Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Viña Tondonia Reserva is a completely different story. It is a worthy follower of the 2001, the greatest of the Viña Tondonia Reservas of recent times. It has the usual blend and usual levels of alcohol and acidity, bottled after six years in oak barrels. The nose feels savory (if that's possible–umami?) and developed, with tertiary aromas and good balance between spices, leathery notes, cherries and balsamic notes of cigar box and incense. The palate is both round and crisp, with refined tannins. It has very good balance with subtle acidity and very good persistence.
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Vinous
Deep red. Exotic, oak-spiced red berry liqueur, dried cherry and vanilla aromas are complemented by a smoky overtone. Sweet and pliant in the mouth, displaying a velvety texture to the plush black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and coconut flavors. Shows no rough edges and picks up a suave floral note with air, finishing with excellent clarity, a hint of allspice and round, harmonious tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
Slightly damp, earthy and cool aromas introduce this traditional Rioja. In the mouth, pinchy tannins and tomatoey acidity pave the way for flavors of raisin, peppery spice and leafy herbs. A long steady finish is full of life.
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Wine & Spirits
A dark and smoky vintage of Tondonia, this combines dense fruit and beefy tannins with elegant, refreshing acidity. Its gentleness and grace bring food to mind, whether aged Manchego or something meaty and spicy, like braised duck.
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Wine Spectator
Savory flavors of tea, mushroom and leather frame dried cherry and orange peel notes in this traditional-style red. Features a smooth, polished texture, with light tannins and bright acidity. Harmonious and graceful.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.