Spain

López de Heredia is a true family business, with present custodians María José, her sister Mercedes and brother Julio the fourth generation to produce the elegant, long-lived Riojas that have remained steadfast through war, fashion and new technologies.During the 1980s and 1990s, when the majority of bodegas embraced modernisation (and its ensuing homogeneity), López de Heredia stuck to the old-school methods laid down by María José's great-grandfather, Rafael. He established the winery in 1877, when Spanish wine boomed as it supplied a French market whose own vineyards had been ravaged by phylloxera. Rafael took inspiration from the influential Bordeaux châteaux and purchased sites around Haro based on their suitability for emulating the regions that his new Gallic clientele base admired. Tondonia remains one of Rioja's greatest estates.Made from a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazeulo and Graciano, the estate's flagship reds are Viña Tondonia – produced in a soft, elegant Médoc style – and Viña Bosconia, a powerful wine with added depth and ripeness. Vina Cubillo is the estate's excellent value 'tapas red'.In recent years, consumers have woken up to the outstanding quality-to-price ratio of López de Heredia's Rosado, which is released to the market an unprecedented ten years after vintage, as well as the unique and delicious Tondonia Blanco – a blend of Viura and Malvasia with perfectly judged oxidative notes and a supple texture.

López de Heredia

Wines

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