THE VINEYARD BOSCONIA - The vineyard “El Bosque” is situated beside the Ebro River, with a height of 1,527 feet above sea level, less than a mile from the winery. The soil is clay and Limestone. It has a total of 37 acres: Tempranillo, red Garnacho, Mazuelo, and Graciano. Originally, the founder, due to his French influence, gave the wines names inspired by French wines. Viña Bosconia comes from a Burgundy-style wine that he used to make with a high percentage of Pinot Noir, which he called “Rioja Cepa Borgoña”.
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Region/Sub- Region: Spain, Rioja, Rioja Alta.
Grapes: 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, 5% Mazuelo, and Graciano.
Soil: Clay and Limestone.
Harvest: End September-early October, all done by hand, cutting with a curved knife "corquete", prevents the grape breaking causing fermentation prematurely. Bunches are placed in conical wood containers made at the R. López de Heredia cooperage.
Vinification: Hoppers de-stem bunches and gently break skins. Spontaneous fermentation in large 25,000L vats.
Aging: 5 years in 225L American oak barrels handmade by the López de Heredia coopers, racked twice per year and at least 4 years in bottle before released.
Nose: Its nose is persistent, full bodied, and showing a lot of mature fruit, being dominated by the Tempranillo grape, red cherries and cranberries, red apple skins, game blood and leather, and clove.
Taste: Its taste is round, smooth, fresh, full of body, and persistent.
Gastronomy: The perfect partner to roasted and highly-flavored meats.
Color: Evolved perfectly, showing a deep ruby color, with shades of orange.
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Talking About the Wines:
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-A View from the Cellar, March '23 gave 93 points to 2011 Viña Bosconia Reserva (red). “López de Heredia’s 2011 Viña Bosconia Rioja “Reserva” is crafted this year from a blend of eighty percent Tempranillo, fifteen percent Garnacha and five percent of Graciano and Mazuelo. The wine is just a touch riper than the Tondonia Reserva in this vintage, coming in at 13.5 percent alcohol and delivering a beautiful bouquet of dark berries, black raspberries, cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, a touch of smoked meats, brown spices, a nice base of soil and a touch of bonfire in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, tangy and beautifully balanced finish. This is still fairly primary in personality and the wine will be infinitely more complex if tucked away in the cellar for half a dozen years. It will age superbly.”
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-Wine & Spirits Magazine, Feb '23 gave 92 points to 2011 Viña Bosconia Reserva (red). “Closed off at first behind musky animal scents, this develops complexity and mouthwatering cherry flavors. The scent is the initial attraction then the complexity extends into the end. The fruit brightens to red, both cherry and cranberry, lasting with an easy richness.”
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-Wine Advocate, Aug '22 gave 92+ points to 2011 Viña Bosconia Reserva (red). “2011 was a warmer and riper year, but there’s not a huge difference between the 2011 Viña Bosconia Reserva and the 2010; this is perhaps mellower, with more integrated acidity. It’s 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.3 and 6.7 grams of acidity measured in tartaric acid per liter, and it fermented in the 144-year oak vats and matured in used American oak barrels for five years.”
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-James Suckling, Sept '21 gave 95 points to 2010 Viña Bosconia Reserva (red). “Dried flowers and dark fruit on the nose with some mahogany and bark. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and lovely polish and length. Compact and long. Tangy, too. Special wine, showing its age and tradition. Decant an hour before serving.”
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