Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Big, ripe and expressive, this modern-style red delivers bold cassis and cranberry flavors, with dark chocolate, sanguine and cinnamon accents. The firm tannins and orange peel acidity are a bit angular now, but should resolve in time. Best from 2018 through 2028. 500 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
This full-size, oak-heavy Toro smells of baked berry, prune and wood grain. Lush and chunky on the palate, with mild acidity and bulky tannins, this tastes mostly of toasty, blackened oak, cassis and blackberry. A choppy but long finish tastes chocolaty and rich. At 15.5%, this is extracted, with fleeting balance. Drink through 2020.
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
Spain's remote, high elevation Spanish wine zone between the regions of Bierzo and Ribera del Duero produces intense, full-bodied reds made from Tempranillo, locally called Tinta de Toro. This local variant has adapted to the region’s climatic extremes and recognizing its potential, top producers from Ribera del Duero and Rioja have invested heavily in its vineyards.