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The iconic Txori-Toki tower of Lopez de Heredia...the words Txori-Toki are Basque and translate to something like the "bird house."

LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA

This is one of those "old world" producers which is truly "old world."  Though it's in the hands of the third Generation, not much has changed at this venerable Rioja estate since they got indoor plumbing back in the...well, whenever they got indoor plumbing.


While we live in a hurry-up, fast-paced world, these folks still cling to something called "tradition."  And it's a wonderful tradition, at that.  But I daresay it's not a style of wine that is easily understood by today's "gobs-of-fruit" or "hedonistic experience-seeking" wine drinker looking for in-your-face wines with plenty of extract (and then some) and a forest-full of new wood.

Stepping into the cellars of Lopez de Heredia is like entering a time machine and setting it for something close to a hundred years ago.  Maria José, Mercedes and Julio César seem committed to retaining the place much as Grandpa had left it.

Much of the equipment in the winery is from the old days.

 

Maybe the electric lights are a concession to modernity...they ferment in those large oak vats, some of which are more than a hundred years old!

 

So this property is one of those rare "keepers of the flame," so-to-speak.  Old time Rioja wines.  Here is it: 2022 and they're just releasing a 2010 vintage Reserva!

In this day in age when most 3 year old California Chardonnay is considered "old," it's amazing to have just received a ten year old white from Spain!  (I tasted their 1964 white and it is still in tip-top shape!)

I'd tasted the Viña Tondonia Blanco from 1981 on numerous occasions.  It's a curious wine and, frankly, maybe "practice makes perfect" because I only recently was able to understand and appreciate this wine.  It's predominantly Viura with a small percentage of Malvasia.  The wine spent some 6 years in barrel and then they give it another long "rest" in bottle.  

They have thousands of old 'barricas' and there are a few fellows employed to keep those barrels in good condition, as well as making a few new ones.
But you won't find the wines from Lopez Heredia to be oaky...

 

In addition to something like 14,000 barrels, they have a large cellar full of wines aging in bottle.

 

The Spanish call these cellars full of venerable bottles the "cementerio" which translates roughly to the "cemetery."

The mold you see here covers the walls and bottles...it's said to act like a sponge to some degree, helping keep the humidity level in check.

 

Elvira showed us through the cellars and winery...

 

They buy oak and season it themselves before turning the wood into staves and, ultimately, a barrel.


The cooper's workshop.

The fellow was working on that barrica and soon placed another hoop on it.  Then he hammered the hoop into place so it would be secure.

 

This line-up of staves would soon become a 'barrica.'

 

 

Another unusual wine is their Rosado.  Yes.  Imagine a Rosado that's aged for a decade before being released!  Nothing happens quickly at Lopez de Heredia...And a recent vintage was so popular it caught the Lopez Heredia folks by surprise...they'd not made the Rosado for a few vintages as sales had been slow...and then, suddenly, it was in-demand and the remaining supply was exhausted...so was a few years before they released another vintage of their Rosado.
Currently (June 2022) we have a few bottles of the 2012...many years in wood of some sort and then patiently aged in bottle and released in 2022!
Sold Out now...

The Rosado was made from Tempranillo (30%), Garnacho, as they call it (60%) and Viura (10%).  In a time when Napa vintners leave a dark, big Cabernet in wood for 12 months, Lopez de Heredia allows this slumber for four years in barrel.  It's bottled unfiltered, too.  The wine has an onion skin color and, as you might expect of a ten+ year old "pink" wine, it's not especially fruity.

 

 Their wonderful Viña Tondonia reds are a marvel.  If you have an appreciation for old Barolo or old Burgundy, this is a wine you may find to be to your taste.  The color is brickish, along the lines of old Barolo.  This spends about 6 years in wood and they lay it away for another 6 in bottle before seeing the light of day.  Yet for all that time in oak, the wines are not woody.  
We have some bottles of their 2008 Reserva in stock.  These are best paired with simply-seasoned red meats or a selection of cheeses.

The 2010 Viña Tondonia might be even a tad better!
We found a shade more of a fresh, woodsy note in the wine.
It's damned good.



