R. López de Heredia Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 2004

Ten years in oak, bottled in 2014, then further rest in López de Heredia's famed cellars, the patience invested is written all over this wine. Deep amber in the glass, with the Tondonia Vineyard's Ebro-side character coming through in waves: hazelnut, dried apricot, beeswax and a resinous lift of tangerine peel. Dry and silky across the tongue, with a chalky grip and a faintly concentrated, nutty depth that brushes up against fino sherry without surrendering its identity. Uncompromising, old-school Rioja blanc, an anachronism that makes perfect sense once you're in it.