Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco 2004

I was very much looking forward to the 2004 Viña Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva, the next vintage of this wine after the spectacular 2001. 2004 was a perfect climate year. This is a developed white that was matured in well-seasoned, neutral American oak barrels for 10 years in their old caves, where the wine gets pungent aromas of mushrooms, pollen, beeswax, white pepper, kerosene, cereals and something herbal (celery and even asparagus) that reminded me of the 1964. The palate is velvety and dry and super tasty, with a salty twist in the finish. It's still a baby even after years in bottle. This should age superbly in bottle. I think this is slightly better than the 2001, one of the freshest and most elegant vintages for this bottling. Bravo! 10,000 bottles were filled in November 2018. Before and after aging in barrel, the Gran Reserva wines also spend some time in oak vats.

Mercedes López de Heredia rates 2004 as one of the region's greatest vintages and it's hard to disagree when you have a glass of this world-class wine in your hand. Naturally fermented in very old foudres before ageing in venerable American oak barrels, it's a uniquely brilliant assemblage of Viura and 10% Malvasía, with incredible focus and dry extract, complex aromas of mint, beeswax and honey, a dusting of aromatic spices and effortless
concentration. What a wine! 2024-45