2012 López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco, Rioja, Spain

Producer: Timeless bodega founded by D Rafael Lopez de Heredia y Landeta in 1877. They have stayed true to the winemaking traditions passed on through generations, producing age worthy wines from their prized vineyards. Maria Jose, Mercedes (winemaker) + Julio Cesar are the youngest generation committed to their ancestral methodes, including using their own cooperage in importing whole oak trunks from the Appalachian mountains in the US.

Place:  Haro, in the Rioja Alta region of Spain.

Site: Vina Tondonia is a group of vineyards, the bodega’s most famous, over 100 hectares situated in a shell-like depression next to the river Ebro.

Varietal: 90% Viura, 10% Malvasia

Soil: Alluvial Clay with Limestone.

Winemaking: Fermented in old oak vats with indigenous yeast, racked twice a year and fined with fresh egg whites, aged 6 years in cask and another 6 years in bottle before release.