Winemaker Notes
An excellent pair with all kinds of meats.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1981 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva has a vibrant nose reminiscent of coeval Burgundy, with scents of citrus peel, orange rind, singed leather and a Tuscan delicatessen. The palate has a penetrating orange peel and tart cherry entry with potent earthy notes at its core. It is supremely well-balanced with an energetic finish underpinned by crisp dry tannins. This wonderful Rioja is drinking perfectly now and will age effortlessly.
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Vinous
Light red. Strawberry, dried cherry, vanilla, rose oil and cigar box on the highly perfumed nose. Silky red fruit, spicecake and floral pastille flavors are braced by juicy acidity, which adds lift and clarity. The vanilla and floral notes return on a very long, smooth, smoke-tinged finish that features just a hint of fine-grained tannins. This wine was previously reviewed in September 1998 and in November 1999.
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.