Masters and Numanthias

Northbrook, IL
Tasted Sunday, April 13, 2008 by salil with 650 views

Introduction

Ken had a number of us over Sunday afternoon to watch the final round of the Masters and taste through a complete vertical of the Numanthia wines with a couple of Termanthias popped at the end and later some bonus 'golfer' wines (an Engelbrecht Els and a Greg Norman Shiraz, neither of which I got around to trying). I found some of the slightly older ones a little underwhelming considering the hype about these, but some of the younger Numanthias were truly knockouts. A really fun afternoon - thanks a lot Ken for your generosity in hosting this and opening those stellar wines.

Flight 1 - Welcome whites (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Numanthia vertical (8 Notes)

All the wines were double-decanted a while beforehand. I found the younger ones more impressive for the most part, although the 01 stole the show for me. This was the only one out of magnum though and seemed to be developing at a much slower rate.

  • 1998 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 90 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Dark red colour. Big intense nose shows lots of sweet dark fruits, vanilla, cocoa and oak. A little monolithic on the palate with chocolate, sweet oak and dark fruit flavours. Slightly grippy mouthfeel with chewy tannins and a medium length finish.

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  • 1999 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 91 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Dark red/purple colour. A little tight on the nose with aromas of coffee, vanilla, plums, blackberries and sweet oak. Dense and lush on the palate with more dark fruits, cocoa and oak, fairly soft tannins and a medium-long finish.

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  • 2000 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 91 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Inky dark red/purple colour. Full nose with lots of blackberry, coffee, black cherry and vanilla. Concentrated dark fruits, chocolate and some spice and vanilla notes follow on the palate with fairly firm tannins and a medium-long finish.

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  • 2001 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 95 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    From magnum. Inky purple-red colour. Awesome nose with tons of dark chocolate, spice, vanilla, blackberries, toast, smoke and cherry flavours. Incredibly intense and powerful on the palate with concentrated flavours of black and red fruits, chocolate, vanilla and toast. Plush mouthfeel with chewy tannins, low acidity and an incredibly long finish. Wow.

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  • 2002 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 92 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    This has a more earthy, savoury character to it than the other Numanthias tasted. Lots of dark chocolate, red and dark fruits, earth, vanilla and some toast on the nose and palate with a lush mouthfeel and smooth tannins. Rich medium-long finish.

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  • 2003 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 92 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Inky purple in colour. Intense nose with a slightly roasted character, showing aromas of toasty oak, smoke and dark fruits. Palate is dense showing sweet plums and black fruit flavours over oak and toast notes with firm tannins and a long finish.

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  • 2004 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 94 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Incredibly powerful, concentrated flavours of chocolate, blueberries, cherries, vanilla, oak and brown sugar dominate the nose and palate here. Plush, mouthcoating texture with firm, chewy tannins that are slightly obscured by the immense fruit concentration. Very long finish.

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  • 2005 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 93 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Great nose with violets, dark chocolate, cherries, blackberries and vanilla. Palate is immense with huge red and black fruit flavours over cocoa, spice, toasty oak and vanilla. Grippy, tannic mouthfeel with a long finish.

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Flight 3 - Termanthias (2 Notes)

I think these were just popped and poured after the Numanthias. Massive wines, and the 2000 was probably my favourite of the night.

  • 2000 Bodega Numanthia Toro Termanthia 95 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Inky purple-black colour. HUGE nose - incredibly intense aromas of dark flowers, blackberries, plums, dark chocolate, brown sugar, sweet oak and coffee literally explode from the glass. Very powerful, dense palate coats the mouth with black fruits, chocolate, vanilla and sweet oak. The fruit concentration here is unbelievable - yet this has very good balance and structure with firm, chewy tannins and a very long finish. Spectacular, and I think this will get even better with time.

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  • 2005 Bodega Numanthia Toro Termanthia

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Sheer infanticide. A ton of new oak on the nose with some dark flowers, chocolate and sweet black fruits poking through with a little air. A brute of a wine on the palate - this is incredibly tannic and very tightly wound, showing monolithic black fruits, chocolate and new oak flavours with lots of power and length. Hard to get a grip on this right now, as this is very inaccessible with the mass of firm tannin and I found it tough to drink more than a few sips. Needs a LOT of time.

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