Lopez de Heredia is a historic icon in the realm of traditional Spanish
wine. No one makes Rioja quite like this anymore. This rustic but regal
winery beside the railroad in Haro opened its doors in 1877, and to this
day makes its wines in the exact same way that founder D. Raphael Lopez
de Heredia pioneered in the early days-methods that were then actually
quite modern for the time. What a lot of people forget is that
interestingly, Lopez de Heredia was the first winery in the world to
attempt bottling wine under a screw cap closure. Inspired by the screw
cap on the Perrier water that he drank often, Raphael experimented with
screw caps in the 1907 vintage, but fortunately for us, abandoned this
notion in the early stages because it wasn't quite right for the wines.
After prolonged coaxing of our distributor, Ancona's has managed to secure very small quantities of the 1980 Tondonia, 1981 Tondonia, and 1981 Tondonia Blanco. We are proud to offer you these wines, which have stood the test of time and will no doubt continue to plateau for many years. If it is any indication, Lopez de Heredia continues to release minute quantities of its 1947 vintage that allegedly continues to show in all of the splendor that it once did. The same can undoubtedly be said for the 1964 Tondonia Blanco-a wine that is considered by many to be the finest white wine ever made in Spain.
Maria Jose' Lopez de Heredia is quick to remind that the extensive collection of old library vintages at the winery is not a result of conscious conservancy but instead the result of poor salesmanship. For a long time lengthily barrel-aged Rioja was not very marketable, and as a result, large stocks of wine went unsold for decades. Somewhat unfortunately for us, the greatness of Lopez de Heredia has come into the limelight in the past few years-but despite the fact that these wines have become spectacularly scarce, they still remain a relative bargain considering what is inside the bottle.
Take this unique opportunity to grab up a bottle or two of these treasures. It may be a long time before Lopez de Heredia again offers Ancona's older vintages from their trove. These wines will no doubt just become more scarce and more valuable over the next ten years.
After prolonged coaxing of our distributor, Ancona's has managed to secure very small quantities of the 1980 Tondonia, 1981 Tondonia, and 1981 Tondonia Blanco. We are proud to offer you these wines, which have stood the test of time and will no doubt continue to plateau for many years. If it is any indication, Lopez de Heredia continues to release minute quantities of its 1947 vintage that allegedly continues to show in all of the splendor that it once did. The same can undoubtedly be said for the 1964 Tondonia Blanco-a wine that is considered by many to be the finest white wine ever made in Spain.
Maria Jose' Lopez de Heredia is quick to remind that the extensive collection of old library vintages at the winery is not a result of conscious conservancy but instead the result of poor salesmanship. For a long time lengthily barrel-aged Rioja was not very marketable, and as a result, large stocks of wine went unsold for decades. Somewhat unfortunately for us, the greatness of Lopez de Heredia has come into the limelight in the past few years-but despite the fact that these wines have become spectacularly scarce, they still remain a relative bargain considering what is inside the bottle.
Take this unique opportunity to grab up a bottle or two of these treasures. It may be a long time before Lopez de Heredia again offers Ancona's older vintages from their trove. These wines will no doubt just become more scarce and more valuable over the next ten years.
1981 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva
95 Points Wine Advocate, 90 Points Stephen Tanzer
95 Points Wine Advocate, 90 Points Stephen Tanzer
1981 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco
93 Points Wine Advocate, 93 Points Wine Spectator, 90 Points Wine Spectator
93 Points Wine Advocate, 93 Points Wine Spectator, 90 Points Wine Spectator
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