The epitome of tradition... and the cutting edge
Rioja was blessed by a back-to-back pair of great vintages in 2004 and 2005, and they made the most of both at Bodegas Lopez de Heredia. While the 2004 vintage of their flagship wine Tondonia was that bit more austere, the 2005 is more open, very welcoming, and very reminiscent of the great 2001. Tasting it now, the core of rich red fruit is complemented by the first tertiary signs of maturity. It is marked by energy, warmth, sweet fruit, depth, and also something clearly in reserve for the years to come. These wines are released only when ready, and designed to last forever. In advanced old age they become mushroomy, truffley concoctions, but anyone old enough to buy legally from this offer is unlikely to see this vintage so far developed.
Bodegas Lopez de Heredia was founded in 1877, at a time when Rioja was being catapulted onto the world stage as phylloxera ravaged French vineyards. Unlike almost all of the great bodegas from that era, it remains family-owned, and is currently run by the great-grandchildren of the founder Rafael Lopez de Heredia. And they remain unashamedly, uncompromisingly old-school. In the 1990s, when other bodegas were experimenting with denser extraction and French oak, Lopez de Heredia continued to do things as they always had done, looking ever more anachronistic. Their oak still comes from the Appalachians, Ohio and Michigan, and is seasoned and made into barrels at their own cooperage. They haven't even gone down the route favoured by some of introducing a new, modern line of wines to stand beside their traditional ones.
Yet in one important way, Rioja is just catching up with Lopez de Heredia. While historically the region was built on cooperatives and the buying-in of grapes, the cutting edge in the region is all about site specificity and named vineyards. Yet this is the way it has always been at Lopez de Heredia. Every red wine they release is named after its vineyard. And on the border of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, sloping down towards the River Ebro, is their finest site; meticulously assembled from the purchases of yesteryear, the vineyard Tondonia. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; autumn 2017