We  hosted a dinner and opened a 1954 vintage...mighty fine and it blossomed nicely with airing.

 

 

2012 GRAVONIA (Blanco)
The 2012 Gravonia struck a chord with us...
It's made entirely of Viura, yet comparisons with some white Burgundies might be appropriate.  This was matured for about 4 years in wood and then bottled unfiltered.

The wine has a mildly smoky character with a stony element, which is why we first had a flashback to white Burgundy.  But there's a touch of a waxy note, which is somewhat reminiscent of Semillon wines and a faint tone of a Fino Sherry. 

The Lopez Heredia folks expect this can cellar nicely for another decade.  Maybe.  It's pretty nice right now if you appreciate older white wines.  
If you don't, well, never mind.

Currently in stock:  

2012 ROSADO Sold Out
2012 GRAVONIA BLANCO Sold Out
2008 VIÑA TONDONIA Reserva $56.99
2010 VIÑA TONDONIA Reserva SALE $49.99
2001 VIÑA TONDONIA Reserva Magnums  SALE $199.99
2004 VIÑA TONDONIA Reserva Magnums  SALE $179.99

 

 

QUINTA DE COUSELO

This little estate was once in the hands of a monastery before being acquired in the late 1800s by the
Vicente family.  They sold is to a fellow named Carlos Mouriño, who also owns a Spanish soccer (futbol) team called Celta de Vigo.  The team is not exactly the New York Yankees or San Francisco Giants of recent vintage.

Luckily for Mouriño, his winery is a winner!

 

 

 

They make a wonderful Albariño.  The wine has been consistently good and we are now offering maybe the sixth or seventh straight vintage...  The fruit comes from vineyards on slate and granite and the resulting wine shows a mildly stony quality.  Whether or not the soil contributes this minerality is anybody's guess.

When you taste the wine you'll immediately sense it's not the work of a big, corporate drinks company.   The aromas are mildly fruity, recalling lemon and a streak of peach.  It's dry and crisp, so the acidity lends itself to service with seafood (and how!).  There's nothing really fancy about the wine apart from they farm for quality as there's a gorgeously intense character of Albariño with that hint of spice lurking in the background.

If you're a fan of Chablis, this Spanish white may tickle your fancy.

It's been extremely popular and most customers who've tried a bottle have returned for a second or a case!

Currently in stock:  2019 TURONIA ALBARIÑO  Sold Out

 

 TXOMIN ETXANIZ "TXAKOLINA"

There's a small town by the Bay of Biscay in Basque country called Getaria.  The only hotel in town had but about four or five rooms when we first visited in the mid-1990s.   
Now there are numerous places for visitors to stay.

There were numerous restaurants scattered around town, all serving incredibly fresh fish.  Getaria is a fishing village, well-known, it seems, in the gourmet community.   The small fishing fleet departs every night, returning in the morning with their catch.

 

The recipe for preparing the fish is simple:  an open wood fire, the fish, salt and olive oil.  The fish is set on the grill, cooked for the appropriate amount of time before being dished up and topped with a drizzling of olive oil. 
We paid something like $60 (this is 25+ years ago) for a two-pound fish.

The wine to go with this marvelous seafood is called "Txakolina" or "Chacoli." 

Most Txakolina wines are made from a blend of red and white grapes, the red being vinified as without skin contact so as to make a "white" wine.  


The Spanish drink most of the Txakoli produced in this small Basque area.  Only a few bottles of the million (or so) are exported.  


So...you know the people of this region are Basque.  Do you know what their kids are called?
Basquettes!

But seriously...this family traces its roots back to the mid-1600s, citing the presence of Domingo de Echaniz, while today the property is owned by the Txueka-Etxaniz clan, apparently descendants of old Domingo.

We do have some bottles of the Txomin Etxaniz 2020...lovely, crisp, light and with a faint touch of CO2 in the wine.  This is done purposely by fermenting the juice at low temperatures and keeping the wine cold until it's bottled.  The alcohol level is low, as well, making it a real pleasure to pair with good seafood.

Currently in stock:     TXOMIN ETXANIZ  2020 Txakolina $22.99 

ALION

This is the property adjacent to the fabled Vega Sicilia winery in the Ribera del Duero region.  

