Lamb Chops/Chanterelle Risotto & 91 LdH Viña Tondonia GR.

Having enjoyed Marc Aubry's dish of Lamb Chops with Fresh Chanterelles Risotto & Pesto so much during a lunch meeting with Aaron 4 days ago, I was back in Je Suis Gourmand last night, the 17th July 2010 - this time with Catha and our 2 older boys. We started off with a couple of our old favorite appetizers (unfortunately, the Roasted Bone Marrow was unavailable)...


Escargots à la Bourguignonne, and...


Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Egg, as well as something from the on-going Fresh Chanterelles Promotion:


Fresh Chanterelles with Foie Gras & Puff Pastry

All the appetizers were delicious. It was difficult not to gorge on them, but I had only a couple of bites of each since I had to save my appetite for the main course. No worries about wasting anything, though, my 2 sons made short work of everything.

For our main courses, we all went for the Lamb Chops with Fresh Chanterelles Risotto & Pesto. The lamb component of the dish on the menu is actually lamb tenderloin, but I prefer chops. Apparently, so do Catha and the boys as they ordered the same thing as I.



As may be seen from the above photos, to go with the main course, I opened a bottle of 1991 Bodegas R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva* - This particular bottle was one of a few Miguel got for me last time he was in Barcelona, purchased from one of the retail shops there (I don't recall exactly which, but I think it was at the Corte Ingles near his house). I've written about this wine twice before, i.e., during a lunch at Echaurren and at a dinner in La Tienda.

At 19 years from vintage, this wine needs aeration to open up. I opened it, poured off a couple of glasses to air and let the rest sit in the bottle for around 35-45 minutes. Its bouquet is of balsamico, cedar, red spiciness, dark red berries and cherries over somber blackcurrant, hints of leather and violets. Notably light-footed, it mirrors its bouquet on the palate, gliding rather than sitting.

Though medium in frame and heft (12% abv), it has notable drive and persistence. Acidity is quite firm, making it truly food-friendly. Deep, complex and elegant, this is about tertiary traits. It is no "wine for the bar" to coin a phrase from Jancis Robinson - rather, it is a wine meant for eating with and pondering over. I, personally, like it with lamb chops, chuleton de vaca and chuletillas de corderito. This is an Old World connoisseur's wine. I would not recommend it to those who look for or like only over-ripe, high-alcohol, sweetly/openly fruit-forward, low acid, heavily vanilla-oaky New World/modern reds.



Marc then joined us at the table for a glass of wine and a chat...



...leading into dessert.



Our eldest and I had identical orders of the above-depicted Coffee Ice Cream with Coffee Beans and Sauce, Catha had the Pears Poached in Red Wine and our second had Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Coffees and Armagnacs courtesy of Marc capped off a nice, relaxed evening. I'm happy to be back in Je Suis Gourmand. It always feels like home.

*Briefly, Bodegas R. López de Heredia ("LdH") is one of the 3 oldest wineries in Rioja and is the oldest (built in 1877) one in Haro, the town in Rioja Alta which is recognized as the capital of the well-known wine-producing Rioja region. The winery is known as the most traditional producer of La Rioja, adhering to the old, austere, elegant and food-friendly style.

According to María Jose López de Heredia (who now runs the winery with her siblings Mercedes and Julio Cèsar), in reference to their adherence to the traditional style: "We will die with our boots on." I, personally, do not think there is any great danger in the winery's demise any time soon - though they refuse to change their style to suit certain critics' tastes, I am aware that Josh Raynolds of Tanzer's International Wine Cellar recently (July/August 2009) gave this wine a score of 94 (for whatever that is worth).

LdH's Viña Tondonia comes from a single, large vineyard of the same name and the gran reserva is produced only in the better vintages. For the 1991 vintage, only 1250 cases were made; it spent 9 years in barrel and many more ageing in bottle before release. LdH is known for releasing its gran reservas many years after bottling; for example, its 1994 Tondonia Gran Reserva was released only around March 2010 - virtually 16 years from harvest.

I cannot get any satisfaction from Spanish wine that isn´t from LdH. I really shouldn´t put myself through all of that disappointment.

Thank you for the note.

Cheers,
Bill

I do like the LdH Viña Tondonia GRs, Bill, very much so. They are excellent wines. I'd not really bother with the '81 though. The '85 is pretty good. The '94 (though still only available at the Corte Inglés' wine shops in Spain) I think will be absolutely fantastic when it matures (as they are now, with a bit of decanting for aeration, they are already stunning). If/when you have the opportunity to buy some of the '94 VT GRs, I'd say back up the truck.

