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Though its competition from the world-over has done nothing but intensify over the past years, good ol’ Spain still manages to keep its sheer-value-for-money mantle intact.  And that seems to still be true at virtually every price point.  For $8, for example, those juicy little reds from the center of the country simply cannot be beat.  But it’s at the higher quality and price levels where Spain’s true advantage seems to be particularly compelling.  Is there anywhere else in the world where perfectly aged, traditionally made, artisanal  reds can be found for $30 and one of the world’s greatest reds worthy of decades in the cellar for around $60?  Viva Rioja!  Of course, Lopez de Heredia needs no introduction here.  Its wonderful estate-grown reds, whites and roses have been fixtures at PRIMA for decades and our customers love the fact that they can take home some of the world’s most wonderful ready-to-drink treasures for mere fractions of what their correlates from other wine growing regions might cost.  Located in Haro, in the heart of the Rioja Alta region, it was in 1913 when Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta first planted the vines in what would become Viña Tondonia, now the bodega´s most famous vineyard. It truly is a beautiful spot. Stretching over 100 hectares in an amphitheater on the right bank of the river Ebro at around 450 meters, it is truly a sight to behold and, up close where you can see the gnarly old Tempranillo, you can understand why this is such hallowed ground.  It’s natural topography and orientation are one thing, but the Lopez de Heredia family’s stanch commitment to maintaining the winemaking and cellaring traditions they created over a century ago truly sets them apart.  The current vintage for the Reserva cuvee, the winery’s largest production, is 2012, meaning that the wine- made from Tempranillo (75%), Garnacho (15%), Graciano and Mazuelo (10%) from the original Tondonia planting- was aged in the cellar six years before bottling and rested another five after that.  The vintage for the Gran Reserva, a wine made only in very special vintages, is 2004!  The 2012 Vina Tondonia is an impressive bottle of wine, no matter how you look at it.  And, for $60 a bottle, it’s beyond incredible. This has all the hallmarks of a great mature bottle of Rioja- it manages elegance and strength in equal measure with pronounced dried red berry (like Crunchberries!) fruit, a dash of fresh vanilla extract and a gorgeous, ultra-long spicy finish.  Here are Tempranillo’s smoky, more earthy aromatics with dusky red and purple notes, dried herb and bitter chocolate nuances.  Less overtly driven by fruit and more by its secondary and tertiary flavors, it’s an incredible expression of Rioja that will reward further aging as well as drinking now with roasted lamb or beef or maybe just contemplation alongside some aged cheese and dried fruit. Lopez de Heredia continues to follow the ancient tradition of making its own barrels, exclusively from American oak, and it shows in the beautiful marriage between wood and wine here. 

Wine Advocate: The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, with polished tannins and a long, dry finish. It has a textbook Tondonia nose and profile. 95 points