TESO DE LA MONJA 08 VICTORINO
WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "The 2008 Victorino went through malolactic in new French oak followed by 18 months of aging in new barrels. Dense purple in color, it displays an already complex bouquet of Asian spices, sandalwood, leather, balsamic, and brooding black fruits. Dense and backward on the palate but well-balanced, it mandates a minimum of 5-7 years of cellaring. It will provide prime drinking from 2017 to 2028."While Almirez is all satin and spice, Victorino is darker, smokier and more minerally. Victorino is amazingly open for such a big, structured wine. All that blackberry fruit and richness can’t be wrong, can it? But with proper cellaring this is the kind of wine that can go another 15-20 years and still not show you all its secrets. Part of the story here is un-grafted vines. Like most placesin the world, the vineyard-pest phylloxera is in nearly every vineyard in Europe, meaning nearly every vine in Spain (as elsewhere) is grafted for protection. Toro’s sandy soils ensure that there are pockets of land where phylloxera cannot live and the vines can be “own-rooted.” We’ve heard a handful of top producers speak reverently about the aromatic complexities of un-grafted vines and perhaps this explains the immediate beauty and “wow” factor of this wine. Then again, it could be the intense hand-de-stemming practices of the Eguren family or the ridiculously low yields of 0.6 tons/acre.
