2009 López de Heredia "Viña Tondonia" Rioja Reserva, Rioja, Spain

ABOUT THIS WINELópez de Heredia, one of the world’s most traditional and venerated producers, has long mastered the discipline of winemaking and the tedium of incredibly long aging. Each soulful bottling of Tondonia is a timeless expression of Rioja classicism; the ultimate gold nugget. This is a big and deep wine, but still exquisite. Serve at 65 degrees F in either Burgundy or Bordeaux stemware. Let decant for a minimum of 1 hour. This wine will pair beautifully with a roast lamb with anchovy, garlic, and rosemary. The Regulatory Council has awarded the 2009 Rioja vintage the official rating of “Very Good” as the conclusion of the rigorous qualification process through analysis and tasting of over 4,211 representative samples of the 297.76 million litres of wine produced from this vintage. This is the fourth consecutive vintage to receive the rating of “Very Good”, despite the fact that in recent years the conditions established for the overall rating of the vintage have been raised,