Winemaker Notes
Numanthia displays a ripe cherry color with ruby reflections. The nose is elegant, fresh, and deep, with hints of red berries, cocoa, sweet spices, and a floral background. The palate offers a gentle, ample, and sweet entry, showcasing great expression and balance. It features smooth, well-coated tannins with a sense of volume. Flavors of ripe blueberries and black currants, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a finish with hints of rosemary and graphite contribute to a long and complex finish. The wine's good acidity provides length and ensures its aging potential.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Very cool character of blue fruits and orange peel. Some cold fruit undertones. Hints of cedar. Blend of 100 different lots from eight different terroirs. Medium to full body. Fine and juicy tannins and a delicious finish. Hints of hazelnuts and berries at the end. Refined. Youngest vine used is 55-years-old and the oldest is 150-years-old. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
-
Vinous
The 2019 Numanthia is 100% Tinta de Toro from the Toro Denominación de Origen (D.O.). It was aged for 18 months in French oak (60% new, 40% once-used), with barrels in both 225-liter and 400-liter formats. The nose offers black cherry, chocolate, soft cedar, hawthorn and delicate herbs. On the palate, this wine is powerful and structured, with richness and depth. Oak and fruit interplay to create a layered, full-bodied wine with extract and a soft grip that adds definition.
-
Wine Spectator
A rich swath of crème de cassis, blackberry paste, mocha and licorice is counterpointed by a savory range of bay leaf, fresh earth and iron accents in this stately red. Fresh, with sculpted tannins and fine detail and focus through the long, creamy finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The eponymous 2019 Numanthia is a selection from over 100 small plots averaging 75 years of age. It reflects a warm and ripe year with its 15.5% alcohol and is a powerful and generous red with a full-bodied palate and plenty of ripe black fruit and spices from the élevage. It matured in 60% new barrels and 40% second- and third-use barrels, 20% of them 400-liter ones, for a period of 18 months. The oak feels better integrated in the wine, the tannins are fine-grained, and there is nice balance.
Numanthia is located in the Toro region of Spain. Its four vineyards are located along the south bank of the Duero River.
The wine is named after a legendary Spanish city that was destroyed (after 20 yrs of resistance) by Roman legions. It is to Spain what the hilltop village of Masada is to Israel: a monument of history. Its 40 hectares of land are covered with an abundance of elements derived from the disintegration of Pliocene grit, clay and limestone.
Numanthia's first vintage was produced in 1998 and received a 95-point rating from Robert Parker. Since then, the Toro region has been producing wines that have begun to rival those of Spain's richest wine-producing regions of Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Priorat.
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.