2019 Vatan Tinta De Toro

2019 Vatan Tinta De Toro

2019 Vatan Tinta De Toro Dried-berry and fig aromas with chocolate and walnuts, following through to a full body with lots of tannins and a chewy finish. Shows some freshness and agility for the appellation. This needs time to soften. Better after 2022.”

Vatan is the pure representation of the oldest clone of Tempranillo in Spain, from some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the country, located in the only Spanish D.O. that completely resisted the phylloxera plague. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain’s most famous winemaking region. Mentioned in literature by Alfonso IX (King of León, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. In 14th Century Sevilla, the sale of any foreign wine was prohibited, save the wines of Toro. These wines accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. D.O. Toro was rediscovered in the 1990’s by the Numanthia project, masterminded by Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family.

La Guia Penin is Spain’s most famous and comprehensive wine guide. He is the Robert Parker of Spain. It is compiled by José Peñin, whose impressive knowledge of international and Spanish wines has been gathered over more than 25 years as a professional wine writer and journalist.

Vatan is the pure representation of the oldest clone of Tempranillo in Spain, from some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the country, located in the only Spanish D.O. that completely resisted the phylloxera plague. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain’s most famous winemaking region. Mentioned in literature by Alfonso IX (King of León, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. In 14th Century Sevilla, the sale of any foreign wine was prohibited, save the wines of Toro. These wines accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. D.O. Toro was rediscovered in the 1990’s by the Numanthia project, masterminded by Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family.

During a Charlie Rose TV broadcast, wine critic Robert Parker was interviewed and asked, “Which up and coming wine region will make world-class red wines?”  His answer, without hesitating, was The Toro region of Spain.  Today’s wine is a great wine from Toro and a tremendous value, from the oldest vines of Tempranillo in the entire country of Spain.  Superbly rich, opulent, great concentration and marvelously supple. The 2019 Vatan Tinto de Toro at our price is as good as red wine gets.  I have poured this blind against some triple digit heavy hitters, and Vatan always wins out.  This is one of my all-time favorite Spanish wines.

Owned and made by the great Jorge Ordonez, who is the pioneer of introducing the US market to the greatness of Spain, and how much consumers can get for their money, with properties like Muga, Sierra Cantabria and Borsao taking the American wine lover by storm.  Vatan is the pure representation of the oldest clone of Tempranillo in Spain, from some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the country, located in the only Spanish D.O. that completely resisted the phylloxera plague. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain’s most famous winemaking region. Mentioned in literature by Alfonso IX (King of Len, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Gngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. In 14th Century Sevilla, the sale of any foreign wine was prohibited, save the wines of Toro. These wines accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. D.O. Toro was rediscovered by the Numanthia project, masterminded by Jorge Ordonez and the Eguren family. From 100 year old plus vines. Perfect fall drinking. 2019 is a 95pt Parker Vintage. I would put it against any other big red at our price! I strongly recommend!

Bodega Ordóñez

Long ago, the town of Toro was famous for producing the finest red wine in Spain and was mentioned in the historic literature of Alfonso IX (King of León, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. In 14th Century Sevilla, the sale of any foreign wine was prohibited, save the wines of Toro. These wines also accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World.The legendary Duero River plays a very important role in the history of D.O. Toro. The Duero deposited Toro’s characteristic sandy soils in this region thousands of years ago. These sandy soils allowed D.O. Toro to completely resist the phylloxera plague, and as a result, Toro was the only Spanish region that completely resisted the phylloxera, and is home to the highest concentration of ungrafted vines in Spain.

Jorge Ordóñez is Toro’s most important modern pioneer. When Jorge first traveled to Toro in 1991 he discovered no more than five cooperative wineries. He also found acres of incredible pre-phylloxera vineyards, planted on their original rootstock. In 1995, Jorge first travelled to Toro with the Eguren family of Rioja, in hopes of founding a winery with them. In 1997, Bodegas Numanthia was founded by Jorge and the Eguren family and become an icon for this historic region and the production of world class wines from authentic vineyards.

After the sale of Numanthia, Jorge founded Bodegas Ordóñez, his personal project in D.O. Toro. As Ordóñez himself says, it is an honor and privilege to produce wines from the oldest clones of Tempranillo, planted and cared for with the most traditional methods of viticulture. At Bodegas Ordóñez, Jorge pioneers and champions D.O. Toro as one of the world’s finest red wine regions.Toro is a special region for Jorge and the rest of Jorge Ordóñez Selections, because it is the perhaps the region that best embodies the Ordóñez philosophy – producing wine from the oldest clones of Spain’s indigenous varieties. The local indigenous grape, Tinta de Toro, is Spain’s oldest and most original clone of Tempranillo.