2012 Vintae Toro Matsu El Viejo

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90.3 points

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  1/27/2021 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Vintae is an innovative and young and enterprise of José Miguel Arambarri Terrero, who has joined under one umbrella several different wines. His sons have joined him in the effort bringing traditional and modern techniques and concepts together.
  
  Vintae’s website states: “Matsu in Japanese means “wait”, and it is probably the concept that best defines the philosophy that inspired the wines comprising this collection. Respect for nature, knowing when to wait for the ideal moment and the regard for people who have devoted their life to the vineyard and making wine are the ideas that have inspired this collection. For this reason, the labels have been mostly dedicated to the three generations of winegrowers that provide their youth, maturity and wisdom in the different moments of its life.”
  
  Pretty cool 😎. We sipped the old man label last night.
  
  100% Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo). Alcohol 15%. Vineyards Selection of Century old vineyards of very limited production, cultivated according to biodynamic technical standards (whatever that means 🤔). 16 months in French oak barrels. No filtering or clarification.
  
  Intense cherry on the eye with light violet rim. Reminiscent of the cherry red 1969 Firebird. Ooooweebaby, that brings back a memory or a dozen!!!
  
  Aromas of strong black fruits with well-integrated hints of toasted oak, spice and a finish of smoked ham. Powerful and warm.
  
  A bold presentation on the palate with sweet cherries and toasted oak. Tannins are soft and understated as the finish thunders along for quite sometime.
  
  We always will remember our first time sipping all three versions (ah, it was good to be young) at a small restaurant in Andorra. Quite the journey with a very suitable wine.

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  5/15/2019 - forceberry wrote: 89 Points

  15% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Dense black-red color with a hint of developed maroon hue. The nose feels ripe, sweet-toned and quite modern with fruit-driven aromas of juicy blackcurrants, some developed leathery tones, a little bit of vanilla, light notes of strawberry and a hint of dried figs. Very Spanish overall character. The wine is full-bodied, rich and quite extracted on the palate with concentrated flavors of sweet, extracted blackcurrants and juicy dark plums, some boysenberries, a little bit of sweet, toasty oak spice, light figgy tones, a hint of vanilla and a touch of sweet new leather. The overall feel is very structured with the high acidity and ample, firm and grippy tannins. The high alcohol boosts the sweetness of the fruit and lends a somewhat hot and boozy streak to the palate. The finish is ripe, long and grippy with intense flavors of almost jammy blackcurrants, some plummy tones, a little bit of sweet oak spice, light notes of vanilla, a hint of peppery and slightly volatile roughness and a touch of leather.
  
  An impressively structured, concentrated and bold Toro with a very modern, polished sheen. Impressive in its own right, but perhaps a bit too sweet, modern and oaky for my taste - at least when the wine is this young. I can imagine such a structured powerhouse as this can age remarkably well in a cellar, so if the wine manages to integrate some of that oak and brings some savory, developed complexity to complement that sweet, concentrated fruit, I'd be a lot more impressed. For immediate consumption this is good but not great; however, the wine seems to be brimming with potential.

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  4/27/2017 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Drank at La Paloma Hong Kong Matsu wine tasting. Dark, black cherry with a hint of red. Thick. Sixteen months in oak offered ripe dar fruits with some toasted oak and herbs. Yet again, a touch too much alcohol at the start. This luvly requires at least three hours breathing before even approaching. Full-bodied, soon to be elegant but currently wet coffee grinds tannins. At least another 3 years before worthwhile opening. Barely legal now and, frankly, a bit difficult to sip. Good QPR.

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  5/11/2016 - Harley1199 wrote:

  Kindly decanted . Having carefully read the back label to understand the Japanese origin of the word matsu (to wait) you realize that no hurry is a good thing with this wine. Aromas of liqueur of very ripe black currants and cereals. In the mouth it is unbalanced , too alcoholic ... it 's burning! No trace of elegance nor distinction.
  
  Amablemente decantado. Tras leer atentamente la etiqueta trasera para comprender el origen japonés de la palabra matsu (esperar) uno comprende que no tener prisa es una buena cosa con este vino. Aromas a licor de grosellas negras muy maduras y a cereales. En boca se muestra desequilibrada, demasiado alcohólica...¡está quemando! No hay traza alguna de elegancia ni de distinción.

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