Nose is fully of bloody meat, salami, violets, wild herbs, cedery oak and a touch of liquorice. You’ll notice there isn’t one fruit descriptor in there, as its not overly fruity more savoury and secondary. OK there is some cherry and plum in there. Round and lush in the mouth, but there is some spine there, and plenty of acid to give the finish a nice tart note. Savory, complex and spicy in the mouth, small but plentiful tannins lend some pleasing texture. Its a serious, adult wine that you can happily drink now or over the next 8 or 10 years. But be quick, I’m told there is very little stock for this vintage. 92 Pts

Source: Toro Wines Price: Around $55 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.eguren.com

Of course I’ve seen the movie, read the comments in articles and forums etc. Industrial and lacking soul I’ve heard, I’ve also heard that many of his wines are fantastic. So I opened this with an open mind, but with wines like Pago la Jara, San Roman and Numanthia as reference points for what I consider to be classic, terroir driven wines from Toro. And to be honest, I thought this was lacking in the identity stakes. I don’t get that this is from Toro, or even Spain, while tasting this wine. That’s not to say it’s not a very well made wine however. I did try to eat some lamb with this, but the wine was too much…

This is good to go from opening, but I decanted and drank over 3 hours. The nose comes barrelling out of the glass with dusty chocolate shop (chocolate, vanilla, sweet creamy coffee etc) over the top of some blackberry and blueberry fruit.  I couldn’t really call this subtle, but it isn’t over done at the same time. In the mouth, its thick and lush, fluffy and soft tannins with just the right level of acid to maintain good balance. It is a little jammy on the palate, and full of warm fruit, however it doesn’t show its 15.5+ alcohol. A bit of a monster all up, but an enjoyable one. 92 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $145 Closure: Conventional Cork

Kind of like walking into the butchers after buying a bunch of mixed flowers. Throw in some earthy, meaty herbs like rosemary, and a good dose of cherry and you’re almost there. A little medium bodied, elegant rather than ballsy with light tannins and bright acid. Big length. Dark cherry, plum, gamey animal notes on the palate. Clean, fresh and funky. This seems to have come up a notch in this vintage. 90 Pts

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork

This bottle did have a bit of DMS (a tinned corn smell) on the nose to start with, give it a good decant and it will blow off.

The nose kicks things off with toasty oak, a touch of tinned corn, sarsaparilla, blackberry and earthy minerals. Big juicy fruit, red and dark cherry, blackberry and sars, black olives, inky fruit, plenty of small chalky tannins. Nice balance and length. Rustic and tasty with classic Toro character. 89 Pts.

Source: Negociants Australia Price: Around $42 Closure: Conventional Cork

The book is The Spanish Cockpit by Franz Borkenau. Its a first person account of the Spanish civil. It’s more of a diary of his travels around Spain in ‘36 and ‘37 with the Government forces (the revolutionaries and ultimate loosers in the war) . An interesting read, but heavy going if you’re not familiar with the topic.

Deep and dark in glass with a powerful nose of coffee beans, coco, lashings of blackberry and dark cherry with nutmeg, sage and earth. This is a very serious wine, concentrated and powerful, rich and youthful. The palate shows a similar profile, but adds some hot tarmac and a few leafy herbs. A very long finish with a touch of minerals. It shut down about 3 hours in, this is one for the cellar.  92+ Pts.

Source: Retail Price: $104 Closure: Conventional Cork

And yes the label does look like a pair of boobs….I’m assuming its supposed to be a pair of bull horns.

Earth, spice, herby undergrowth, lavender, cherry liqueur and Irish pipe tobacco. Juicy, gamy fruit in the mouth followed by a healthy finish. On the palate there is roast meat juice, savoury cherry, cola and sage. The end of the bottle comes all to fast, excellent with some stewed ox tail too. 88 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $20 Closure: Conventional Cork

Very dark in the glass, with a purple rim. The nose is off and going from the start: gamey dark cherry, blackberry, sarsaparilla, a shake of black pepper with some rose and violet high notes. In the mouth the tannins slowly build into big, soft things followed up by some minerally acid. A bit tight in the mouth, but showing show meaty, juby dark cherry with some sars, espresso coffee, and sage. A good long finish with a herbal note wraps it all up. It has all the stuffing to go well in the cellar for 3-4 years then drink well over the following 10. 94+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Cost: $130 Closure: Conventional Cork

I drank this after getting home on Wednesday night, about 4 hours later than normal. A storm had taken out most of the public transport in Melbourne, as well as my fence! So something serious to drink was in order. I must say I prefer the style of the 05 to the 04, its more refined and less dark and brooding. The 05 is still very punchy, and by no means a light weight though. I quickly organised some for the cellar after tasting this one, I passed on the 04.

If you didn't know, the Eguren family sold this property to LMVH a couple of months ago. However, the current winemaking team are staying on for this year's vintage so we have a couple more vintages to look forward to under the current team. Not being the kind of people to kick back and blow the $25 million Euros on speedboats and parties with Paris Hilton , they've already got another Toro property in development and a couple of new ventures/improvements in their home base of Rioja. 

A beautiful nose of ceadery oak, mocha, violets and handful of berries: blueberry, blackberry dark cherry and black current. Very intense and complex in the mouth, well structured with powdery tannins, plenty of grip and excellent balance.  It almost feels light in on your tongue, but its flavour packed. Blackberry, dark cherry and mulberry fruit with added complexity from some mocha, earthy herbs, minerals and a touch of pepper. A luxurious finish. Outstanding as a drink now proposition, but will age gracefully until 2020. 96+ Pts.

