Bodegas R. López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Blanco, Reserva, 2014

Tondonia Blanco Reserva is one of Spain's most singular white wines — a bottle that makes no apologies for being unlike anything else on the shelf. From López de Heredia's flagship Viña Tondonia vineyard on the banks of the Ebro in Rioja Alta, this is a blend of Viura, Garnacha Blanca, and Malvasía, aged for years in old American oak barrels before extended bottle ageing in the bodega's labyrinthine cellars. The 2014 is only just being released, which tells you everything about how López de Heredia thinks about time.

The wine arrives oxidatively aged in the old Riojan style — amber-hued, waxy, and wonderfully composed, with a structure built around acidity rather than fruit.