Aromas are marvelous and complex, with earth, smoke, and several small black fruits like blackberry, mulberry, currant, and black raspberry. The palate is structured by very friendly tannins, there but not assertive. Quite mouthfilling, with ripe fruit similar to the nose, intense and concentrated, balanced by wood spice. It is medium plus in body with a medium finish.
ABOUT THE WINE
The Viñateros Santos wines are inspired by conversations between importer Coeur Wine and Mayu Miller of Viña Franca about a shared passion for the wines from northwestern Spain, near the border with northern Portugal. Drawing from her network built over two decades of living in Spain, Mayu works with talented winemakers to produce and bottle exclusive blends under the Viñateros Santos label. For the first ever releases, both wines are sourced from organic and biodynamically farmed vineyards and made by one of Spain’s most talented young winemakers. Viñateros Santos wines are focused on cool and fresh climate, complex soils, and old vineyards.
Grapes come from the “El Tomillar” vineyard (which means the field of thyme in Spanish), which is located in El Pego village, in the southeastern part of Zamora province. The area receives strong influence from the continental climate. The majority of the grapes for El Torito are grown on sandy, calcareous stone soils, and there are many old vines in this area, owing to this special sandy soil, which prevented Phylloxera from spreading and reaching the vine roots.
El Tomillar is 16 ha but the winemaker selects grapes from the best parts of the vineyards- those with more altitude and rockier soils- for El Torito. The vineyard was planted in the 1970s at high altitude, and Goblet trained.
After hand-harvest the grapes are vinified 100% in whole clusters that are initially crushed by foot. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel with natural yeast with temperature control. The final wine is aged in 2000 liter neutral oak casks for three months. During the winter, the wine rests and decants naturally. The winemaker doesn’t use chemical substances in vineyards or in the cellar, except a tiny dose of sulfur (approx. 40 ppm) to guarantee the wine arrives safely to the table.
Ham, Hearty stew, Just for Cocktailing, Lamb, Mushrooms, Pork, Red Meat, Sausage, Slow-smoked Barbeque/BBQ Sauce, Wild Game