TN: 2008 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia

I had this vintage in a restaurant in Spain a few months ago and it was absolutely delicious without any decanting whatsoever. I was quite surprised - this ready to go already?? Tonight at home I wanted to have something that would absolutely deliver with a steak so I decided to go with this, convinced by the prior experience. Of course it turned out to be what I believe is simply a way less developed bottle. The restaurant in Spain was not exactly a fancy establishment so I would not be surprised if they didn’t store their wines in a very cool place. Considering that there are (I may be wrong) two younger vintages in the market already it could well be a case of two years in less than optimal conditions accelerating the development significantly. Can’t say that one bottle was better than the other but obviously this wine is in need of plenty more years sideways. Still, the quality is as high as ever and I’ll make a note of buying more before the red Reserva starts to follow the price hike of the white.

  • 2008 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (13.8.2022)
    Very expressive and savory on the nose with notes of blackcurrant, red cherry, fig, soy, tobacco, dry oak and iron. A decent amount of VA, I love it. On the palate there is good concentration and plenty of savory fruit. It has a great tannin structure and uplifting acidity. Very dry overall, demanding to be served with an appropriate chunk of red meat. While having a very developed profile it has this terrific energy about it. The tannins grip in a quite formidable fashion on the finish, rendering it rather tough at this point on its own. Indeed this is quite a bit tougher than the bottle we had in Spain a few months back. In any case it is another very successful iteration of this classic wine. There is considerable power but not without some finesse.

Posted from CellarTracker

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I love the 2008. Great wine.

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Great note! Do you recall how long this was open or decanted? Your notes match very well with what I had from night one with minimal air. Maybe 1-3 hours after opening. Night 2 was less savory a bit softer and showing even more fruit. Curious if you had a similar experience or if the aeration was similar to my night 1.

A friend on this board brought it a few weeks ago during dinner. It was amazing!

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I have found that the 2007 and 2008 bith benefit from extended aeration. For my tastes a minumum of several hours but often much better the next day.

Brodie

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Thanks! I had it in the decanter for two hours so very much the same indeed. I’ll buy more and bury the bottles in the cellar, might get some 2009 and/or 2010 as well and try soonish.

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Thanks for the TN. Pretty much aligned with my experience with a tested bottle from a 6-pack purchase 2 years ago when I found it tannic and tough to drink on its own. From there I decided to bury my remaining 5 in the offsite storage and will plan on revisiting sometime around 2028.

Great note again Ilkka. This wine is in a fantastic spot. I’ve got a friend who is new to “better wine” and “loves Rioja”. He was always bringing me grocery store Reservas here in London that had the minimum amount of aging. Not a pleasant experience! But he’s curious and happy to be shown what’s out there.

I took him to Sabor (which I can’t recommend highly enough for the food, wine and service) and with a group of others we knocked down two of these. Really wowed him with what a Rioja can be!

Now I just need to get him to start aging these.

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