2011 Viña Tondonia Blanco, Reserva, Bodegas R. López de Heredia, Rioja, Spain

The 2011 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva reflects a warm and ripe year, and the wine is more evolved and already hints at some caramel and honey. It has a mellow palate without the vibrancy of the 2010 I tasted next to it. This wine matured in used, ancient American oak barrels for six years. 19,000 bottles were filled in November 2019.I tasted up to three vintages of the same wine, as it has been some time since I tasted them, and I also sampled the forthcoming vintages to be released in early 2023. The next vintage of Gran Reserva will be 2004, when they produced all three wines (the rosé was not produced, of course, it was a year in the hiatus between 2000 and 2008). 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011 and perhaps 2013 (for a sentimental reason, when their father died) will also be Gran Reserva vintages. What I tasted made sense with the character of each vintage—brilliant 2010s; a warm and more evolved 2011; a very good 2012; an atypical and challenging 2013; a cool and balanced 2014; and a warmer and riper 2015. As a bonus track, I tasted (and swallowed) the 2004 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva, and I can tell you I cannot wait for the wine to be released in 2024...Drink 2022 - 2028Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (July 2022)