Goose Bumps Indeed: R. López de Heredia

When I was invited on this lavish trip to La Rioja, first I pinched myself to affirm that it was real and then second, I consulted a friend in Portland, OR to find out whether there were any bodegas in La Rioja that I should pay particular attention to. His response: "It would be criminal if you were not able to visit one of the greatest producers in the WORLD.  Bodegas R. López de Heredia…These are amazing traditional wines from Rioja…Please visit this estate for me, as this winery is on my bucket list.  These are goose bump wines."

What more convincing could I need? I dialed up a different friend, the one planning the trip, to see if there was anyway we could visit the folks at RLH. A few hours later, we had ourselves a reservation for a guided tour the following Saturday.

Now, writing this retrospectively, I can say that the imploring I received encouraging me to visit RLH is undoubtedly merited. This is the most interesting winery that I've visited to date. I was moved by my visit, in the same way that I can be moved by Neruda or Satie. When I created this blog, I wanted to feature a certain kind of wine- I landed on the word 'authentic' wine (more accurately I borrowed it from Goode and Harrop). This winery embodies all that I find enchanting about wine: the tradition, the appreciation, the precision, the patience, and, as I will describe later: the harmony. I could erase the "Philosophy" tab on my blog and just provide a link to their website instead. 

In the simplest of terms, R. López de Heredia has not changed its winemaking practices since they first began in 1877. The winery is till owned and managed by the López de Heredia family and the wine is made by the granddaughter of the original Rafael. It is the third oldest winery in La Rioja, yet, ascribes to an entirely different philosophy from its more commercial counterparts in the region. It is undoubtedly revered, however. I learned this both from reading about the winery on various online forums as well as from judging from the "oohs and ahhs" I received when I told other people in the region and the greater Kingdom of Spain. 

As I said before, one of the most remarkable things about R. López de Heredia is the harmony that they achieve between vines, cellars and market. There is almost a poetry to every wine making decision that they make and, I kid you not, there were times during the tour where I clutched my heart and swayed a bit because I was so impressed/delighted/touched by the balance they achieve. 

Grape clusters are still collected in poplar back-packs which allow a certain weight, from there the winery to count and pay accordingly. However, our guide shared that most of the harvesting was still done by friends of the family, as per tradition in Haro, the home of R. López de Heredia. Grapes are loaded into large vessels, where hand woven mats help to filter. What else do they use to filter? Egg whites, fish scales, mesh wires? None of the above, instead they use tight bundles of dried grape vines which trap stems and seeds. These seeds and stems (and eventually skins) are used to then fertilize the vines. This is what I mean about harmony: using the vines that produced the grapes in order to filter the wine.

Another fine example of this aforementioned harmony happens in the workshop where the barrels are made. Every R. López de Heredia barrel is made on sight and their two coopers (cooper: n. someone who makes wooden staved vessels, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads) have been working on the premises for over 50 years. It takes them a full day to make one barrel, whereas, in a mechanized system, a barrel could be made in about an hour. In order to impart desired flavors in the wine, barrels are toasted over a fire. Here, this happens on sight and is one of the final steps of the process. A barrel can be used for about 7-8 years and then needs to be replaced. What happens with the old barrel? Here, it is dismantled and used to light a fire that will toast the next barrel. Ahh, it's just so damn beautiful. 

As we toured the facilities we learned to keep a safe distance from the walls. They were covered in a thick, thick layer of mold, which we were assured was outrageously healthy. It meant that the wines were in a good environment and also that the people working at R. López de Heredia were in tip-top shape. Our guide shared that the mold had the same strain (strain? is that the right word?) as Penicillin and for that, she hasn't had a flu in years (although, she's admittedly had a lot of colds from having to change temperatures between rooms of the bodega). 

In the small room where the oldest wines are kept, one can hardly see that they're there. Instead, it's a wall of circular, fuzzy mold patterns. Yet, behind the fungus are some of Spain most prized wines. A guest asked if they were for sale and for how much. We never got an answer to the latter question (our guide was probably trying to be discreet) however, she did share that they weren't for sale. In fact, even wealthy collectors who would arrive with a 'name your price' attitude (an infamous 'point-giver' included) were refused sale. Those who receive wines, or who can purchase them, are those customers who have been with R. López de Heredia the longest.  One must wonder who then, who are these lucky individuals who sip Viña Tondonia wines in secret? Do they possibly want a young, American friend with whom they can muse about wine? 

We finished our tour with a little cata. We got to try 2004 Viña Gravonia, 2003 Viña Bosconia and a 2002 Viña Tondonia Reserva (which anywhere else would easily be considered a Gran Reserva, but, R. López de Heredia ascribes to their own, stricter standards of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva). The wines were accompanied with jamón serrano, bread, salchicones and excellent company. While I might have been the guest who was farthest from home, there were many other giddy enthusiasts from as far as Scotland and Ireland or as near as Basque Country or Madrid. We talked about all sorts of things: terroir, Asturian bagpipes, puns about coopers and which wine we liked best. For me, it was easily the 2004 Viña Gravonia: quite possibly the best wine I've had- ever. Naturally, this is all influenced by my mood, environment and intellectual appreciation for the winemaking process at R. López de Heredia. One thing is for certain, my PDX friend was right: these are goose-bump wines. 

"The quality of our wine is the fruit of an artisanal harvest acquired through effort and honesty in the course of over 100 years."