Suffering from Tondonitis

O

Oswaldo Costa

Oswaldo Costa
1998 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Ros Via Tondonia 12.5%
20% tempranillo, 60% Garnacho, 20% Viura. Old for a ros, but young for an LdH. Looks more orange than ros. Almond oxidative nose, period. Tannic, strong acidity, saline note. Light to medium bodied, dilute mid-palate. Expecting complexity of flavor, got none. Disappointing.

2000 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Via Tondonia Reserva 12.5%
75% tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, 5% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo. From half-bottle (mr. wishful thinking thought that would help, but this must have been bottled too recently for it to matter much). Made the mistake of decanting for two hours, hoping to coax some more aromas, but the nose just closed down from the bottleneck's expressive, loamy dill to the glass's surly, muted dill. The mouth feel, on the other hand, showed lovely weight and ideal acid/sweet balance, giving as much pleasure as mouths unassisted by noses can hope for (this would be unbeatable for someone with a cold). Note to inventory: should be wonderful in a decade.
 
You gave the rose time, didn't you? The last time I had one it was really rocking after 3 hours in a decanter. Air is this one's friend.

A recent 1998 tondonia reserva I had was good but not great. I guess I'd say it was, well, reserved. Hinting at something great, but not really there.

Cheers,

Kevin
 
I always liked the '93 better.

I either have 6 of the '93 in my cellar, or I don't. It's hard to maintain a perfect inventory.
 
Gave to red time but not the ros. However, half the ros went back into the fridge and will grace our glasses tomorrow night for a second chance at greatness.

BTW, yesterday was a flower day, so I can't blame the moonies.
 
Oswaldo, on the contrary, I have found recent LdH ros slow to develop. 93, 95, 97 are still younger than where I'd really likes them. 98, unfortunately, is not.
 
I adore the '93 and glad to still have a few bottles...I can't put an age on the wine, it seems ageless, and fathomless, whereas the '97 does indeed seem young. Have never needed to decant either...I just use burg bowls (per the winemaker's recommendation).
 
Yesterday the second half of the ros was drunk in Burg bowls at close to room temperature. Before food, not much different, but with food, somehow, this time, it morphed into a swan.
 
There is no finer pairing for seafood paella. (Yes, I know, claiming typicity would paint Spanish cuisine w/ a broad brush, but whatever.) Something about the richness of the shellfish, smoky/spicy chorizo, and saffron...
 
Seafood paella is best with no sausage...imho

Chorizo can be added to paella, although it is not the most common of ingredients. In some places in Mallorca I have had paella with sobrasada (a kind of sausage that you normally spread) which is wonderful with rice and gives a mellow texture
 
originally posted by Ignacio Villalgordo:
chorizo in a seafood paella? that's quite a recipe...
Click to expand...

Perhaps painting Spanish cuisine in its entirety with a broad brush, then.

Sobrasada sounds good. Spreadable from fatty content, organ meat (liver?), or simple extrusion?

Is it a sausage name that can refer to a number of different styles, like the Italian sopressata? Or if I went hunting for it by name, would I find what you describe?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top