2002 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia

Community Tasting Notes (107) Avg Score: 90.6 points

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  2/27/2023 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  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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  9/5/2022 - MC2 Wines wrote:

  Interesting to read the previous note since I would have said almost the exact opposite. It's hard to tell this wine has 20 years. It's still big and bold and lots of fruit. A bit of heat to it. Different style to most of the wines of the night, but a wine that likes a good steak.

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  6/20/2022 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Deep garnet, the nose is lifted and perfumed with dry leaves (cigarette rather than cigar), mocha notes, milk chocolate powder, icing sugar, macerated plums and light coffee grinds.
  Medium-bodied, the entry is smooth and supple, medium intense with sweetness and a lively acidity that works itself through the wine. The flavours are inviting with macerated red plum, cherry liquor chocolates, ripe banana peel, mineral, spice cake and black forest Gateaux topped with raspberries. The tannins are firm and build towards the finish, there is some depth, but this is a larger-than-life Toro that is ebullient and carries itself well without descending into being heavy. Long finish and is infused with chocolate and even a touch of liquorice.

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  3/7/2021 - gediminasbielskus Likes this wine: 85 Points

  I think the wine is a bit tired. More dried fruit than fresh. And a touch of dustiness to it that I have found in the past with wines past their best. May have been my bottle, but my advice would be to drink up. Did a bit better with an hour or so of decanting.

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  8/12/2020 - kanowsky wrote: 93 Points

  Still vibrant, delicious.

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