In 1877 Rafael Lopez de Heredia y Landeta came to the Rioja region in Spain from Chile to follow his dream of making wine. At the time, the wine business in the Rioja was booming, as the phylloxera epidemic drove Bordeaux producers there to seek alternate sources for quality grapes. Lopez de Heredia began experimenting with a wide range of Spanish and Bordeaux varieties, finally determining that the traditional Tempranillo and Viura were the most appropriate grapes for top quality wine production in Rioja. In 1913 he purchased a parcel of land that became the vineyards of Lopez de Heredia Tondonia, established one of the first Bodegas in Rioja, and began a wine making heritage based on strict quality. Three generations later Lopez de Heredia's great-grand children carry on his dream by making wines very much in the same traditional way. These are old-style Rioja wines that emphasize extreme care in the vineyard in order to produce the highest quality grapes possible, and very traditional vinification in the cellar. 
Harvesting is done meticulously by hand, bunch by bunch, and grapes are brought to the winery in small wooden containers that are handcrafted in the estate's own cooperage. After natural yeast fermentation, the wines are aged a minimum of four years in 225 liter hand-crafted American oak barrels. This long aging period, which varies with each wine's natural development, allows them to undergo the slow esterification process needed to develop the classic and complex bouquets of great traditional style Rioja wines. During this aging process the wines are gently and laboriously hand-racked to remove impurities without having to resort to mechanical filtering. The wines then continue to age in bottle until deemed ready for release.
The resulting wines are anything but the modern fruit and oak bombs many modern Rioja wines have become. These are contemplative wines of restraint, elegance, and nuance. They offer the kinds of earthy complexity that made me fall in love with traditional Spanish wines years ago. Thanks to Lopez de Heredia's dedication to tradition we can still enjoy this uniquely wonderful style of wine. We can only hope the tradition will continue for generations to come.
The wine we will taste today is made from grapes from the Viña Zaconia vineards, one of the original parcels purchesd by Rafael Lopez de Heredia y Landeta. The 45 year old Viura vines are situated on south-facing slopes of poor, stony soil, which forces the roots to go deep, developing great character and complexity in the grapes. This is the stuff I live for, so come along as I taste this exciting traditional white wine from the Rioja region.
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