I looked and didn’t see any other posts dedicated to this wine. I have to admit, one of the perks living in Maine, is being so far behind “the curve” that you can still find wines like this for $38. Which I’d gladly pay for again. However, there is no way I’d pay the current mark-up for these wines. They’re about the same price as the Musar Rosé which I like more, and think is probably the more complex or pensive wine.
2008 R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia- Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (5/30/2020)
This was my first experience with this wine. This was paired with a spicy chicken sandwich, and that was damn good!! Now, about an hour later the wine seems to have fully opened up…and so let’s dig in. The wine is a so similar to the orange/bronze on the label. Scents of camomile tea, orange rind, anise, and clove. The palate leads with pear, brioche, cortland apple, and dried pineapple. All in all, this is really unique, and there is something here that reminds me of the Musar rosés and other singular wines in that style. A really special wine, that’s fun, but not worth anywhere near what the secondary market has moved to on this wine.
I think it’s easily worth $75, as it is better than Tempier rose which is now around $50 and one of the few that can age. I think folks underestimate great roses…
And this is why the wine prices are soaring up once the bottles have crossed the pond.
I have a hard time paying anything above 50€ (~$55) and about only a small handful of times in my life I’ve gone above 100€.
To me, for the most part, wine quality doesn’t seem to increase once it gets north of $50/50€ and after that you’re paying only for the scarcity. However, things might be quite different over there, since people are willing to pay ridiculous sums for wine, so the overall price level seems to be quite high as well.
“Willing” and “would I” are two different things. Simply feel that people who “would not pay the going rate” for a rose, simply because it is a “rose” is similar reasoning to not paying more for a white simply because it is white. These 2 classes tend to get dismissed compared to red wine, when they can be just as great.
I realize his point and it is a very valid one but I was making my own. Most wines are overpriced as a general rule, especially in this country where the triple-markup makes prices tilt upwards. I tend not to like paying exorbitant prices and generally don’t either, but if we are attaching ‘value’ to wine, then…what is that? I really don’t know.
I think this wine is “worth” what people will pay for it. I think one of the things about this passion of ours is finding wines that are under valued. It’s basically an adult game of hide & go seek. @Marcus S, I’m not saying I won’t pay the mark up because it’s a rosé, I’m saying that there was not enough interest or intrigue while I enjoyed the wine over a few hours to warrant my paying $40. However, that does not mean it’s because it’s a rosé or white. My cellar has both whites & Rosés well above the $50 mark. I bought 8 bottles of the 2017 Y de Yquem because I thought that the wine was seriously undervalued at $148 and while it was a splurge to buy that many…I believe it will be worth it in the long run. In the same way that I felt that the Keller GG’s were undervalued years ago…and today I still regret not buying more of them.
Kirk, did I read that correctly that you wouldn’t buy Tondonia Rosado again at $40 per bottle? If true, I get that everyone develops a personal sense of value and preferences, but I recommend burying a bottle or two and revisiting in 10 years - maybe you already have.
I’m right there with you on this one… I dare say that I’m as big an RLdH fan as anyone. Love 'em all - red, white, rose. Back in the first decade of the 2000s, I drank a ton of their rose - 95s, 97s, 98s, and 00s. Of course, since I could get it back then for < $25/bottle, it was easy to drink a bunch of it. And, even at that price, you could still find bottles collecting dust on shelves in wine shops all around Seattle. Been rationing my remaining bottles of those vintages ever since - down to less than one case total remaining.
I originally assumed my rationing would hold me over until the later vintages (starting with 2008) become available. But then the insanity took over. Wish I could explain it, but I’ve come to conclude that I simply have to accept it. It’s a fun, unique little wine; however, at the prices these days, it’s an easy pass for me. Folks want to pay those prices - well, have at it. As the saying goes, “… there’s lots of juice in the sea …” Fortunately, the RLdH whites (especially the Gravonia Crianza) and the reds (especially the Bosconia Reserva) continue to be smokin’ values for the price (at least for now).
I bid goodbye to the Tempier rose a number of years ago as it rose close to $40 around here. Over time, I found alternatives such as La Bastide Blanche and Tercero’s Mourvedre rose filled that niche just fine for me. Haven’t found the replacement yet for the RLdH rose, but that just gives me a good excuse to keep trying new things. In the mean time, I keep in mind the saying, “… don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened …”
Keep in mind that ex-bodegas, the price is still in the 20 eur range. There are still random EU stores on w-s that show a €30 price tag. Occasionally US retailers distribute them for normal markup but then end up realizing there’s overwhelming demand at that price that they cannot fulfill (eg., the thread posting $45 bottles a few weeks ago). The average price on CT based on the 400 bottles is $48.73, so some people are definitely getting it at the ex-chateau price to balance out all the folks paying $100.
I mean I’ve never paid even 30€, let alone above it, for a bottle of RLdH Rosado - and I live in Finland, where the average wine price is one of the highest in Europe (probably the highest in the EU). Sure, it’s a bargain at that price, but not to the extent I’d be happy to pay the equivalent of $100 for a bottle normally. For me, I’d say the wine would be still worth it at 40€ and anything over 50€ would be getting out of hand.
2008 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia : 17/20 - 11/6/2020
First encounter for me. An excellent wine, concentrated and balanced, able to age, long.
I’d like to compare it with Palette Simone rosé (one of the best french rosé, after 10 years), Domaine des Tours (Reynaud) Parisy, Valentini Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo …
I love the Simone rose and the Valentini Cerasuelo- of the two I’d say the Cerasuelo is most similar to the LdH rose- but they really are three very unique wines. The common thread to me is that they amplify umami in food.
Both Valentini Cerasuolo and LdH Gran Reserva Tondonia Rosado are some of the greatest rosés I know, but apart from their remarkable quality I really see no similarities with them whatsoever. To me that sounds like saying a Grand Cru Burgundy is similar to a Rioja Gran Reserva. The “very unique” part I can agree on.
Similarities: both the LdH and the Cerasuolo have a savory, umami-intensifying quality. The LdH generally has an overtly oxidative profile while the Cerasuolo has a much more subtle oxidative profile.
I think I was fairly clear when I stated that they really are three very unique wines.
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Simply feel that people who “would not pay the going rate” for a rose, simply because it is a “rose” is similar reasoning to not paying more for a white simply because it is white. These 2 classes tend to get dismissed compared to red wine, when they can be just as great.![[swearing.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8a0d3f3461d40641d294442fc2be78039bf94d19.gif "[swearing.gif]"){kind=small}