López de Heredia Rioja Viña Tondonia Reserva 2001 1.5L

95 points Neal Martin (Wine Advocate): "The 2001 Vina Tondonia Reserva is bridled with a lovely nose of decayed red fruit, fireside hearth, a touch of mulberry and small red cherry. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, crisp red fruits (wild strawberry and cranberry) with a sharp, vibrant, tense, tannic finish that has immense precision. There is a slight saline note lingering in the mouth after the wine has (regretfully) departed. Drink now-2030+. (Aug 2012)"

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2001 Viña Tondonia Rioja 'Reserva' from López de Heredia is a truly beautiful wine in the making. At age eighteen, it is drinking with a great degree of style and polish, but is still in climbing mode and will be even better down the road than it is today! The gorgeous bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of cherries, raspberries, toasted coconut, cloves, salty soil elements, cigar wrapper, cinnamon and orange zest in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, refined and nicely tangy, with a lovely core of fruit, great soil signature, moderate, buried tannins and stunning length and grip on the vibrant and very complex finish. This is not a powerful wine by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a vibrant, intensely flavored and beautifully transparent wine of breed and stellar complexity. 2001 is a great vintage in Rioja and the Viña Tondonia 'Reserva' has fully captured all of the potential of this magical year. It is delicious now and is only going to get better for the next couple of decades. 2019-2065+. (Sep/Oct 2019)"

93 points Wine & Spirits: "Elegance and understatement are the classic hallmarks of fine Rioja, sustained in this estate-grown red from an exceptional vintage. The wine’s complexity begins in the light cranberry essence of its aroma, which deepens to cherries and adds zesty notes of orange peel as the flavors build in richness. Sleek and mature, this is the ultimate red for rack of lamb. (Dec 2012)"

92 points Josh Raynolds (International Wine Cellar): "(75% tempranillo, 15% garnacha and 5% each of graciano and mazuelo) Bright medium red. Expansive bouquet of musky red and dark berries, medicinal cherry, rose oil and Asian spices. Juicy raspberry and rose pastille flavors are framed by silky tannins and given a boost by zesty minerality. Packs a solid punch but comes off almost weightless. The tannins fade into the sweet fruit on the finish, which is strikingly pure and very persistent. Lovely right now. (Sep/Oct 2010)"

92 points Peñín Guide: "(75% tempranillo, 15% garnacha, 10% graciano, mazuelo). Colour: pale ruby, brick rim edge. Aroma: elegant, spicy, fine reductive notes, wet leather, aged wood nuances, fruit liqueur notes. Taste: spicy, fine tannins, elegant, long. (2011)"