1

Winery

R. López de Heredia

Home to the fabled single vineyard Riojas Viña Tondonia and Viña Bosconia.

It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards.  Our founder, Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of winemaking, followed closely in their footsteps.

Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine that would eventually become world famous. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three bodegas in the Rioja region.

For over a century our emotions have been rooted in our love and passion for this land and its harvest. We cherish our heritage, and this combination of love and the rigorous quality standards we apply, have become our trademarks and remain our maxim for today and the future.

Bodegas López de Heredia stands out as one of the few family-run bodegas regulated by the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja – DOC (Appellation region).

Tradition and conviction

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.

Our current and future promises can be summarised by two ideas that have always epitomised López de Heredia:

Professionalism, as artisan winemakers, offering the consumer a distinctive product of supreme quality.

Ethic, promoting the well being of all those who work within our bodega by contributing to the happiness of our friends and customers and giving to society the best of our hopes and dreams.

 

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva HALF 2012
The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, w
$80
$76ea in any 3+
$72ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva 2012
Well, well, well. The 2012 Viña Bosconia follows its red note pedigree with vibrant, elegant red fruits shining through. Despite its age and considerable time in barrel, it looks remarkably youthful. Beautifully weighted, light on its feet, the sweet fruit is matched by a savoury layer, a little spice and tobacco. A little tertiary earthy line along with a sappy character that recedes as it opens in the glass add complexity. The tannins are will composed with just enough playful grip for textur
$98
$93ea in any 3+
$88ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012
Vibrant and energetic with an excellent core of long red fruit. Wrapped with an array of mocha and rancio characters, a little leather, tabacco, savoury notes, and a saline line of blood. A little baking spice and orange citrus oil.  Loads going on. Oak layered in beautifully. Fine line of beautifully integrated refreshing acid. A delicious Tondonia. Such intrigue. Much fun to be had!Paul Kaan, Wine Decoded Oct 2024The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25%
$140
$135ea in any 3+
$130ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 1995
Tasting the 1994 in May 2023 I was lost in the glass with the delicacy, perfume, vibrant red fruit, perfectly poised acid tannin complex. The sophistication, elegance and intoxicating perfume of the wine, simply astonishing. All from a wine held in barrel for 8 years and further 10 in bottle before release!The only current red Gran Reserva is the 1995 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva, the one that is produced exactly the same as before, including fining with egg whites and sealing with red wa
$1,090
Add to cart
More Info

Filters & Sorting

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva HALF 2012
The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25% less rain than the average (at the time), resulting in lower yields of very healthy grapes that delivered wines with nice balance between alcohol and polyphenols, making it very apt for the aging in barrel. It had a slightly longer élevage in barrel, six years. The wine is aromatic with a developed profile, spicy and tertiary (forest floor, a touch of brick dust and iodine), complex and nuanced. The palate is full and round, w
$80
$76ea in any 3+
$72ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva 2012
Well, well, well. The 2012 Viña Bosconia follows its red note pedigree with vibrant, elegant red fruits shining through. Despite its age and considerable time in barrel, it looks remarkably youthful. Beautifully weighted, light on its feet, the sweet fruit is matched by a savoury layer, a little spice and tobacco. A little tertiary earthy line along with a sappy character that recedes as it opens in the glass add complexity. The tannins are will composed with just enough playful grip for textur
$98
$93ea in any 3+
$88ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Gravonia Crianza Blanco 2015
Made from Macabeo & Viura.2015 was considered a very good vintage, because it was warm, dry and healthy, and the 2015 Viña Gravonia Blanco has a little more alcohol at 13%—only half a degree makes a big difference, and the wine is not as lively as other cooler vintages. For María José López de Heredia, the wine is too alcoholic; the vintage had perfect ripeness and the grapes were super healthy, but the wine lacks the citrus freshness and the vibrancy Gravonia should have. It w
$102
$97ea in any 3+
$92ea in any 6+
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012
Vibrant and energetic with an excellent core of long red fruit. Wrapped with an array of mocha and rancio characters, a little leather, tabacco, savoury notes, and a saline line of blood. A little baking spice and orange citrus oil.  Loads going on. Oak layered in beautifully. Fine line of beautifully integrated refreshing acid. A delicious Tondonia. Such intrigue. Much fun to be had!Paul Kaan, Wine Decoded Oct 2024The 2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year, with 25%
$140
$135ea in any 3+
$130ea in any 6+
Add to cart
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva 2012
90% Viura is complemented by the 10% Malvasía and, according to María José López de Heredia, gives a mellower profile (honey and some more creaminess) and compensates for the bitter almond notes of Viura and the austerity, making the wine a little rounder.The next vintage of the white reserva will be released around February 2023 and will be the 2012 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva. It has marked notes of mushroom, which is what you get when you enter their cellars, in a warm and dry v
$154
$147ea in any 3+
$140ea in any 6+
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva 2013
90% Viura is complemented by the 10% Malvasía and, according to María José López de Heredia, gives a mellower profile (honey and some more creaminess) and compensates for the bitter almond notes of Viura and the austerity, making the wine a little rounder.We talked a lot about the challenging 2013, but they defended the wines. "There was a big crop, and it was not easy, but it was possible to make great wines." The 2013 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva has nutty aromas, perhaps showing
$154
$147ea in any 3+
$140ea in any 6+
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 2001
The 2001 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva is the follow-up of the 1995. There is a sense of harmony and elegance, of nuance and subtleness that wasn't quite the same in the Bosconia, as comparing both wines is inevitable. They started picking the red grapes the 15th of October, and the last grapes were picked the 29th of October with good weather. The grapes ripened properly and thoroughly, and the wine has great balance for a long aging in bottle. This is 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho and 5% each Gr
$420
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 2004
The 2004 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva didn't stop growing and changing in the glass for the good three hours that lasted the tasting of the portfolio. I had tasted this wine on my previous visit (they don't usually open future Gran Reserva vintages), and I was very impressed. This was aromatic (but took some time in the glass to open up), floral, perfumed, elegant and nuanced. The year was excellent, textbook, and the grapes from Viña Tondonia were picked from the 11th of October, the dates from
$450
More Info
R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 1995
Tasting the 1994 in May 2023 I was lost in the glass with the delicacy, perfume, vibrant red fruit, perfectly poised acid tannin complex. The sophistication, elegance and intoxicating perfume of the wine, simply astonishing. All from a wine held in barrel for 8 years and further 10 in bottle before release!The only current red Gran Reserva is the 1995 Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva, the one that is produced exactly the same as before, including fining with egg whites and sealing with red wa
$1,090
Add to cart
More Info