Lopez de Heredia Rioja Bosconia

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Lopez de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Bosconia 2009- Organic

Lopez de Heredia – one of the most venerable producers in Spain– produces traditional, age-worthy Rioja.

Their wines are legendary and still made the way they were when the winery was founded over 130 years ago. Following a tradition that has been passed down through generations, their wines are released at least five to ten years after harvest, which provides added complexity and elegance to their Crianzas and Gran Reservas.  

A rarity in Rioja, Lopez de Heredia uses only estate bottled fruit from their prized vineyards- Tondonia, Cubillo, Bosconia, and Zaconia- with the idea that the only way to get the best fruit is to care for the vines themselves.

The winery itself is a remarkable structure. When D. Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta began building the bodega in the late 1800’s, little did he realize that his masterpiece would one day be acknowledged as an example to the rest of the industry of the most perfect combination of buildings and vineyards. Like many medieval masterpieces, it is still incomplete. The buildings stand below and above ground, and are a veritable “cathedral to wine”.  Moving through the vaulted underground corridors and staircases, you find yourself traveling back in time, and the founder’s touch can still be sensed in the very stones and fabric of the building

Winemaker:  “For us, tradition and conviction are life-long attitudes. Our winemaking process has been passed on from generation to generation, and our daily tasks are rooted in tradition, yet at the same time based on our deep belief in the validity and modernity of our methods.  By “tradition”, we do not mean immobility and opposition to change; rather a dynamic and aesthetic concept in maintaining eternal principles and criteria. We are perfectly aware of the rhythm of change, and for this reason, our openness to change, our flexibility, our non-conformism, and our self-criticism enable us to face the future. What we have inherited from our ancestors is what converts our idiosyncrasies into positive qualities and attitudes.”

Viña Bosconia wines are sourced from a vineyard called El Bosque. Situated next to the river Ebro at an altitude of 1500 feet, it is half a mile away from the winery.

Vines are planted on the south-facing foothills of the Sierra Cantabria range, providing them with the perfect conditions for ripening. The soil is a mixture of clay and limestone, and the average age of the vines is 40 years.  El Bosque consists of 40 acres, 30 of which are Tempranillo, 5 are red Garnacho, two and a half each of Mazuelo and Graciano.  

The Viña Bosconia Reserva is made every year in quantities varying from 20,000 to 48,000 bottles. In general, Viña Bosconia wines are elegant but full-bodied; have a deep color and good structure, and are wines with great complexity and expression.  

Grapes: 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, 5% each Graciano, and Mazuelo.   Aging: five years in American oak barrels and at least four years in bottle.

Racked twice per year and no added yeast. 

96 points James Suckling: Very ripe still, with crushed berry and light jam. Vanilla undertones to the fruit. Turns to flowers, both fresh and dried. Complex cedar, tobacco and walnut. It’s full-bodied with round, soft tannins and a flavorful finish. Richer than past vintages, but turns linear and refined at the finish.

 
92 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:  2009 Viña Bosconia Reserva shows the ripeness of the very warm and dry year. It’s structured and concentrated, quite different from the finesse of the Tondonia. Bosconia has always been more rustic and powerful and Tondonia all about finesse and nuance. There are dark plums and baking spices, a touch of singed leather, the fruit very strong to counterbalance the aging in barrel. This is a powerful Bosconia. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2016.

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