink: 2024-2032
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