WTN: My first Lopez de Heredia

[Jenise]

1999 Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia, Rioja
So there I was at the supermarket the other day and glanced at the wall where that store's wine guy stacks the cases of his own picks (vs. the corporate stuff he's forced to carry) and almost fainted when I saw what the contents were of the open case of wine that I'd quite literally just tripped over: Lopez de Heredia. All were the the red Bosconia but for one bottle of the '96 white, which I also purchased. I do live in a very odd place, where wines like this are possible in supermarkets.

Anyway, we opened a Bosconia that night, couldn't wait: light taupe-red color, very clear. Sour cherries, earth and pepper in the nose, with cherries, prune plums, pepper, a little mineral earth and weak coffee on the palate. Blind, I'm fairly sure I'd have never guessed what I was drinking, as I found it more like a not-so-ripe nebbiolo than what I typically associate with Rioja. Assertive acidity throughout. A wine that rewards if you work at it--but you go to it, it doesn't come to you. Needs a wide, burgundy style bowl to release the aromas and offset the acidity. I quite liked it, but I have nothing to compare it with and I'm thinking that '99 wasn't a great vintage, and this one needs more time anyway. Anyone else with recent experience with this vintage?

[David M. Bueker]

I have not had the '99, but your comment about you going to the wine (and it not coming to you) is very true for LdH.

Jenise, thanks for the note on the '99 LdH Reserva Bosconia. I had the pleasure to drink both of the wines you bought within a few months of each other about a year back. The '99 Bosconia was quite nice, but you have to now take the next step and dive into the Gran Reservas! That is where you will find the true magic, in my opinion. As Andy Dufresne wrote to Red Redding: "And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further..." Take a look at Bill B.'s write up on our Riojapalooza featuring older bottles of LdH to see how an unsuspecting journeyman like myself can get sucked right in...

Anyway, for comparison sake, here are my notes on the two you mentioned.

1999 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Reserva Vina Bosconia. OK, so one of my minor resolutions coming into this year was to try the wines of Lopez de Heredia. So far, I’ve sampled the ’96 Reserva Bosconia, the ’81 Gran Reserva Bosconia and the ’96 Gravonia white. I would have to rank this ’99 Reserva Bosconia a head or two behind those others, even though I like it quite a lot. The first thing I like is the gentle, pretty and welcoming bouquet that sports soft raspberry fruit, caramel and powdered milk chocolate. In the mouth, there is solid presence and the texture is well-knit. Even though it is not a big fruity wine—in keeping with the house style from what I can tell—it is certainly more fruit-centric than the other vintages cited above. There are some moderately drying tannins and a little acid kick on the finish. Another winner here, so I’ll now I’ll have to move on and take a look for the ’98 Reserva Tondonia to try next.

1996 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Blanco Vina Gravonia. The color here is a deep golden-yellow. The nose sports notes of beeswax, lemon peel, brown spices, a mineral edginess and something very much like mild botrytis underpinning it all. It is dry and medium-bodied in the mouth, with some honey and lemon zest flavors and a persistent minerality on the finish. It evolved slowly over the course of the day and the next two days in the refrigerator—a really interesting wine.

-Michael

"Sour cherries, earth and pepper in the nose, with cherries, prune plums, pepper, a little mineral earth and weak coffee on the palate"

Yum! I've only had the Tondonia, and missed the opportunity to buy some 82 Gran Riserva Bosconia.

I was able to try the whole line of Bosconia and Tondonia, red and white, at Vinexpo. Unfortunately we had the regular ISO glasses rather than burgundy-style bowls and we could only spare about 10 minutes to taste everything. If I have the opportunity to try these again I'll try with proper glasses and try to spend a bit more time with them. FWIW, they didn't seem to be my type but I'm willing to learn...

My introduction to Lopez de Heredia was actually one of the whites, the '95 Gravonia, and I can tell you I was entirely unprepared for that. I've never tasted a white wine like it, before or since. Totally fascinating wine. My thought was that it was the taste of autumn in a glass. I'll be carrying it in my place for sure!

Thanks for notes, Jenise. Other than maybe the Cubillo, I think all of the LdH wines need lots of time. I have no worries re holding the '97 rose longer. Amzing distinctive wines.

LdH has provided me with many fine bottles. My tastes run to the Gran Reservas (especially the whites) but the whole range of the less-aged wines are almost the perfect food wines for me. That 'sour' quality and the earthy/peppery notes just counterpoint food perfectly.
These are quintessential food wines (albeit sometimes with a little extra body - I recall a half-bottle of Bosconia which contained a perfectly preserved fly that had somehow made it through the bottling line!).

Jenise,

I sampled a slew of LdH wines at the winery in Rioja about 4 months ago. The aged LdH whites can be good aperitif; but just like Alan stated in his post, these are excellent food wines. Since you’ve “found it more like a not-so-ripe nebbiolo than what I typically associate with Rioja”, this was probably similar to how I like LdH wines for their traditional taste and structure; as differentiated from much more modern/international styles by other Rioja producers.

Most recently, I had the 1997 Tondonia Rosado and which was more rust or copper colored than any roses that I’ve had, but the complexity in taste and smell made this $19 bottle an instant favorite among the wine drinkers during a dinner.

Ramon