Lopez de Heredia
2008 Rioja Reserva Red Vina Tondonia MAGNUMS
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This wine is being released through the October Classics Catalogue.
The LCBO will begin accepting orders at 8:30am on Thursday October 1st, 2020.
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Why We Love It:
For those looking for wines to collect and age, this new release from Lopez de Heredia offers a trifecta of characteristics suggesting a long life ahead.
The 2008 vintage in the Rioja Alta offered an almost ideal growing season for the age-worthy reds. A wet and cool spring lead to uneven flowering, meaning many producers were forced to thin out their crop early in the season even more aggressively than usual. A warm, but not over hot, and dry summer was followed by a long and cool fall. Harvest of reds began in late October and was not completed until early to mid-November. The end result was wines that achieved sufficient sugar maturity – but exceptional aromatic maturity. Low yields contributed to better than average concentration.
Add this list of virtues to the fact that this wine has been packaged in Magnum (larger bottle formats age more slowly than the same wines bottled in smaller formats) and the philosophies and production methods employed at Lopez de Heredia, and the result is a red wine that deserves a home in the cellar of every serious wine lover.
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Recipes & Food Pairings:
Bright acidity, a good concentrated core of red fruit and abundant spicy complexity make this wine very well suited to pairing next to game, full-flavoured bird dishes, pork and beef. Here are a few bits of culinary inspiration to get you started:
Pork Tenderloin w/ Raisin-Ginger Sauce – RECIPE
Chicken Thighs & Root Vegetables Braised in Wine & Sweet Paprika – RECIPE
Pappardelle w/ Mushrooms & Smoked Duck – RECIPE
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Price:
BOTTLE: $135 per 1.5L
CASE: $810 (case of 6 bottles)
BUY THIS WINE
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Technical Specs:
ALCOHOL: 12.5%
BOTTLE: 1.5L
Case Pack: 6 x 1.5mL
GRAPES: 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha & 5% Mazuelo & 5% Graciano
CLOSURE: Natural Cork
CELLAR POTENTIAL: Now to 2040
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 16°C to 18°C
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Tasting Notes:
James Suckling awarded the 2007 vintage 95 points and spoke to the process behind this flagship wine: ‘This wine spends six years in barrique … before racking into large casks and then bottling three years before the expected release …’ Suckling described the wine as ‘… Attractive [with] … earth and dried sage … blackberries, cedar, cigar tobacco and fresh leather.’
95/100 Points
James Suckling
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“Tondonia’s reds have been on an upward curve recently and are now at the same level as the bodega’s world-class whites. This is a fine, elegant, savoury, low-alcohol blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha and 5% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, combining summer berry fruit, racy acidity, granular tannins and an earthy, balsamic undertone. Good now, but this will develop further in bottle. 2020-28.”
97/100 Points
Tim Atkin, MW
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