The owners, the Alvarez family, wanted to produce a more modern-styled wine as a counterpart to the traditionally-made Vega Siclia wines.

Its wines are far more modern than Vega Sicilia and anybody with half a palate is certain to appreciate the wine of this estate.  Unfortunately the modest production is highly-regarded by anybody who knows anything about Spanish wines.  We receive a small allocation each vintage and this is snapped up by savvy wine buyers.   

The vineyards for Alion cover about 130 hectares, split amongst three sites.  More than half of the Alion vineyards are situated in the Vega Sicilia estate.  There are 30 hectares around the Alion winery and another 30 in the town of Pesquera de Duero.

The wine is made entirely of the Tinto Fino grape, also known as Tempranillo.  The grapes are hand-harvested and then put onto a sorting table for further selection.  They insist on fermenting the juice in large wooden tanks and these are replaced after perhaps just five vintages!

After the fermentation, the wine spends between 14 to 20 months in small French oak barrels.  They use wood you'd typically find in top Bordeaux cellars.  Once the wine is racked into tank for bottling, the barrels are sold to other wineries...this wine gets the "Grand Cru" treatment at every step.


On a trip to Europe not too long ago, our pal Norbert opened a bottle of the 1992 vintage....a fabulous wine.   This was still deep ruby-red in color and had the woodsy, cedary notes we found when we first tasted this wine in 1995 at Vega Sicilia.  Paired with pan-roasted lamb, this bottle was quickly emptied by the trio in attendance that fine evening.   Good thing Norbert has another bottle or two in his cellar near Frankfurt!

We brought a bottle of the 1997 to a dinner in San Francisco in September of 2016...the wine was a shade past its peak, but still quite good and worth drinking.

The 2004 and 2006 are currently in stock...these are dynamite red wines and it's a pity California wine drinkers don't explore these wines more frequently.  They're not inexpensive, of course, but they do compare handsomely to hundred-buck Napa reds.

A bottle of the 2004, opened in October of 2016, was stellar.  Still youthful on one hand, and evolved and complex on the other.  I was dining with a friend from the East Coast and was putting the cork in the bottle.  There was maybe 20% of the wine still in that bottle but she said "What the hell are you doing?  You can't take that back to the shop.  We're going to drink it!"  
And we did.
Phenomenal wine.

  
Tempranillo is the grape, but the wines are of Cabernet intensity.  

Matured entirely in new French oak, these have nice cedary, woodsy notes and plenty of dark fruit.  They are showing beautifully at the moment and can probably go another decade, or two, well-stored.

We have the 2016 in stock as the most recent vintage.  This is a bright, fruity, dark red.  We put it in the "very good" to "excellent" categories...one of the more showy Spanish reds in the shop.  

 

Currently in stock: 

2016 ALION  Ribera del Duero   SALE  $109.99

VEGA SICILIA

Much like Sassicaia was one of the first Italian wines of "serious" quality to make a splash in international markets, Spain's Vega Sicilia has long been that county's wine ambassador as an elite red wine.

The property traces its history back to the 1860s.  At that time, the owner ventured to France's Bordeaux region to buy vine cuttings.  He returned with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and, curiously, Pinot Noir.  For many years, however, the estate was perhaps more devoted to cattle than it was to viticulture and wine.  In fact, they produced brandy from their vineyards and table wine was not, apparently, of significant importance.

Wine from this estate in Ribera del Duero made a bit of a splash in 1929 at the World's Fair in Barcelona.  Prior to that, however, wine was made for home consumption to share with friends and family.  The estate had a succession of owners and until 1982 it was in the hands of a Venezuelan fellow.

At that point Vega Sicilia (it was originally called Pago de la Vega Santa Cecilia y Carrascal) was purchased by the Álvarez Mezquíriz family.  And they've invested heavily in the vineyards, winery and its wines.

