R. López de Heredia - Viña Tondonia

An emblematic Rioja producer, one of the few with its own copperage on premises and extensive use of oak throughout the production process. Their hospitality is world class, they showed us everything, they have nothing to hide and much to be proud of. The bottle ageing area is particularly unique to experience. I was also lucky to be able to buy in their store a case that included a bottle of their prized Rose Gran Reserva, a very unusual but great wine that can only be made with top quality grapes and excellent work at the winery.

Amazing hospitality and experience at the bodgeas! We were in the area for wine tasting during the weekend and stopped by this place. A truly amazing experience and a key highlight of our day. Delicious reserva wine that can easily qualify as a gran reserva! After tasting a few bottles at the shop, the friendly staff, offered to show us their facilities behind the scenes with no reservations! Learnt alot from the quick visit and truly a bodegas that one needs to tour and experience their traditional family heritage of making wine.

A nice place to visit and try some top quality Rioja wines. Raphael Lopez de Heredia is known for its Tondonia vineyard, and most of the wine lovers use “tondonia” to redder to this winemaker. We visited the winemaking area and barrel aging places, and also tasted 2 wines. I love the wines from R. Lopez for many years, and this time I got the opportunity!

This was a slight disappointment fir me and other attending the same tour I met later at another bodega. The tour was very informative though for the price of 40 euros it's expected to be high quality. We visited all facilities involved in wine making process. The wine tasting was a huge disappointment. We were able to taste only three wines if which the first was nothing to tell about. Other reservas were nice. We didn't have a chance to taste their Gran Reserva. We weren't handed a bottle of their wine after the tour and the wine tasting. I afterwards found out that it should have picked up after tasting from the other location. The guide didn't mention about it at all. People left without the bottle.

This winery has a really nice setting. A very stylish, modern tasting room and a very nice area to sit outside, with a very relaxing feel to it. Since we were travelling with our Bulldog we took a seat outside and got some wine (with free nibbles). The wine was fine, got the typical Rioja flavour. But - compared to some other Bodegas we've visited - lacked a special something. Did not wow us enough. Prise-wise their wines are a good deal, but then there's so much competition around here. And considering that we just found the wine too average and quite light on the palate without any long-lasting flavours. But the setting is really nice, staff helpful and friendly. Still a fine Bodega to take a seat outside and enjoy a glass or two.

What a lovely place to relax in the sunshine and drink wine. The wine was great and they gave us some little bites of food as well. I do wish you could have glasses instead of only bottles so that we could have tried more, but the friendliness of the staff made up for that disappointment.

One of the most established and important wineries to visit in Haro. They are clearly set up for wine tourism. They offer lots of sitting areas if you want to only try the wine without an appointment. However the visit is very recommended. You visit all the different parts of the winery, including the workshop, where they make their own barrels. Visit is pricey but includes a bottle of their signature wine.

We came here in a beautiful warm sunny day after tasting different wines from different bodegas in the area. The wine they gave has for the tasting were perfect and the guide answered all my question ( yeah, I am a wine enthousiast and a sommelier to be) and she was extremely knowledgeable. A beautiful experience.

This winery has a really nice setting. A very stylish, modern tasting room and a very nice area to sit outside, with a very relaxing feel to it. Since we were travelling with our Bulldog we took a seat outside and got some wine (with free nibbles). The wine was fine, got the typical Rioja flavour. But - compared to some other Bodegas we've visited - lacked a special something. Did not wow us enough. Prise-wise their wines are a good deal, but then there's so much competition around here. And considering that we just found the wine too average and quite light on the palate without any long-lasting flavours. But the setting is really nice, staff helpful and friendly. Still a fine Bodega to take a seat outside and enjoy a glass or two.

OK folks, this is simply the best wine made in Haro. Why? They have been doing it longer than most, doing it as a family, doing it with much longer aging in the oak barrels than any other winery in Haro and it results in fabulous wines. This family-owned winery makes highly individual wines in a style essentially unchanged since its inception in 1877. They grow all their grapes using organic methods, ferment using only natural yeasts and do not filter their wines. They employ four full-time coopers to make their barrels. Gravonia, Tondonia, Bosconia and Cubillo are all individual vineyards which have been in the family for generations. Patience is a family watchword, as this bodega thinks nothing of waiting twenty years before releasing a wine. Their "Crianzas" are aged like others' "Reservas"; the "Reservas" as long as others' "Gran Reservas"...and the ultimate accolade of "Gran Reserva" is accorded to only the very greatest vintages. Rarely are there more than three of these in a decade We did not tour here because we were blitzing through all the Haro wineries in one day. Take the tour because they have their own barrel-making operation. The only winery in La Rioja who does that. We spent 3 weeks in La Rioja tasting at 30 wineries and this is either #2 or #3 out of all of them. The price point in country is higher than most and for a damn good reason. They make spectacular wine. Do not waste your palate or your time/money with other wineries in Haro that cater to the blue-haired bus tour groups. This is wine heaven. It can be found in the US at specialty shops at a price level above $40 for the Crianza and above $50 for the reservas.

To be honest, I'm not really a huge fan of Todonia's wines. They're okay to drink, but I wouldn't buy any bottles to bring home. The staff are great though - friendly and helpful, and they also speak English. Tondonia also has a pretty sweet layout for outdoor seating. It is the perfect spot for anybody, small/large groups to hang out with a glass or two.

What the heck. for some reason my review has been deleted for no reason. Viña Tondonia Lopez De Heredia arguably is one of the best RIoja producers in the world. If youre visiting the Basque country and happen to fly into Bilbao, make an hour trip south and go into deep RIoja country. make a detour to Asador Extebarri while you're at it: (http://www.yelp.com/biz/asador-etxebarri-atxondo-2) it's totally worth the side trip Ive gotten to try numerous vintages, including some of the rarer white wines. the 2000 is a particular favorite. Rich complex. and fantastic with game meats, beef. A family that has been making fantastic wines for a long long time

Great wine, great service. We couldn't get a tour here (didn't book in enough time)- but we opted to stop for a tasting. We sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere. We also bought a few bottles to take back. Very comfortable and inviting atmosphere!

Excellent wines and a good visitor facility. Very knowledgeable and helpful staff who have a real passion for Rioja's wine industry and are willing to share insights both on their own wines and other producers in the region. No tours of the winemaking facilities or cellars is the only reason I am giving four stars. Well worth a stop if you are in Haro.

Truly some of the best of Rioja. The tasting was well done with a good selection of wines taken outside on the patio of the winery.

Visited yesterday and would echo Brett D's comments. I have been on a number of wine tours in CA and this is so vastly different. Most of the tour is spent in the limestone cooled buildings and cellar (bring a light jacket as its cool) which can be a great escape from the summer heat. Our guide spoke English well and was of course very knowledgeable about the wine making process and history of the vineyard. The cellars were hand dug and a spectacular sight and since i didnt think there was anything scary about it I say 5 stars. Cant recall the number of barrels but there must be 000's. A highlight was the mold covered stacked bottles of past vintages of which the 1942 red and 1957 white are the oldest. These can be purchased per bottle @1000 euros. I liked the fact that they only produce 5 wines - 3 reds and 2 whites. I liked the 2001 red Tondonia (medium bodied, dry, smooth silky finish) the best and this should easily keep another 5 yrs but very drinkable now.