1998 Viña Bosconia Reserva

López de Heredia is one of the historic bodegas in Rioja, with a rich lineage dating back well over a century. The estate produces age-worthy, traditional Riojas of the highest level. These are among my favorite Riojas, and I have been fortunate to drink more than my fair share of the wines over the years. A few months ago I had the opportunity to taste an extensive collection of older vintages with importer Doug Polaner and proprietor Maria Jose López de Heredia when López was in New York to present the estate's new releases. Actually the term “new releases” is a bit of an oxymoron when it comes to the wines of this bodega, as included in the group was the 1981 Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva! Needless to say it was a great privilege to taste pristine examples of these wines, which were brought over from the estate's cellar for this tasting. In today's frantic world I can only applaud an estate that goes to the time and expense of cellaring wines, waiting to release them only when they are ready to drink. “It is impossible to talk broadly about vintage characteristics in Rioja because the region is vast and encompasses so many different microclimates that generalized statements are of little value,” says López. “In addition, in Rioja we have a tradition of blending wines from different vintages, so in the end what really matters most is the quality and style of the producer. The exception to blending is our Gran Reservas which consist of 100% wine from the declared vintage. Naturally what makes these Riojas great, and therefore deserving of the Gran Reserva designation, is that they don't need any adjustment with the wines of other vintages.” The estate produces two whites, Viña Gravonia which is 100% Viura, and Viña Tondonia, which is predominantly Viura with 15% Malvasía. The Gravonia sees two years of oak aging followed by extended bottle aging, while the Tondonia sees four years in barrel and is also aged in bottle for several years prior to being released. In exceptional vintages a Gran Reserva, which spends six years in barrel, is bottled. The whites see anywhere between 12-24 hours of skin contact during fermentation which gives them much of the structure of red wines. They will show their best if they are given some air in a decanter and served in large glasses at cellar temperature rather than chilled. Simply put, these are among the world's most unique white wines.
López de Heredia is perhaps most famous for its great reds, in particular the Gran Reservas Viña Tondonia and Viña Bosconia it releases in top vintages. Both wines are made from field blends of predominantly Tempranillo with smaller percentages of Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Garnacha gives the wines more fruit and higher alcohol while the Mazuelo and Graciano provide the acidity that allows the wines to age for decades. The varietals are fermented together and vinified in the classic, traditional style, with long fermentations. The Gran Reservas will spend anywhere from eight to nine years in American oak after which they are aged in bottle for a further eight to nine years at the estate's cellars prior to being released. Although the estate periodically re-releases wines from its extensive library the bottles are not re-conditioned in any way and represent a unique opportunity to taster older wines of unparalleled provenance. With proper cellaring both the white and reds are capable of aging gracefully for decades, so attempting to assign drinking windows seems somewhat superfluous. “Both the Tondonia and Bosconia vineyards have similar soils, but it is the altitudes and exposures that are different,” adds López. “In reality Tondonia is a large plot so it has many different exposures, but in general the wines from Tondonia are riper owing to the lower altitude of the vines and the higher percentage of Garnacha. The Viña Bosconia is made from vines planted at a higher altitude and contains a larger percentage of Tempranillo. These two elements combine to produce wines that are more structured, with livelier color, higher acidity and greater aging potential. Because the fruit ripens later at Bosconia the harvest there typically takes place a week or two later than in Tondonia.”