López de Heredia Rioja Viña Tondonia Reserva 2004

96 points Wine & Spirits: "A great vintage of this classic wine, this reveals its sunny beauty over the course of days. Open the bottle and you might taste tart lemon, juicy almond and touches of oxidation, bringing to mind wood oils. Those flavors integrate with air so that the wine saturates the palate with freshness, the scent turned heady, toward croissants and almond blossoms, the flavors savory, salty and bright. This family-run winery farms prime Rioja Alta sites along the Ebro River, aging this estate-grown wine in cool riverside tunnels in their cellar in Haro. Tondonia Reserva spends six years in old barrels, racked twice a year, then continues aging in bottle prior to release. Over that time, the wine seems to gain resilience, though you will not get the full benefit of this white unless you give it plenty of air. Leave it in a decanter and it gives off the energy of the cool sun at harvest, a delicious memory of an ideal autumn day in 2004. (Dec 2017)"

94 points Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "The 2004 Viña Tondonia Reserva is a completely different story. It is a worthy follower of the 2001, the greatest of the Viña Tondonia Reservas of recent times. It has the usual blend and usual levels of alcohol and acidity, bottled after six years in oak barrels. The nose feels savory (if that's possible--umami?) and developed, with tertiary aromas and good balance between spices, leathery notes, cherries and balsamic notes of cigar box and incense. The palate is both round and crisp, with refined tannins. It has very good balance with subtle acidity and very good persistence. Drink: 2015-2024. (Apr 2015)"

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2004 Viña Tondonia Reserva is a beautiful bottle that is just starting to blossom, but is clearly built for the long haul and will be drinking far better a decade down the road. The bouquet is deep and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of cherries, red plums, toasted coconut, Rioja spice tones, a touch of mustard seed and a topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and tangy, with a lovely core, excellent soil inflection, fine-grained tannins and lovely length and grip on the nascently complex finish. This is very easy to drink already, but it has not yet developed the full panoply of Tondonia complexity yet and will be even better with another half dozen years of bottle age. A lovely bottle. 2017-2040+." (Mar/Apr 2017)

93 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "(aged for six years in American oak barrels) Deep red. Exotic, oak-spiced red berry liqueur, dried cherry and vanilla aromas are complemented by a smoky overtone. Sweet and pliant in the mouth, displaying a velvety texture to the plush black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and coconut flavors. Shows no rough edges and picks up a suave floral note with air, finishing with excellent clarity, a hint of allspice and round, harmonious tannins. Drink: 2017-2026. (May 2017)"