My friend IA had brought a fair amount of aged Rioja from his travels in Spain and organised a lovely tasting of these gems. I've always been a bit of a Lopez de Heredia fan; but also other old-style Rioja with plenty of age can be delightful.
Suertes del Marqués Trenzado 2013 - Valle de la Orotava, Canary Islands, Listán Blanco (aka Palomino)
This was served as a blind starter. It was lovely. It looked and smelled quite mature: orange colour and a vulcanic aroma, oxidative and reminded me very much of aged LdH whites. Rich and waxy palate but with highish acidity and incredible intensity. I thought this was very tasty.
López de Heredia Viña Tondonia 1982
This had no mention of it being a Reserva or Gran Reserva so does that mean it's a Crianza? It was a lovely, gentle aged wine. Ripe red fruit, a bit of a Musary stink to it (lovely!). Gentle, aged palate with soft fruit and some sunny sweetness. I think this is a perfect time to drink this. But I do like my Riojas on the mature side.
López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 1991
Very young. It smells of blueberries for most of the evening and only begins to gain leathery and earthy complexity once it had been open for hours. Refreshing palate with good acidity and still youthful fruit and a very persistent finish. It isn't criminally young so opening a bottle will give immense pleasure even now. But if I had any, I'd let them rest a decade.
López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 1981
And that decade guesstimate for the previous wine was based on how perfect this one is at the moment. A beautiful, red toned aroma, all sorts of lovely slightly funky, vaguely Musary sensations. But it also has a kind of leafy aroma that made me think of a well-aged Chinon of all things. Vivacious and lively, refreshing yet with beautiful fruit, also. Really quite perfect. Drinking beautifully but probably no hurry with it.
López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva 1981
Yet this was perhaps even more perfect. It has the same lifted/funky aromas and even that same forest floor/leafy character that brought Chinon to my mind in the previous wine, yet it has unmistakeably seen plenty of southern sun. This does seem to have a sweeter edge to the fruit going from a slightly tart fruit to something sweeter like strawberry. Yet the palate has greater intensity, perhaps slightly higher acidity, even greater freshness and liveliness. Great stuff.
Bodegas Alavesas Solar de Samaniego Gran Reserva 1982
Dark, plummy fruit, very sweet and ripe and sunny. Nicely resolved palate, but very fruity and seems like a hot year style in having quite low acidity. This is also a nice wine but was outclassed by the company.
Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1991
A nicely old school style of Rioja with plenty of savoury, leathery elegance - but quite dark toned fruit when compared to LdH. Young, highish acidity, mouthwatering and moreish. Very satisfying but once again, I feel it is a bit young and could improve further with age.
Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1970
Corked.
Despite this corked annoyance at the end, this was a lovely tasting.
