2008 López de Heredia "Viña Tondonia" Gran Reserva Rosado Rioja

SKU #1362706 97 points James Suckling

Maybe the idea of a Gran Reserva rosé seems crazy, but this great wine happens to be a rosé. The whole range of dried fruit, plus a lemon-zest freshness which lights up the full and complex body. Take your time to unravel this wine’s mystery, if you can find one of the rare bottles. (8/2018)

96 points Decanter

This is light orange pink in colour with a smooth and silky texture and long length. It has cherry and raspberry fruit alongside a well-integrated nutty oak character leading to a dry salty finish. A seamless blend of red fruit, weight, fresh acidity and added oak complexity. Perfect. (EG) (5/2019)

96 points Wine & Spirits

Here’s a rosé that transcends the category. It’s a rare release: The last vintage Mercedes Lopéz de Heredia produced was 2000—and she makes it in the same resolutely traditional manner as her whites and reds. Aged four years in old barrels and another six in bottle, there’s nothing frivolous about it. Rather, it feels like a snapshot of the place it was raised, in sepia tones. You can feel the old cellars and their worn-in house-made barrels in the rich, humid coolness the wine projects; you can feel the heat of the sun, which ripened the grapes to a mellow sweetness, now faded to notes of Cognac-drenched berries and flamed orange zest. There’s the scent of cedar trees and the cool earth beneath them, as well as the brushy herbs that toast in summer’s heat. And there’s a salinity, a savor that joins with the breezy acidity to urge more energy from the wine even days after it’s uncorked. It’s remarkably vivacious, and will continue to evolve with cellar time. (8/2018)

94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

I have had the chance drink a few bottles and taste (again) the 2008 Viña Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva next to the current release, which is 2009, a good thing for comparison's sake. And I thought I should write a new note, because I find that the wine is developing beautifully, gaining in complexity; the salty/umami feeling seems to be increasing with the time in bottle. It feels fresher than the 2009, and the nose has more nuances, with some mineral, diesel-like notes, nuts, decayed flowers and hints of wet stones. A unique rosé. (LG) 94+ (6/2019)

93 points Vinous

Pale copper-tinged orange. A powerfully scented bouquet evokes orange zest, red currant, rose oil, cinnamon and smoky minerals. Juicy and precise on the palate, offering intense red berry and citrus fruit flavors along with hints of honey, vanilla and candied flowers. Deftly blends power and finesse and shows no rough edges. The mineral and floral notes carry strongly through an impressively long finish that displays outstanding clarity and spicy cut. (JR) (6/2018)

92 points John Gilman

The 2008 'Viña Tondonia' Rosado from López de Heredia is a lovely wine that is drinking beautifully at age ten, but has the cut and grip to go another fifteen to twenty years in the bottle. The bouquet is pure and complex, offering up scents of desiccated cherries, clove-like spice tones, salty soil elements, orange peel, dried flowers and a hint of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, excellent complexity and grip and a very, very long, tangy and focused finish. Fine juice. (5/2018)

91 points Wine Spectator

This rosé shows a distinctive character, with an orange color, a firm texture and flavors of dried orange, kumquat, cocoa and tea. Balanced and harmonious, and a good match with food. (TM) (6/2018)

K&L Notes

López de Heredia truly follows the classic adage of the wine industry: "Sell no wine before its time!" The golden standard in traditional Rioja, this blend of 60% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and 10% Viura is made in the classic "Claret" style, having seen extensive aging in used American oak barrels, followed by more aging in their perfectly cool, damp, cobweb and mold covered cellar by the Río Ebre. Beautiful flavors of blood orange, berries, peach skin and almonds only begin to describe this wine, which also has a silken texture unlike any other rosé you have likely ever had. As ever, this is a true wine world original and a very special bottle of wine.