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1973 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (8/1/2021)
This wine is SO good. Tasted at a friend’s birthday party. The nose is effusive and features a wonderful mix of mild cedar notes, leather and the most intense cherry red fruit. The palate is resolved with incredible amounts of fruit mixed with the sexiest earthy note. Texturally gorgeous. To me, this is as good as aged rioja gets. Maybe not the absolute power of the greatest vintages but the wine makes up for it with an ethereal beauty that stays with you for hours. A profound and incredibly satisfying aged rioja. Thanks Bill Bell!
Posted from CellarTracker
Happy Birthday Mike Evans. This was my favorite from the party. Absolutely amazing!
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Oh, man. Sounds great, Don. Sorry to have missed you all last night. I know it was a good time. Happy b-day, Mike!
Another incredible thing about this wine other than what’s reflected in your wonderful note is: it’s been at this wonderful stage (but maybe gaining bottle sweetness slowly and getting even better over time) for over 20 years now. I’ve probably had it (sporadically) about 5 or 6 times in the last 20 years, always poured by someone else, and it’s always a wonderful experience.
[Added when I realized I had used the word wonderful three times:] In a word: wonderful.
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Don, great note on a great wine from a great evening. It was my red of the night and certainly among my top three wines of the night.
It was a great night celebrating Mike…I’m really glad the 1973 was showing well!
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A rare Bill Bell sighting on berserkers! (our local pusher of old LdH/rioja : )
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Brad. It was great seeing Bill. It had been too long. He brought some terrific wines. The 1959 Huet Demi-Sec Haut Lieu out of mag wasn’t bad either but I loved this one. I am a sucker for great aged rioja.
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