Viña Gravonia could be considered the baby sibling of Viña Tondonia, coming from a less prestigious vineyard site. It’s aged in barrels for 4 years (vs. 6 for Tondonia) before release. Gravonia is labeled “Crianza” even though it easily exceeds the requirements for Reserva and even reaches Gran Reserva aging — a common practice for LdH, which saves higher classifications for their most prestigious wines. Both are difficult to find (especially in North America) but Gravonia is more available, with production being about double that of the Tondonia Blanco.
This Viña Gravonia is 100% Viura (Tondonia has 10% Malvasia for added complexity) and comes in at 12.5% ABV. It retails around $50 USD for current releases in the USA (vs. $100-150+ for Tondonia).
**Tasting Notes:** Medium gold color. Not as oxidative as Tondonia, with fresher fruit (yellow apple, pear) and a bit of nuttiness. Palate is creamy and citrusy, with lovely bright acidity. Medium+ finish. Is it as impressive and complex as Tondonia? No, but for half or a third of the price, it comes damn close. Lovely wine.
1sef_2sef
Have a few 16s left from last year and just picked up a few 17s my shop got in stock!!! Excited for both. Thanks for sharing.
JJxiv15
Just had my first one of these (albeit, 2015) on the 15th, ten days back, and it was definitely quite the new taste for me – sure, I had read all about the oxidative notes, but still wasn’t ready for it! Went great with a ham paella. Still working through my thoughts on the taste profile, though. Thank you for your notes, always appreciate your posts!
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I’ve already written a bit of background on Lopez de Heredia ([here](https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/s/zUOgsRFgqJ)), so I’ll jump right to this wine…
Viña Gravonia could be considered the baby sibling of Viña Tondonia, coming from a less prestigious vineyard site. It’s aged in barrels for 4 years (vs. 6 for Tondonia) before release. Gravonia is labeled “Crianza” even though it easily exceeds the requirements for Reserva and even reaches Gran Reserva aging — a common practice for LdH, which saves higher classifications for their most prestigious wines. Both are difficult to find (especially in North America) but Gravonia is more available, with production being about double that of the Tondonia Blanco.
This Viña Gravonia is 100% Viura (Tondonia has 10% Malvasia for added complexity) and comes in at 12.5% ABV. It retails around $50 USD for current releases in the USA (vs. $100-150+ for Tondonia).
**Tasting Notes:** Medium gold color. Not as oxidative as Tondonia, with fresher fruit (yellow apple, pear) and a bit of nuttiness. Palate is creamy and citrusy, with lovely bright acidity. Medium+ finish. Is it as impressive and complex as Tondonia? No, but for half or a third of the price, it comes damn close. Lovely wine.
Have a few 16s left from last year and just picked up a few 17s my shop got in stock!!! Excited for both. Thanks for sharing.
Just had my first one of these (albeit, 2015) on the 15th, ten days back, and it was definitely quite the new taste for me – sure, I had read all about the oxidative notes, but still wasn’t ready for it! Went great with a ham paella. Still working through my thoughts on the taste profile, though. Thank you for your notes, always appreciate your posts!