2020 Vatan Tinta de Toro

Traditional dry farmed viticulture. Practicing organic gobelet (vaso) trained vines, cultivated completely by hand.

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. Two-three meters below the surface, there is a 10-inch-thick layer of red clay. Due to these sandy soils, Toro was the only continental Spanish DO to resist phylloxera completely.

Continental steppe climate, with drastic temperature swings between day and night. The climate is also very dry – annual rainfall levels reach 350 L/M2

Rigorous sorting is followed by gentle destemming. The whole berries are transferred to 3,000L stainless-steel temperature-controlled open vats. Fermentation starts with a pied de cuve, and maceration lasts between six and eight days. Gentle press in a vertical basket press for eight hours. Primary fermentation finishes and malolactic begins spontaneously in 20% new, 80% used Bordelaise and Burgundian barrique.

The wine rests in barrel for 20 to 22 months.

Bodegas Vatan was founded in 2012. Vatan is a classic expression of Spain's oldest clone of Tempranillo. Toro was Spain's most famous red winemaking region during the Middle Ages. It was mentioned in literature by Alfonso IX (King of León, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. These wines also accompanied Spanish explorers to the new world. D.O. Toro was revitalized in 1997 by Bodega Numanthia-Termes, founded by Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family.