2008 was cooler, offering a different look at the wines from a cooler year and are now 8 years old so they should be showing some signs of maturity. If you want to get an idea of what Tinta de Toro Tempranillo is like, 2012 is the current vintage, with 2010 touted as the best vintages in recent years. Both producers are leaders in the region and have some of the best vineyard sites with ancient head trained bush vines. In the afternoon we headed south of the Toro village to the river plains of the Duero River at the LVMH owned Numanthia. My first of two appointments that day was at Mauro Dos, famous for their textbook San Roman Toro north of the village.
San Roman vines lie in vineyards like this covered in these polished round stones that help regulate heat and moisture. Annual rainfall is a minuscule average of 350-400mm (3). That high altitude, proximity to the Duero River, the occasional (and brief) rain and strong breezes are crucial to moderating the high heat and long exposures to sunlight in the growing season. Elevation of the vineyards stands at 2,000-2,500 feet above sea level (2).
High in elevation and landlocked, the climate is continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Vines and cereals are about the only thing that can grow in this harsh climate that is dry and intensely hot during the growing season. And like the bull, Tinta de Toro’s character is dark, brooding, and intense with a firm structure.įormerly a Roman outpost, grape growing has been rooted deep in the history of this red soil and limestone-laden land going back to Rome’s first foray in 210 BC (1). Tinta de Toro, a variant of the Tempranillo grape, is the dominant grape planted in the Toro. Toro is home to the bull, the iconic black coated cattle beast that is Spain’s national animal. My first stop in Spain was to the most obvious place to go if you are leaving the Douro from the east, the Toro in Castilla y Leon.
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