Teso La Monja Toro Almirez 2016

As with the entry-level Románico, I also had the opportunity to taste the 2016 Almirez right next to the 2015 to see how the growing season was reflected in each of the vintages. This also shows more freshness, following the style of the year, and it has a lifted nose and is high pitched, with very good balance and elegance within the powerful style. There is restraint within the powerful style of the zone and the house profile, with sweet fruit and spices, fine tannins and a dry mouthfeel. Even the oak feels better integrated than in the 2016, despite its youth and recent bottling. It was bottled in April 2018, some three weeks before I tasted it. 95,000 bottles.

Harvests in Toro are quite regular, and even if 2015 is a warm vintage, the wines show good finesse, which is what you need to aim for in a naturally powerful zone. 2016 is cooler, and according to Marcos Eguren, it’s the only vintage (perhaps with 2010) where there is quality and quantity. The wines show good balance, and increasingly, the power is contained; they show less effect from the élevage in oak even though they are always concentrated and generously oaked wines, with a similar profile.