Sign In

2006 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Tondonia Reserva

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

October 15, 2023 - $52

Estimate

RATINGS

95The Wine Advocate

94James Suckling

This is a remarkably lively wine...notes of licorice and dried cherries and a very elegant tannin structure that runs through the medium to full body of this red like a silk thread. The dry finish is long and polished.

93Vinous / IWC

... Highly perfumed scents of ripe red currant, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco, leather and rose oil, along with a hint of coconut in the background. Juicy and precise on the palate, offering deep-pitched red fruit preserve, spicecake and floral pastille flavors and a hint of mocha. The silky, sweet, impressively long finish features excellent clarity and lingering spice and smoke nuances.

92Wine Spectator

...fresh and juicy, featuring cherry, berry and licorice flavors mingling with smoke, coffee and mineral notes. Light, firm tannins and orange peel acidity keep this balanced.

REGION

Spain, Rioja

Rioja Demoninación de Origine Calificada is Spain’s most important wine region. Located in northern Spain, it comprises 135,000 vineyard acres and was the first official appellation in Spain, earning its official DO status in 1926. In 1991 it became Spain’s first DOCa, Spain’s most prestigious appellation category. The DOCa is divided into three subzones: La Rioja Alavesa in the northeast; La Rioja Alta in the southwest; and La Rioja Baja in the east. About 75 percent of Rioja wines are reds, with Tempranillo the predominant grape. Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, a spicy, high-acidity red grape, are also allowed. White wines are made from Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia. Wines were made in this region well before the Romans arrived, though the Romans then the medieval monks refined vineyard management and wine production. In the 19th century French families migrated to Rioja after phylloxera wiped out their vineyards, and the French helped establish the tradition of wine blends, still part of Rioja winemaking. According to the rules for the appellation, a wine labelled a simple Rioja can spend less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A Criziana is aged for at least two years, one in oak. Rioja Reserva is aged at least three years, with at least one in oak. A Rioja Gran Reserva must be aged at least five years, with two years in oak.