The efforts of Spain’s best winemakers and the potential of Toro’s soil and old-vine vineyards have combined to produce powerful, top quality red wines. Today, Toro’s best wines rival the finest from Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Priorat.

Toro wines are among the boldest Spanish reds, because of their intense fruit and brawny structure (full acidity, tannins and alcohol). They have a distinctive style that is hearty, meaty, strong and extracted. While Toro wines are similar to wines from nearby Ribera del Duero, and share the the familiar aromas and flavors of Ribera del Duero, such as deep, ripe red and black cherry, dark plum, mineral, hay and barnyard notes, Toro wines sometimes display tar and menthol notes which add to their unique, full-bodied character.

The Eguren family owns some of the top bodegas in Spain, from the value oriented Dominio de Eguren bodega to the Sierra Cantabria, San Vincente and Viñedos de Paganos bodegas in the Rioja DOCa region. These bodegas produce the value wines Protocolo and Codice and the and top rated Riojas Amancio, El Bosque, San Vicente and El Puntido. The Egurens have set up separate wineries for each bodega in Rioja and Toro so that grapes picked nearby can be vinified quickly and with a minimum of manipulation.

The first vintage of Numanthia, the 1998, arrived on the scene with a 95 point rating from Robert Parker, which helped propel Toro into international prominence. This and other praise also helped make Toro perhaps the hottest region in Spain over the last five years. Since their initial Numanthia release Bodegas Numanthia-Termes has gone on to release the more affordably priced "Termes" bottling and the "Termanthia" super cuvée. The Eguren family picked the name Numanthia because of its association with the tough locals of antiquity who resisted Roman conquest for over 20 years. The Egurens note a "parallel heroism" with the region’s Tinto de Toro vines that resisted the encroaching phylloxera epidemic afflicting most of Spain’s vineyards at the turn of the Twentieth Century.

Numanthia’s four Vega de Toro vineyards, on the south bank of the Duero River, cover about 47 acres. They have brown, sandy, well-draining topsoils with a loamy texture, which is good for water retention. The subsoils have Pliocene grit, clay and limestone that contain copious trace elements which result in wines with distinctive aromas and flavors. The vineyards have 70 to 100 year old, pre-phylloxera vines sited at 2,300 foot elevations. Yields are a miniscule one ton per acre. After a stringent selection process, the grapes undergo a 28-day maceration period with a gentle pumping over (remontage). The wine completes malolactic fermentation in barrel before aging in French oak casks for 19 months. The wine is then bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The 2003 Numanthia is one of the best vintages this producer has ever had. It may well surpass the amazing debut vintage of 1998. Although not yet rated, we predict superb reviews in the wine press for this fantastic wine. It offers very ripe, intense and profound aromas of crushed black and red cherries, brambly blackberries, along with notes of cured meat, spice, minerals and a hint of black pepper. In the mouth, the wine has beautiful, luxurious and full fruit with soft definition that spreads out on the palate. It has great depth and structure, yet is remarkably well-balanced and composed. The finish is very long and cries out for another sip. Pair this wine with bold flavored fare like game, red meats, roasts and cured or smoked cheeses.

—Chris