Beneath the town of Haro in Rioja lies the sprawling cellar of Bodegas R. López de Heredia. This dim underworld, with its mould, cobwebs, and special room known as ‘The Graveyard’, where the oldest and rarest bottles are kept, is a fitting home for Rioja’s most traditional producer.
Not much has changed here since 1877, when Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta set up his bodega to supply wines to the phylloxera-hit French market. The estate is still run by his great granddaughter María José, and the wines are still aged in big, used oak barrels for years before release. Outside, trends have come and gone, and López de Heredia, which never succumbed to modernisation, is rightfully fashionable once again. Indeed, we can think of no other producer who releases wines that are already mature, but which so consistently improve for years longer. Visiting María José again last month, we were mesmerised by white reservas from 1970 and 1971 that had many layers of flavour and gorgeous rich textures, but were still mouthwatering and fresh. And a sublime 1978 rosado (rosé) that paired beautifully with a local sweetbread speciality.
Tondonia is López de Heredia’s most famous cuvée/vineyard, making the most Bordeaux-like red, and a uniquely complex, rich white. The smaller and later-harvested Bosconia has a more Burgundian profile. Most bottles are Reserva level, but occasionally Gran Reservas are also released. In stock now we have a few bottles of four of the rarer later bottlings. These wines are hardly ever available to purchase, have significant extra bottle age, and are among Spain’s greatest traditional wines.