If you can get your hands on some, you may want to try out some older vintages of CVNE Imperial GR as well (particularly the '82; the '95 is also pretty good though still young, I wasn't too happy with the '88). Have you tried the '95 La Rioja Alta GR 890? That's excellent stuff (though, admittedly, it could still use some more bottle age). It's a whole different ball game from LdH VT GRs though.

Best,

N

Thanks for the TNs, Noel. I’m a fan of the LdH GR wines – good traditional Rioja that are well priced.

Good to see a TN on the latest Tondonia GR release. Although, I seem to have never come across an ’88 version of this wine. They have the ’87 which I think really could use more cellar-aging time.
Btw, I’ve always had the slight preference for the Bosconia GRs since I’ve known these wines. Is there a ’94 version?

Good to see a TN on the latest Tondonia GR release. Although, I seem to have never come across an ’88 version of this wine. They have the ’87 which I think really could use more cellar-aging time.

Hi, Mon.

The latest release of Tondonia GR is the 1994, not the 1991, the former was released around March this year but is currently only available in Corte Inglés shops in Spain and nowhere else. None exported yet. Their website is not yet updated showing their 1994's release.

I wrote notes on the 1994 Tondonia twice already: here and here.

Oops, sorry, no '88 LdH Tondonia GR, my mistake/typo! I meant the '88 CVNE Imperial GR - it's not bad, but one can certainly get better vintages. I should have mentioned "'88" as an exclusion in my 2nd paragraph mentioning CVNE. Will edit accordingly. Thanks for pointing it out.

Btw, I’ve always had the slight preference for the Bosconia GRs since I’ve known these wines. Is there a ’94 version?

I prefer the masculine Tondonias myself. I've not had nor seen any '94 Bosconia GR yet, but I'd be very surprised if they didn't make some in '94. I'll ask them and let you know. If ever already released, they'll most likely/currently be available only in Corte Ingles (like the '94 Tondonia GR) for the time being though.

Best,

N

Though medium in frame and heft (12% abv), it has notable drive and persistence. Acidity is quite firm, making it truly food-friendly. Deep, complex and elegant, this is about tertiary traits. It is no "wine for the bar" to coin a phrase from Jancis Robinson - rather, it is a wine meant for eating with and pondering over. I, personally, like it with lamb chops, chuleton de vaca and chuletillas de corderito. This is an Old World connoisseur's wine. I would not recommend it to those who look for or like only over-ripe, high-alcohol, sweetly/openly fruit-forward, low acid, heavily vanilla-oaky New World/modern reds.


Noel, right on. None of those heavily oaked bombs in my cellar either!

The latest release of Tondonia GR is the 1994, not the 1991, the former was released around March this year but is currently only available in Corte Inglés shops in Spain and nowhere else. None exported yet. Their website is not yet updated showing their 1994's release.

Hi Noel,

I guess I’ll just have to wait until it is made available in my neck of the woods. Even if I do find myself by an El Corte Ingles store (a very remote possibility for the rest of this year), I’m not that enthused on buying from them because I find their mark-ups to be quite high and have found some previous buys that I made that are priced the same or even slightly lower here in the US. If I do find myself by an El Corte Ingles store, at least I’ll refrain from buying those that I know, historically, have been made available here in the US. I’ll admit that their large flagship-type stores do have good selections of Spanish wines – expensive, but good.

Thanks for the information. And as always, it’s good to see your notes on the guys drinking and eating well.

Cheers.

Thanks for the TNs, Noel. I’m a fan of the LdH GR wines – good traditional Rioja that are well priced.

Good to see a TN on the latest Tondonia GR release. Although, I seem to have never come across an ’88 version of this wine. They have the ’87 which I think really could use more cellar-aging time.
Btw, I’ve always had the slight preference for the Bosconia GRs since I’ve known these wines. Is there a ’94 version?

I use to buy their older vintages until recently when they went and upped the price on all older vintages, in some cases by a significant percentage. I did not take that against them though as I think that if this action protects their wine library a little then that means in the future I can still be a customer of their older wines, abet at a slower pace.

I use to buy their older vintages until recently when they went and upped the price on all older vintages, in some cases by a significant percentage. I did not take that against them though as I think that if this action protects their wine library a little then that means in the future I can still be a customer of their older wines, abet at a slower pace.

Good point. I did notice that prices of older vintages have gone up and there appears to be a graduated pricing based on age. i just glanced at winesearcher and can see that 1960s vintages of both Tondonia GRs and Bosconia GRs have crept closer to and north of $300; 1970's are just short of $200s; and 1980s are still available for under $100. I have a few 80's and 90's stashed away, and will only buy the much older stuff on a "need-to" basis, which in my case would most likely be as contribution to offlines that present opportunities to drink other older vintages.