Winemaker Notes
Deep in color, the Dominio del Bendito Las Sabias has an elegant and powerful nose with notes of blackberries, blueberry and cassis. The mouth is medium-to-full-bodied with a seductive entrance. The finish is marked by elegance and balance.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted two vintages of the ungrafted Tinta de Toro selected from different plots of old vines, of which they have more and more. The 2019 Las Sabias comes from a very dry and warm year when the grapes ripened thoroughly, which makes it the most powerful wine here, quite classical, combining new and used barrels for 16 months. It has a full body and abundant grainy tannins and is very powerful, ripe and concentrated with a dry finish. 14,604 bottles produced.
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.