López de Heredia Bosconia Tinto Reserva 2006 Rioja

Tempranillo 80%, Garnacho 15%, Mazuelo and Graciano, the remainder.

The grapes listed above come from Finca El Bosque, which is where the name Bosconia comes from. The vineyards are south facing and made up of calcareous-clay soils. All harvesting is made by hand and transported in their traditional open ended wooden cones which stop the grapes from being crushed before reaching the winery.

The wine is fermented in very old large oak vats which do not impart flavour. The wine is then transferred to American oak barrels, stored in their cellars for 5 years and racked every 6 months.

TradItion is everything at Lopez de Heredia. Go back just 10 years and you could not sell this kind of wine. Now these are on allocation and the volumes are not increasing! During tough financial times in Spain, Lopez de Heredia could have followed a lot of their peers in making younger more modern wines but that was not in their blood. Their key to quality wine is not just vineyard selection but the best oak and time. Which is why they have an in house cooperage working around the clock to make and rejuvenate their wooden tanks and barrels.
We had the pleasure of visiting the cellars and seeing what makes these wines so special. Visit our blog to read about the trip.