2012 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Viña Gravonia

Full bottle 1,266 g. López de Heredia describe the vintage thus: ‘The 2012 vintage was constrained by the scarce pluviometry, 25% lower than usual in our region. It was an especially dry year until well into the fall. 35% of the total precipitation was concentrated in the last three months of the year. This low pluviometry and the spring and summer high temperatures, entailed a very important advance of the harvest, similar to the previous year. Although the rains that started 11 October meant that the harvest continued until 18 October, five days later than the 2011 harvest, however this is still an early date for what is usual in Haro. Harvest started 4 October with the white varieties. These same conditions caused a significant reduction in the number and weight of the bunches and therefore, the final production of our cultivation was lower than expected in a normal year.’ 100% Viura, fermented in centenarian oak vats. Aged four years in 8- to 12-year-old American oak barrels, racked twice a year then fined with egg whites and not filtered. TA 7 g/l. Production 15,000 bottles. Pale gold. Open aromas that characterise this long-barrel-aged white: fresh cedary notes, along with an intense aroma of green fruits and citrus and just the beginnings of the character found on the two previous vintages recently tasted – beeswax and honey but no sense of sweetness, of course. Seems fresher than both the 2010 and 2011 with a beautifully clean and still complex palate of taut citrus – lemon and lime – and cedar, freshly felled trees, and a little hint of sour citrus on the finish. Fills the mouth in a way you would not expect at 12.5% alcohol, with the generosity and roundness that I suspect comes more from the barrel than the fruit, although the harvest was late and volume on the low side, which might have added to the richness. Mouth-watering and persistent – the acidity vibrant (and harmonious), suggesting it will age even longer than the 2011. Less obviously oaky on the palate than the 2011. Long, lemon-lime aftertaste. Still very youthful and vibrant for a 9-year-old. (JH)