2011 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,268 g. Lopez de Heredia describe the vintage thus: 'The vine cycle of 2011 was for a second year in a row dictated by the very low rainfall, around 25% behind a normal year in our Rioja region as well as for the unusually high temperatures during the months of September and October, which made us start the harvest extraordinary in advance in relation to other years' – 20 September for the white Viura grapes in Viña Gravonia. Fermented and a ged four years in older barrels. Fined with fresh egg whites. Unfiltered. TA 6.5 g/l. Paler than the 2010 but still golden. Much less oxidative on the nose – you would think they were more than a year apart in age, but perhaps the storage conditions were very different post-bottling. This vintage shows more citrus and dried grasses even though there are more obvious cedar and spice flavours of the oak, with less oxidative character. On the palate, unashamedly oaky thought the oak is completely integrated with the other flavours, creamy yet chewy, mouth-watering with an intense cedary flavour, plus honey and lemon but bone dry. Mouth-filling flavours, great length and at just 12.5%, very digestible. Wonderful combination of freshness and complexity, with still a lot more potential to continue to develop in the bottle. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Full clear bottle 1,250 g. Deep glowing gold. Very rich, heady, waxy nose with lots of toasty freshness too. Wonderfully lively for a 10-year-old wine. Long and stimulating. Not high in acidity but sufficient life to keep one intrigued. A certain green sourness on the finish which is not a criticism, just a note of how playful this wine is. A strong contrast with the rather OTT Montes Obarenes 2017 tasted immediately before it. (JR)
Glistening yellow. Salty, mineral-tinged aromas of pear and peach nectar, beeswax, nougat and toasted nuts pick up a floral accent as the wine opens up. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering lemon pith, dried pear, honey and fennel flavors that deepen through the midpalate. Smoothly plays depth off energy and finishes long and chewy, with a touch of spicy ginger and a suggestion of chamomile. (JR)
2012 was a very complete vintage in Rioja, even if it was quite dry, and the 2012 Viña Gravonia Blanco shows superbly. It's very intense, with two levels of complexity, intensity and depth above the 2013 I tasted next to it. It has the textbook aromas of lanolin, diesel, mushroom, yellow dried flowers and chamomile, with perfect ripeness. The palate is round and glyceric, quite lush, and leaves your umami-laden mouth with a salty finish. This should develop nicely in bottle, one of the best vintages of Gravonia of recent times. The wine has 12.5% alcohol and amazing acidity measures. (LG)