Imagine yourself walking in the catacomb-like cellar of López de Heredia, full of spider webs and fungi. Picture the humid, cool air chilling your bones. This is where the 2004 Gran Reserva Bosconia, a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, spent more than a decade aging. Sourced from the Bosconia Vineyard in Rioja Alta, this wine displays an herbal, garrigue-like profile. The aromas also include tertiary notes of cola, leather and thyme atop a core of hazelnut and cedar. Dry and silky, the palate is mildly structured, featuring coarse-textured tannins and a lingering, juicy flow. Delicately evolved, this is a rare and tasty old-school wine. - VM
VM96
The 2004 Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva is very open, expressive and aromatic right away—as soon as it was poured into the glass—while the Tondonia took time to open up. This has a very elegant nose, and despite having less Garnacha than the Tondonia, it has a more Garnacha nose, a little heady with notes of cherries in liqueur and iodine (think Rayas). It has an elegant texture, very fine tannins and pungent flavors, and it's persistent and powerful while keeping balance and freshness. The Bosconia Vineyard is a cooler vineyard that delivers fresher wines; the grapes were picked quite late, from the 20th of October, later than the ones from the Tondonia vineyard. Only 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2019. Some of these vintages have had a much longer élevage, though not necessarily all in barrel, as the wines also spent time in the ancient oak vats. - WA
WA98