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One of the most iconic white wines in the world, Viña Tondonia Blanco, is renowned for its complexity, aging potential, and unique flavor profile—notes of bitter almond and hazelnut that evolve beautifully over time. A bottle of Tondonia is a piece of Rioja history, and while it's a benchmark for collectors and connoisseurs alike, it comes at a steep price, and even harder to find.

But here’s the exciting part: the 2017 Bodegas Tarón Patiens Rioja Alta DOC offers a very similar style, with the same aging potential, balance, and complexity you’d expect from a top-tier Rioja—and it’s priced a fraction of what you'd pay for Tondonia.

2017 is the current release and it's drinking beautifully now, with vibrant citrus fruit and a subtle touch of oak, and it will only improve with age, continuing to develop over the next 10+ years—just like Tondonia.

While Tondonia remains one of the most sought-after and hard-to-find whites in the world, Tarón's Patiens is offering that same classic Rioja Blanco style, with all the aging potential and quality, but without the inflated price.

Bodegas Tarón sits in the absolute middle of nowhere—the northernmost edge of Rioja where the Obarenes Mountains meet the sky and tourists never venture. Four tiny villages—Sajazarra, Tirgo, Villaseca, and Cuzcurrita de Río Tirón. These aren’t your typical vacation spots or Instagram hotspots. These are historic villages, where medieval castles still stand guard over vineyards that have been making wine since long before Columbus set sail for the New World.

The story starts with rebellion. A few years back, the farming families in these four villages looked around and realized something infuriating: they were growing some of the finest grapes in all of Rioja, but selling them off to big producers who'd blend them into anonymous bottles and slap corporate labels on them. Meanwhile, those same corporate giants were charging premium prices for wines that weren't any better than what these families could make themselves.

So they made a pact. Pool their best vineyards—nearly 700 hectares of vines averaging over 50 years old—and start making their own wine. Not to get rich, not to build a wine empire, but to honor the generations of knowledge passed down through their families. This wasn't some Silicon Valley startup with venture capital funding. This was four villages saying "enough" to an industry that had forgotten what authentic winemaking looked like.

The families behind Tarón aren't household names, and they like it that way. They're third and fourth-generation grape growers who know every vine by sight, who can predict the weather by watching how their grandfather's favorite vineyard responds to morning mist. They've watched the wine world transform around them—corporate buyouts, consultant winemakers, focus groups determining flavor profiles—while they just kept doing what their families had always done.

These aren't the neat, tidy vineyard rows you see in wine magazines. These are gnarly, bush-trained vines that look like they've been through a war, clinging to rocky clay-limestone soils at 700 meters above sea level. The families at Tarón hand-select only their most ancient, most stubborn vines—the ones that produce pathetically small yields but grapes so concentrated they practically vibrate with intensity.

This is a BHW direct import, which means it bypasses the usual labyrinth of importers, distributors, and retailers who typically triple wine prices between Spain and your local shop. No corporate overlords deciding which markets get priority. No committee meetings determining optimal price points. Just families who've been making wine longer than most countries have existed, finally deciding to put their own name on the bottle.

While the wine world obsesses over famous names and inflated prices, these four villages just keep doing what they've always done: making wine that captures the soul of their land, one bottle at a time. They're not trying to conquer export markets or build lifestyle brands. They're just trying to make wine their grandfathers would be proud of.

The smart money isn't chasing the next hyped release or trophy bottle. The smart money is finding wines like this—authentic, uncompromising, and priced like the secret they deserve to remain. Because once word gets out about what's happening in these forgotten Spanish hills, those days of under-the-radar pricing are numbered.

Aging: On its own lees and then remains in barrels for a further three years.

100% Viura. Bright straw yellow. The nose, initially subtle, gradually develops elegant and complex aromas with notes of pastry, sweet spices and light herbal hints. White fruit, such as ripe pears and quinces, is also present. It has a smooth, pleasing entry, maintaining great harmony and exquisite acidity that envelops the mouth, making it fresh and long-lasting.

Light gold hue. Plenty of wood spices, with vanilla, nougat, almonds, hazelnuts and dried lemons. Medium- to full-bodied with a fresh, flavorful center palate and a long and creamy finish. Pretty traditional in style. 100% viura. Needs some time to let the oak weave into the fruit. Try from 2026. ~92 James Suckling

~92 Tim Atkin, Master of Wine

~91 Decanter

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