A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure to open all of these amazing wines with our clients at a sold out intimate dinner with the importer and myself guiding everybody through the Wines.
For many people, it was their first time having the rosado and blanco wines and for most guests it was the first time having wine as old as a 1954!
All of these wines except the 2009 Rosado Gran Reserva and the 1954 Tondonia Reserva are current releases. So that would be the 2004 Gran Reserva Tondonia tinto and blanco, 2012 Tondonia Reserva tinto, 2013 Tondonia Reserva Blanco, 2014 Bosconia, 2016 Grovania, 2017 Cubillo.
Each wine showed incredibly well. The 2014 Bosconia was the wine of the night for the current release Reserva reds (12 Tondonia and 17 Cubillo). The whites in general need many more years in a cellar. They showed incredible potential, and each evolved in the glass a lot. I personally prefer the white wines with at least 10 more years on them. If you open any of these Blanco now decant them for a couple hours minimum… This also includes the Tondonia Gran Reservas, both 2004 red and white need a cellar to be lost in. BUT if you had to drink one now, I would give it probably a day of slow-oxing in the bottle or open it and recork it and then check on it the next day a few hours before you want to have it and then maybe decant at least an hour or two more. But that is just a suggestion based on experience with wine like this. They might still not come around fully this young (this is why we age wine people!)
Lastly, the 1954 Tondonia Reserva was incredible! It was everybody’s wine of the evening by far. It was magical in that it definitely tasted younger than what I would’ve expected and many other people expected something old and dilute and tired. It was none of those things. It was concentrated, but elegant, it had energy, and it grew in the glass. It makes me wanna buy a case of this and Bosconia every year and forget about them!
I just purchased a bottle of '54 Tondonia Reserva from a friend who is a major Rioja collector. Birth year wine for me. He also sold me a bottle each of '54 CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva and '54 CVNE Viña Real Reserva Especial. That friend goes to Europe to source wines and sells them to friends for the price he paid. He’s not ITB.
Very cool, if it’s a sound bottle you should be very happy with it! Thanks Larry and woudl be great to knwo more, thatmakes sense though if they did not use GR til later.
Ours was about the same fill level. It was purchased at the winery, and then held by one owner for 30-ish years until they sold it to us earlier this year.
I’ll be tasting there in five days.
First tasted the wines and started selling them in 1980, when I worked for a retailer.
My boss was a French wine lover. After my first year, he asked me “why was our second best selling wine last year Spanish?” I answered “taste it”.
Really looking forward to this visit. Prices are ~10x what they were 45 years ago so I don’t buy as often as I used to. But that is my first of only 3 wine visits on a two week trip and I hope to buy a case or more to share with other winegrowers and friends. I don’t check luggage, so I won’t be bringing any back with me
Maybe I should make an exception and check a bag???
One of my best experiences with Spanish wines is actually the 1954 - purchased in a small wine store in the middle of San Sebastian, more as a souvenir - and expectations were limited. It blew them away, regal stuff.
At a party yesterday, a friend brought '54 LdH Bosconia Reserva. Fill was not great. Sadly, it was DOA.
He then opened '54 Marques de Murrieta Reserva. It took some time to open up. Initially, it was thin and simple. An hour of air definitely helped. It fleshed out and was more complex. However, I would say it was good, but not compelling. I had that same wine for my 70th birthday dinner last year and that bottle was stellar.
