Lopez de Heredia - Vina Tondonia: Vina Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva 2008

Parker über: Vina Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva

-- Parker: The only Gran Reserva rosé of the Rioja appellation (they were waiting for the appellation's back labels, as they have to print them especially for López de Heredia) makes a glorious comeback with the 2008 Viña Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva, which follows the previous 2000. This has a completely different profile from the rest of the rosé wines produced in Rioja—and the whole world (I think, as I have not tasted them all!). It really is a 'clarete,' not a rosé, as it's produced with a mixture of red and white grapes (60% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and 10% Viura) fermented and macerated together. It's a matured and developed rosé aged in used American oak barrels for four years and kept in vat and bottle to be released at age ten. There are always spicy and musky notes of cinnamon and dried flowers with a nutty twist, which the winery likes to describe as 'halfway between a white and a red.' It has an orange, onion-skin color with an unusual, characterful nose, a thousand miles removed from any rosé in the world, with notes of cinnamon, almonds and dried rose petals, but it feels still very young and it can develop more aromas in the bottle. The palate has sharp acidity and pungent flavors, which make the wine very long and persistent. This is not a wine for everybody; it can be one of those hate-it or love-it wines, an acquired taste. 94/100