Bodegas R Lopez de Heredia

Lopez de Heredia is the oldest winery in Rioja Alta and a bastion of tradition. Long appreciated as one of the wine world’s unsung heroes, the best Tondonias - their flagship wine - are some of the most complex, satisfying and long-lived wines you are likely to encounter. What’s more, they continue to be offered at astoundingly reasonable prices.

The wines of López de Heredia are finessed and elegant. nuanced and complex, a little shy rather than explosive. The vineyards are situated at 480m altitude, planted on alluvial clay and limestone, and flanked by the River Ebro, which provides a natural border between the sub-regions of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alevesa.

Lopez de Heredia continue to produce the same high toned, ethereal style of Rioja that has enthralled Spanish wine lovers for generations. Fermentations are carried out in huge, ancient wooden vats, with no temperature control, additions, or technology whatsoever. The wines here are aged in barriques buried deep in the “cathedral” beneath the winery.