Spanish Collector

wines

The 2004 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva didn’t stop growing and changing in the glass for the good three hours that lasted the tasting of the portfolio. I had tasted this wine on my previous visit (they don’t usually open future Gran Reserva vintages), and I was very impressed. This was aromatic (but took some time in the glass to open up), floral, perfumed, elegant and nuanced. The year was excellent, textbook, and the grapes from Viña Tondonia were picked from the 11th of October, the dates from yesteryear. I had the exceptional 2001 Parreno two weeks before I tasted this wine, and I found many similarities between both wines. It has complex notes of forest floor, truffle, wild herbs, spices and mushrooms and a touch of iodine. This is velvety, with super elegant tannins and a supple finish. It has clout and persistence, but there’s also something ethereal about it. It’s full of energy, light and power. This should be almost eternal. Bravo! 24,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2018.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPSuch a beautifully aged gran reserva that shows the more traditional side of Rioja. Dried blood orange peel, white pepper, dried thyme, iron, berries, minerals, black sesame seeds and old books. So bright and firm, with a full body and an extremely bright, lengthy finish. If I bought a bottle I’d still want to keep it for another few years. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSA Rioja time capsule: that is the feeling you’ll have when tasting the wines of López de Heredia, particularly the 2004 Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia. The 2004 is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, cultivated on the meander of the Ebro River in Rioja Alta. Aged for ten years in barrel and an additional ten years in bottle, this bricked wine showcases dried black fruit, licorice, hazelnut and cedar nuances, along with resin, cola and garrigue. Dry and chalky, the silky and faintly juicy flow culminates with a long-lasting finish infused with thyme notes. This beautifully aged wine reflects old-school craftsmanship—it’s the essence of time and terroir.Vinous Media | 97 VM

So much dried flower, mushroom, iron, rust, sweet berry, and grilled orange. Full-bodied with very elegant and refined tannins that melt in the mouth and give a real sense of place and integrity. Balanced and harmonious. The finesse and finish is endless. Production was 30% less than in 2011. Already so drinkable. A wonderful future. This is the new 1934 or 1964, two legends. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 100 JS

Torre Muga is the top wine among the current releases from this Haro-based bodega, right up there with the best bottlings of this avowedly modern blend of Tempranillo with 10% each of Mazuelo and Graciano. A Rioja with a French accent, as it were, it has coffee bean oak, violet and green herb aromas, granular tannins, blackberry and bramble fruit and the structure to age in bottle. 2026-42. Tim Atkin | 98 TALastly, the 2020 Torre Muga just about jumps out of the glass with its complex red and black fruits, savory flowers, tobacco, lead pencil shavings, and graphite-like aromatics. Plush, full-bodied, concentrated, and beautifully balanced, it shows the softer, more rounded style of the vintage and has ripe tannins and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDTorre is a bolder, more concentrated expression of Rioja from Muga. Meaty and tarry nose with smoked bacon. Lots of grilled herbs and some dark sweet spices. Powerful, broad and full-bodied on the palate with lots of vertical, dusty tannins that lead you towards the long, juicy finish. Tempranillo, mazuelo and graciano. Better from 2025.James Suckling | 96 JSThe more modern wine in the portfolio is the 2020 Torre Muga, which has notes of toast, smoke, sesame seeds, smoky bacon, spices, herbs and ripe berries. It is a wine they started producing in 1991, and the change in style also influenced the quality approach and selection of vineyards, grapes and oak for the barrels that they later applied to other wines. It has a polished palate with very fine tannins, chalky and elegant. It’s a more approachable vintage, round, velvety and soft, though perhaps without the aging potential of 2021, but it’s very pleasant. It’s long. They didn’t bottle the 2020 from Aro, so some of those grapes might have finished in this bottle. It was bottled in December 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe garnet-hued 2020 Torre Muga is a blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano sourced from Rioja Alta, aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels. Its ripe aromas reveal balsamic and clove notes, featuring a delicate core of plums with hints of cedar and vanilla. On the palate, it is dry and plush, with a lingering juicy sensation and a fairly chalky texture. This is a complex Rioja wine that nods to a riper Bordeaux style.Vinous Media | 94 VMA bold but poised red, with fine, chalky tannins. Lively acidity lends definition and tension to the panoply of flavors, which partners savory game, espresso, cured tobacco and iron notes with ripe boysenberry, crème de cassis, cocoa powder and licorice accents. This should age nicely, but why wait? Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2034. 3,000 cases made, 600 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS