Winemaker Notes
The Eguren family sought to honor Victorino Eguren with this elegant, complex, fresh expression of Tinta de Toro. Sourced from some of the finest ungrafted vineyards in Toro, the Eguren family’s philosophy is to discover the elegance of Tinta de Toro. Victorino is the most muscular wine from Teso la Monja.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A smaller production cuvée that's from top sites and old vines, the 2016 Victorino is all Tinta de Toro that spent 20 months in new French oak. It's on another level and has rocking richness and depth as well as notes of blackcurrants, chocolate, smoked herbs, and graphite. Full-bodied, multi-dimensional, ripe and sexy on the palate, it’s a gorgeous, flawlessly balanced red to enjoy over the coming 10-15 years, probably longer
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James Suckling
A big and very rich wine with chewy and polished tannins and lots of ripe fruit and density. Full body. Chewy tannins. Muscular and powerful. Yet, it’s fresh. Needs three or four years to be ready.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was able to compare two vintages of a couple of wines, as was the case with the 2016 Victorino, which I tasted next to the 2017. 2016 was a cold and wet year that resulted in a long harvest after slow ripening of the grapes. For this cuvée, they select grapes from vineyards between 45 and up to 100 years of age that ferment destemmed in stainless steel and mature in brand-new French barriques for 20 months. Surprisingly enough, this has a lot more structure and tannins than the 2017, which felt lighter and more approachable; this is full-bodied and powerful, a concentrated year despite the higher yields. They harvested the grapes in October, quite late. Wait a bit. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2018.
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Wine Spectator
Cocoa and clove notes accent a core of blackberry, espresso, licorice and loamy earth flavors in this rich red. The muscular tannins are well-integrated and balanced by balsamic acidity. Harmonious, in the modern style.
Teso La Monja was founded in 2007 by Marcos and Miguel Angel Eguren, the fourth winemaking generation of the Eguren family from San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja Alavesa. As they have been growing Tempranillo in Rioja Alavesa since the late 1800’s, the Eguren family fell in love with D.O. Toro when they first travelled there with Jorge Ordóñez, seduced by the region’s original clone of Tempranillo and ungrafted vines.
Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family were the original founders of Bodegas Numanthia, which was responsible, along with their current work, for the resurrection of D.O. Toro as one of Spain’s preeminent wine regions. After the sale of Numanthia in 2007, the Eguren family founded Teso La Monja as a new challenge for the family – finding the elegance in the wines of Toro.
The family selected vineyards in the northernmost part of D.O. Toro that have a much higher proportion of rounded stones than what is typical. This produces extremely silky, elegant wines. The winemaker, Marcos Eguren, is considered by many to be the finest winemaker in Spain. His son, Eduardo Eguren, the fifth generation, also works as the winemaker at Teso La Monja.
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.