We first tasted wine of this fabled winery just about the time the ownership had changed...we were driving from Portugal into Spain for a small tour and our first night, stumbled into a fancy restaurant which had Vega Sicilia on its wine list.  In those days, there was the top bottling, "Unico," a Reserva Especial and two reds given less time in wood, both called Valbuena (the estate was, in 1840-something, owned by the Marquis de Valbuena).  
They made a Three-Years-in-Wood Valbuena and a Five-Years-in-Wood bottling.

I was so excited to see these on the wine list, I ordered two.  We sat in an empty dining room in a 1950s-fancy restaurant and I suppose the waiter thought we were out of our minds ordering a couple of bottles to drink there and then asking if we could buy one "to go."  But the wines from Vega Sicilia are hard to get and finding them is not easy.

A decade, or so, later, I was touring Spain  with some friends and we had an appointment at this fabled estate.  We'd just visited Alejandro Fernandez' estate of Pesquera, the "new kid" on the Ribera del Duero block at that time.

We drove up to the Vega Sicilia estate and found the place to be fenced in with a security office and crossing gate at the entrance.  I went up to the fellow and presented a business card, explaining we had an appointment with the export manager.  The security guard then demanded I hand over my passport!

Huh?  I'm visiting what I thought was a winery, not the Pentagon.  

I showed him the fax from the export director, figuring that ought to be sufficient and he again insisted upon my passport.  Had I been by myself, I may have driven off, but my friends were intent upon seeing this place and tasting its fabled wines and showing my passport was a small price for this.

It turns out the owners of Vega Sicilia, the Alvarez family, owns a humungous company which provides security guard services, landscaping services and janitorial services around the world.  Apparently they use their own services at the winery and so the doorway is blocked by a professional bouncer.

Well, we visited the estate, seeing lovely vineyards, a spotless cellar and we tasted some remarkable wines.  
They had also just invested in a Hungarian property and were making a Tokaji called "Oremus."  The export manager was positively shedding tears of joy as he told us of the glories of this new acquisition and the fabled sweet wine being made there.

The Cellars of Vega Sicilia...

So...

They make a number of really good wines.

Valbuena comes only in one bottling, whereas years ago they had a three year old and a five year old version.  Today it's basically a "five year" cycle.  The wine comes from younger vineyards (currently averaging about 25 years of age) on the estate and it's predominantly Tempranillo with a percentage of Merlot and a drop of Cabernet Sauvignon.  

The 2004 Valbuena is a lovely wine...a bit of dark red fruit and a mildly leathery note on the nose and palate.  It struck me as a somewhat more interesting wine than the cherryish 2005 Valbuena which seemed to have more Merlot-like notes.

The 2000 vintage of Unico is approximately 93% Tempranillo and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It comes from low-yielding vineyard and older vines, at that.  It was matured first in those large wood vats for 15 months...then nearly 2 years in small barrels, followed by 15 months in what they describe as "semi-new" cooperage (your guess is as good as mine) before another 2 years in those large wood vats.  So...yes, more than 6 years in cooperage and then it's given about 3 years in bottle before being offered to the market.  And then you have to know someone to be able to make a purchase and drop hundreds of dollars for a bottle.  
Is it worth its lofty price?
Well, it is an expensive wine, but then I'm shocked these days to see how much one must pay to acquire a bottle of Lafite or Latour or Mouton.  I guess I can rationalize it in that perspective.

Currently available:  1998 VEGA SICILIA UNICO Sold Out
2000 VEGA SICILIA UNICO $379.99
2003 VALBUENA Sold Out
2004 VALBUENA Sold Out

 

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CELLER BARTOLOMÉ

The Bartolomé i Vernet family owns this estate in the Priorat sub-region of Bellmunt, a once-prosperous mining town.

When the phylloxera root louse scourge hit Spain, this place was amongst the first to embrace the notion of grafting the vines onto louse-resistant American rootstock.  In fact, they claim they still have some vineyards that are more than 100 years old from those early days!

Priorat, of course, is home to Garnacha and Carignane (Garnatxa and Samsó).  Over the years, Cabernet and Syrah have come into play, though the Clos Bartolomé bottling doesn't incorporate Syrah while they had been using some Cabernet.

The Priorat region enjoyed a brief period of fame back in the 1990s when the market was looking for massive, intensely powerful reds.  Over the years, consumers seem to have found other bottles of expensive wines to put on the table and sales seem to have lagged a bit.

