2003 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 - 100% Tinta de Toro. Cold-soaked for up to 5 days before the fermentation in oak vats, aged in French (70%), American (25%) and Hungarian (5%) oak barrels for 12 months. Bottle #53846. 15% alcohol.
Dark, almost fully opaque yet still relatively youthful cherry-red color with a brick-orange rim. Very dense, concentrated and dark-toned nose with somewhat evolved aromas of wizened dark plums, some boozy notes of alcohol, a little bit of leathery funk, light tertiary nuances of tobacco, a meaty hint of prosciutto and a touch of forest floor. The wine feels ripe, dense and concentrated with intense and rather sweetish flavors of wizened dark plums, some dried dates, a little bit of overripe black cherry, light raisiny tones, a hint of tobacco and a touch of blackberry or black raspberry. The high alcohol lends some obvious heat to the palate and the structure seems to rely mostly on the tough, extracted and still quite grippy tannins rather than on the medium-plus acidity. The finish is rich, bold and quite grippy with rather pronounced alcohol heat and intense, somewhat evolved and moderately sweetish flavors of prunes and raisins, some savory notes of old leather and a little bit of tobacco, an extracted hint of woody bitterness and an evolved touch of gamey meat.
Contrasting the very evolved and rather oxidized bottle we tasted a year and a half ago, this wine was miles better - not really showing any obvious oxidative notes, just very evolved and moderately tertiary fruit. There's still not escaping the fact that this wine comes from a very sunny vintage in a very hot region, so there's lots of everything - except for perhaps finesse. The wine is big, concentrated and quite clumsy, with way too much alcohol for my preference. Even though the wine is fully drinkable - unlike the previous bottle we had - this still feels more like a caricature of Toro than a wine to be taken seriously. This is good in its own sort of way, but still not my kind of thing.
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Comment posted by StefanAkiko:
7/16/2022 9:59:00 AM - My personal feeling for "clumsy wines" is usually when they miss out on the acidic components. To us, this wine has the acidity it needs to be great with food. We really love this style of wine, especially as they manage to pull this off in a hot year in a hot region…
As long as the corks hold, we will enjoy this vintage of Pintia for many more years.
Hope you have a more happyfying wine in your glass tonight!
Cheers!
Comment posted by forceberry:
7/22/2022 8:25:00 AM - I fully agree on the point that wines that are lacking in acidity typically come across as clumsy. However, I guess the level of acidity which one considers adequate for the wine to come across as "not clumsy" varies - and for me, most Toro and Ribera del Duero wines come across as rather clumsy.
Not all though! Some wines do have acidity that is high enough to keep such a big and extracted wine in balance and lend it freshness. However, the level of acidity needs to be considerably high, as I feel that the bigger the wine is, the more it needs acidity to retain good sense of balance. For me, this 2003 Pintia didn't have enough freshness and brightness from the acidity, which is why it felt rather clumsy and awkward. Not surprising, though, considering how hot 2003 was!