# Viña Tondonia Reserva (2014)

- **Producer:** R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo
- **Region:** Rioja, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €45
- **Vegan:** No
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 18–20 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, strawberry, redcurrant, rose, vanilla, cloves, leather, tobacco, forest floor, mushroom, game

## About this wine

Founded in 1877 by Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, Bodegas R. López de Heredia is the oldest estate in Haro and an iconic institution in Rioja. Managed today by the fourth generation of the family, the estate remains dedicated to traditional winemaking methods using 100% estate-grown grapes from its historic Viña Tondonia vineyard situated along the Ebro River.

## Interesting facts

- Bodegas R. López de Heredia is one of the very few wineries in the world to maintain its own full-time internal cooperage.
- The winery holds its Reserva wines in barrel and bottle for nearly a decade before commercial release.
- The Viña Tondonia vineyard is located in an iconic meander along the right bank of the Ebro River in Rioja Alta.

## Food pairing

The high acidity, firm structure, and savory complexity of long-aged Rioja Reserva harmonize naturally with rich, fatty proteins such as roasted lamb and cured Ibérico pork, while earthy tertiary characteristics complement wild game, mushrooms, and aged sheep's milk cheese.

## Wine making process

Grapes are hand-harvested from old vines averaging 40 to 50 years of age. Fermentation occurs using indigenous yeasts in large historic oak vats. The wine undergoes an extended maturation of seven to eight years in neutral American oak barrels crafted in the winery's own cooperage, racked twice annually by gravity, clarified traditionally with fresh egg whites, and bottled unfiltered before aging further in underground cellars.