The first vintage of wine at this estate to be bottled was 1997.  Before that they were selling wine in bulk to other wineries.

We were introduced to this Clos Bartolomé wine by a local Spanish importer who has a brilliantly-selected portfolio of wines.

Two features we like about the 2018 vintage from this winery:  though the alcohol is north of 15%, it's balanced and drinkable immediately.  Further, it's sensibly-priced so consumers can explore the Priorat region without bruising their credit card.

As mentioned, this is Grenache with Carignane.  It used to have a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, but they claim not to use that these days.  The wine is matured in French oak and they buy cooperage from a handful of barrel builders.  It's a mix of new and used oak where the wine is aged for about a year.  

It's a medium-full bodied red...drinkable now and nicely showy with food.  Consider pairing this with grilled or roasted red meats.

 

Currently in stock:  2018 CLOS BARTOLOMÉ Priorat  $23.99

 

BODEGAS MERAYO

The Merayo family has long had vineyards in the Bierzo region of Spain.  

They're located about 4 hours by car from Madrid, heading north and a bit to the west.   You'd be a 170-something kilometers east of Pontevedra on the west coast of Spain. Merayo's vineyards are 230 kilometers northeast of the city of Porto in Portugal.

The vineyards comprise about 15 hectares and the red grape called Mencía is the focus.

We've been fans of a wine coming from their one hectare vineyard called Las Tres Filas.  It's made entirely of the Mencia grape and comes from 80+ year old, head-pruned vines.

After its fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine is transferred to French and American oak barrels where it gets maybe 6 months in wood.
The bright red fruit notes of the Mencía grape are a delight and there's just a touch of wood adding a bit of seasoning and spice to the wine.

The 2017 vintage is medium bodied and gentle, along the lines of a Pinot Noir...maybe a touch fuller than a Pinot.

You have an even greater appreciation for this wine when you factor in its small price tag...

Currently in stock:  LAS TRES FILAS 2017 MENCÍA  Sold Out

 

ABADIA RETUERTA

There's an old Abbey on this massive estate that's been converted into a luxury hotel and restaurant.

We're told this property was once part of the famed Vega Sicilia domaine.  It's owned by the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis.

They took over the estate in 1991 and brought in Pascal Delbeck, a fellow from Bordeaux who had been, at one time, affiliated with the famous St. Emilion estate of Château Ausone.

Delbeck was charged with designing a winemaking facility and in assessing the various vineyard sites scattered around the 1750 acres that comprise the Abadia Retuerta.  There are some 500 acres devoted to grape growing.  Despite being just a few miles from the legendary Vega Sicilia estate, Abadia Retuerta is just outside the delimited Ribera del Duero appellation.

That prestigious name might have been a good way to promote the Retuerta wines, but since they can't use that denomination, they're seemingly hell-bent on establishing their own identity as a source of top quality wines.

In 2005, for example, their 2001 Selección Especial was voted "Best Red Wine" at London's International Wine Challenge.

Over the years the winery has gained a measure of fame and maybe a little fortune as they make some really good wines.

Tempranillo is the main grape, but having a Bordeaux consultant, they have acreage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah on the property.

A few single vineyard wines are produced, including a micro-bottling of pure Petit Verdot.  There's a Syrah bottling and one of Cabernet Sauvignon.  There's a Sauvignon Blanc/Verdejo blend, too.

But the calling card for Abadia Retuerta is their Selección Especial.

We currently have the 2014 and it's a supple, polished, elegant red blend featuring Tempranillo with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and maybe the final 10% being split between Syrah, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  Aging in French and American oak gives a mildly woodsy tone to the wine, but the oak is in the background as you'll encounter some dark fruit notes up front.  It's medium-full bodied and quite elegant.

Priced at $31.99, we view this wine as being a good value.   The 2014 has soft tannins, so you can easily enjoy this in the immediate future, though cellaring it for a few years is not out of the question.

Currently in stock:  ABADIA RETUERTA 2014 Sardón de Duero SELECCIÓN ESPECIAL Sold Out

 

 

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