James Suckling 92
Attractive aromas of blueberries and blackberries with hints of licorice, vanilla, cardamom and herbs. Juicy and crunchy on
the palate with firm tannins and a creamy mouth-feel. Seamless and even with a flavorful finish. Drink or hold. James Suckling, May 26, 2022

Location & Vineyard: Villaester de Abajo, in the province of Zamora, D.O. Toro Finca Los Quemaos
Year(s) Planted: Planted in 1900 on ungrafted (original) rootstock.
Variety: 100% Tinta de Toro
Viticulture: Traditional dry farmed viticulture. Practicing organic gobelet (vaso) trained vines, cultivated completely by hand.
Yields: 0.6-0.8 tons per acre (1.5-2.0 t/Ha) maximum permitted yields in D.O. Toro of 6 t/Ha
Vineyard Area: 30 acres (12 Ha.)
Altitude: 2400 ft. (730 m.)
Soils: Sandy loam of sedimentary origins dated back to the end of the Cretaceous period. These are the oldest soils in the Spanish Duero River Valley. Many of the soils have an important component of iron. Two to three meters below the surface, there is a 25 cm thick layer of red clay. Due to these sandy soils, Toro was the only continental Spanish DO to completely resist phylloxera. Bodegas Ordez exclusively works with ungrafted vineyards, as a result.

Climate: Continental steppe climate, with drastic temperature swings between day and night. The climate is also very dry annual rainfall levels reach 350 L/M2
Harvest: End of September and early October. Hand harvested and transported to the winery in small baskets.
Winemaking: Rigorous sorting is followed by destemming without crushing. The whole berries are transferred to 3,000L open top stainless-steel temperature-controlled vats. Fermentation is started with a pied de cuve, and maceration lasts between six and eight days, no more. The wine is pressed in a vertical basket press for twelve hours and is transferred immediately to new barriques sourced from Bordeaux & Burgundy. The primary fermentation finishes in barrique and malolactic starts spontaneously. The wine rests in barrel for 20 to 24 months.

Production: Bottled unclarified, unstabilized, and unfiltered. Approximately 2,000 cases; 24,000 bottles.

Comments: 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, the wines of Toro were the only wines in Medieval Spain allowed to be sold across regional borders without import tariffs, and accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. Jorge Ordez is arguably Toro's most important modern pioneer, having brought Toro back to the limelight in modern times after founding Bodegas Numanthia in 1997 with the Eguren family.