Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Monday, February 27, 2023 - 100% Tinta de Toro from over 100 ungrafted, non-irrigated parcels aged between 70 and 100 yo located in the villages of Valdefinjas, Toro and El Pego. The fully destemmed fruit is cold-soaked with the skins for more than a week followed by fermentation and maceration over a period of 28 days. Aged in new French oak barrels for 19 months. 14,5% alcohol. Total production 350 cases.

Dense, slightly translucent and quite concentrated cherry-red color with a pale raspberry-red rim. The overall appearance is surprisingly youthful - noticeably more so than with any other Numanthia in this vertical of vintages from 2011 to 1998. The nose feels savory, complex and somewhat spicy with vibrant, moderately evolved aromas of wizened black cherries, some dusty earth, a little bit of old leather, light strawberry tones, a hint of savory spices, a touch of vanilla oak and a whiff of sweeter toasty oak. The wine feels dense, firm and quite concentrated on the palate with a moderately full body and intense, juicy flavors of ripe black cherries, some succulent plummy tones, a little bit of old leather, light stony mineral notes, a hint of meaty umami and a touch of developed dried-fruit character. The high alcohol lends a little bit of warmth to the palate and the combination of surprisingly high acidity and quite assertive, grippy tannins make the wine feel very muscular and structure-driven without making it come across as too tough or aggressive. The finish is juicy, dense and quite grippy with a long and rather concentrated aftertaste of ripe, sweet-toned dark fruits, some woody notes of savory oak spice, a little bit of juicy red plums, light cherry marmalade tones, a hint of leather and a touch of stony minerality.

A big and concentrated but also surprisingly balanced and harmonious vintage of Numanthia. I've understood 2002 wasn't a particularly memorable vintage in most parts of Spain, but at least in Toro this cooler vintage seems to have only benefited the wines. Normally Numanthia is just way too big, excessively ripe and simply just too clumsy a wine for my taste; however, this 2002 sports atypically high acidity for the wine - it is pretty obvious when tasting so many different vintages in succession - and even if the wine is starting to show some evolved qualities, the overall feel is surprisingly youthful for its age. This is undeniably a Numanthia - ie. a big, ripe and powerful Tempranillo - but an enjoyably balanced effort for one. The wine is drinking really well right now, but there is still some potential for the fruit to improve with further cellaring and the tannins could soften up a bit more with additional aging as well. Drink or keep for another 10-ish years.

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