R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva 2008
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Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesTaking on a balsamic and high-toned wood character to the ripe fruit on the nose. Some dried cheese and ripe fruit, too. Medium-bodied with integrated tannins that are polished and fine. Goes on for minutes. A beautiful, traditional wine, as always. Drink or hold.
Deep garnet. Intense, mineral-tinged red and blue fruit and floral scents are complemented by suggestions of baking spices, vanilla and wood smoke. Supple, seamless and concentrated, yet lithe as well, offering intense raspberry, cherry-vanilla and rose pastille flavors underscored by vibrant mineral and blood orange nuances. Shows fine definition and sappiness and finishes sweet, focused and extremely long, with finely etched tannin's adding framework and final grip.
The profile of the 2008 Viña Bosconia Reserva is a lot less ripe than the 2009, and there are some herbal undertones; it's more reserved and austere, still undeveloped after five years in barrel and at least that much time in bottle. It's a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo that matured in used American oak barrels for five years. It reveals a medium body and some dusty tannins. It's quite the opposite from the 2009, and I think a hypothetical blend of the two would be better than each. It's a cold and austere vintage of Bosconia.
It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Our founder, Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps.
Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine that would eventually become world famous. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three houses in the Rioja region.
For over a century our emotions have been rooted in our love and passion for this land and its harvest. We cherish our heritage, and this combination of love and the rigorous quality standards we apply, have become our trademark and remains our maxim for today and the future.
Bodegas López de Heredia stands out as one of the few family-run bodegas regulated by the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja - DOC (Appellation region).
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.