Source: Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $125  Closure: Conventional Cork 

Web:  www.eguren.com

I had a bit of night out on Friday night (more than a bit actually) and needed something comfortable and familiar to slip into on Saturday night. I lit a fire, got some good solid cheese and decanted this around 5pm. By 8 it was ready to go. I've been thinking  about what is the best way to taste wine. A sip and spit or a long, slow glass. It depends on the wine to some extent, but I think the longer you have with the wine, the better you'll know it and the more you'll get out of it. Of course if you're tasting 6000 wines a year, there is no time for mucking around.  Luckily I don't have that problem. 
 

Very dark in the glass with a hint of ruby towards the edge.   The nose offers up the classic cherry cola, with brambly undergrowth, some herbage and dried meat.  Meaty, but medium bodied with good balance, the tannins are restrained but chunky.  Quite a broad palate that shows really concentrated cherry, cola and pepper on the palate.  Good drinking now.  87 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $23 Closure: Conventional Cork

If you are after a subtle wine, this is probably not for you.  Yes it is big, powerful and rich.  But it isn't over the top, its well restrained, balanced and complex.  It has structure and all the elements to age very well.  Kind of like the mythical perfect man they talk about in magazines like Men's Health or Cleo.

Deep and dark in colour, you can see that it is going to stain your teeth.  The nose is chock full of aromas: roast meat, coffee, currents, blackberry, mocha, chocolate and cherry liqueur.  I could keep going, but it would be too much.  Starting off shy and medium bodied, this build with time in the glass to a luxurious, mouth coating, full bodied wine with loads of broad, soft tannins.  Constantly evolving in the decanter, there are flavours of dark cherries, black currents, slight pepper, chocolate, cola and minerals.  A lick of minerals on the long finish.  Put this in a cool, dark place for at least 5 years, then drink over the following 15.  If you can't wait, a big decant is in order.  95+ Pts.

Source:  Toro/Woods Wines Price: Around $125  Closure: Conventional Cork 

Web:  www.eguren.com

I have a bit of a soft spot for this wine, it was one of the wines that turned me into a Spainophile.  It seems that the hot dry, climate with a bit of help from the tinto de toro clone of Tempranillo is perfect to produce some very full on wines with regionally and great character.

This is just a pup and needs a good decant.  Even after 2 hours it was constantly evolving.

Deep garnet red.  A very powerful nose of earth, undergrowth and blackberry to start with, time added some dark cherry, spice and coffee.  Full bodied, but well balanced with chunky, chewy tannins and a good hit of acid.  Dark and mysterious in the mouth, real depth of flavour with blackberry that moves on to dark cherry as time goes on, but the real interest is with with sarsaparilla, chocolate, white pepper and medicinal herbs that really get your senses going.  Drying tannins and minerals on the finish.  An intriguing wine, it won't be every one's cup of tea, but you like something a little off centre, this is right up your alley.  But bang it away in the cellar for at least 2 years first.  92 Pts.

Source: Rathdowne Cellars Price: $43 Closure: Conventional Cork

But first, a little bit of background on the wine.  This is Vega Sicilia's Toro project. Starting out in 1997, the VS team reworked the old vines on the property as well planting new ones.  Wine has been made here since 1997, but the first release was 2001.  The intervening years were used to trial blends, oak types and practically every other factor that effects the wine. 

The wine is 100% Tinto de Toro (the local clone of tempranillo) and is aged in 70% French and 30% American oak for 12 months then a further 24 months in bottle.  One of the key differences between the wine making of Alion and Pintia is that malo is performed in barrel for Pintia, Alion uses stainless steal.

Very deep red with a purple tint.  There is blackberry, dark cherry, espresso, sage and a little oak on the nose.  The first thing I notice in the mouth is the ripe, dark berry fruit, followed by liquorice, a bit of spice and leather.  The liquorice really stood out after an hour or so with added bit of star anise. As in my last look at this, there are some big tannins here, but they are tame and inviting.  The 14.5% alc is very well hidden and the overall impression is of a well integrated and well balanced wine. Perhaps I was being a bit hard marking it at 93 last time.  94 Pts.

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $78 Closure: Conventional Cork

According to the blurb on the front of the bottle, 2005 was the driest year on record in Toro, nothing more than a bit of due to keep the vines going.  As with many areas of Europe in 2005, the summer heat didn't make it to the scorching levels of 2003 and allowed for a slow growing period with very concentrated fruit. 

Interestingly, the 05 seems to be around a few bucks cheaper than the 04 at the moment.

Very similar in structure to the 04, the wine is dark and inky in the glass with a very forward nose featuring some dark cherry, salami and cola notes.  The palate is really where its at with this wine: it has quite a funky, meaty quality that I like, blackberry, a touch of herbs and nice smooth tannins. There is a good bit of acid that keeps the wine feeling fresh and savory. Just a touch better than the 04, a bit more fruit and funk at this stage. 89 Pts

 Source: Retail RRP: $24 Closure: Cork

I like this style and this wine seems to be consistently good year-in, year-out. It is regularly discounted around town, so you should be able to find it cheaper than the RRP.

I drank this wine over two nights. The first night it was very primary and fresh. Intense dark cherry, animally/meaty on the nose with a toasty, savory palate with a bit of tannin impact. A nice finish. The second night it had improved slightly, smoother with the licorice and cinnamon coming to the fore on the palate. Very good.

88 Pts. Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Cork