I get this. LdH whites are seriously unusual and have a lot in common with (very good) sherry. That said, I have really loved the GRs I’ve had (very complex, food friendly, unapologetically old school) and enjoyed the Gravonia too, but I can’t blame anyone for a recoil here.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed LdH’s whites more than the reds (which often leave me scratching my head).
I think what happens is that there is some system of Berzerker “Vinuous Piety Points”
When people drink LdH whites, they earn some VPP. If they take LdH to a tasting, they can multiply those by the others afflicted with them there too. If one blogs about them, they get even more.
But if ones drink Meiomi PN one is assessed Vinuous Penalty Points, which reduce the VPP.
With enough VPP, one can stone infidels on the interweb chat rooms, and pour balsamic vinegar in the carafes of offensive dining patrons.
That is exactly why I like Tondonia Blanco GR!
Michael - there aren’t many who are quite like LdH. Remember, LdH didn’t start out to be some kind of cult producer. When they started they were “modern” but in the late 1900s they weren’t able to sell their wine so they kept it. Then some people found it and turned it into a thing. That’s relatively recent.
There are a number of bodegas in Rioja that have been there for nearly 100 years, and sometimes more, if you’re looking for “traditional” producers. But that’s a loaded term. All of them, including LdH, have modified their practices over the years. None of them are exactly like LdH or like each other. So if you’re looking for a bit of VA and some oxidation, you may prefer one bodega to another.
Muga is “traditional” but you can always distinguish their wine from others. Ditto CVNE, Rioja Alta, etc. LdH typically has more VA and more acidity and their wines are more oxidized than many others. It’s how you can pick them out in a blind tasting. But after thirty, forty years or so, the wines from the centenary bodegas start becoming more similar to each other.
Thanks everyone. I’ve had various Cune, LRA and Muga wines over the years, as well as various others, but there is a lot of good info here that helps me get a handle on style.
Pecina and Franco-Espanolas are new to me so I’ll check them out. It’ll be fall before they arrive, as I doubt I’ll find them locally, but I’ll report back when they do.
LOL 
There’s the Murrieta capellania, which is also a traditional aged viura… And if you can find their very aged ygay blancos, I’ve heard they’re quite the interesting though have yet to find one. The 81 tondonia blanco GR is one of my favorite whites to date.
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/10/murrieta-defends-traditional-white-rioja/
When people drink LdH whites, they earn some VPP. If they take LdH to a tasting, they can multiply those by the others afflicted with them there too. If one blogs about them, they get even more.
But if ones drink Meiomi PN one is assessed Vinuous Penalty Points, which reduce the VPP.
Arv - brilliant! I actually do like their whites and Murrietta is another if you ever get to try some of theirs from the 1970s, they’re stunning.
But I like the shorthand acronym!
Vince - we posted at the same time! I agree with you entirely.
You can find Pecina in StL. Crianza and Reserva are readily available. I had them on the shelf when you lived over here. Definitely have a trad vibe to them.
I love the LdH whites and find them more consistent than the reds. The best of the reds are IMO as good as the whites but always feel as though I need to muliply the price of the reds by 2x to account for the underperforming bottles.
I hate you people
Thanks, Vince! I see, unsurprisingly, PJ’s carries the Murrieta blanco.
Do we get VPP for the rosado or just the blanco, I wonder? I’m down to one bottle of the rose (bought the last few bottles wine-searcher showed for NYC, or maybe the country, a few years back) and the next release may well become my first multi-case purchase (at least, where I keep more than one case).
VPP is the new AFWE, I predict.
I’m down with VPP.
But wait - the implications. THE IMPLICATIONS!
If VPP is the new AFWE, Arv is the new…
I’m so damned sick of this new breed of Arvitized Bordeaux and Rioja.
Ah… first!
Oh one other traditionally made blanco is the Carlos Serres Onomastica reserva… good value. though i’m not not sure i’ve ever seen it in the US. I think it was about 20 GBP when i had it in Cambridge.
you might check out Bodegas Montecillo
90% of the time someone likes 50% of the wine. Why not just buy LDH? It isn’t that hard to come by.
It’s another old bodega but not really in the same league. There are a number of old-timers besides CVNE, Riojanas, Franco-Españolas and La Rioja Alta already mentioned - there’s Berberana, Federico Paternina, Riscal, Glorioso.
All different and none quite like LdH. But if you like that kind of classic style, there are newer producers who are right in there, like Izadi, Palacio, and the very tiny Miguel Merino, which I highly recommend. He’s a friend and his wines are very good. Most of the wines are pretty oaky on release, but if you drink them at 20 years, they’re going to be very classic in style.