Teso La Monja

Victorino

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Denominacion de Origen

D.O. Toro

Location

Valdefinjas and Toro

Varietal

100% Tinta de Toro

Vineyards

Estate vineyards located in the parajes of La Jara and El Palo (Toro), El Rosal and El Risco (Villabuena del Puente), and Valdefinjas.

Year(s) Planted

1920-1975

Viticulture

Practicing organic dry farmed viticulture with certain selective biodynamic practices. Victorino is sourced from old, head-trained goblet vines of Tinta de Toro that are all ungrafted.

Soils

When Teso la Monja was founded, the Eguren brothers sought out northern facing vineyard sites with Toro's characteristic sandy soils. but with a higher percentage of clay and "canto rodado" or galets on the surface to mediate the diurnal shift that Toro that is characteristic to these high altitude sites in the Duero valley. These sites typically achieve phenolic ripeness at least two weeks earlier than sites planted on pure sand.

Climate

Continental climate, characterized by drastic diurnal shifts, very hot & dry summers, and cold winters. Annual precipitation hovers around 350 mL/M2, less than half of Rioja.

Winemaking

Rigorous double sorting before and after destemming. The whole berries ferment (inoculated with yeast cultured from their vineyards and cellar) in temperature controlled, 5,000L stainless steel vats. Extraction is gentle to avoid over-extraction of the concentrated Tinta de Toro. Malolactic fermentation in new French barrique.

Aging

20 months in new French barrique.

Comments

The Eguren family of Teso la Monja are one of D.O. Toro's most important pioneers, having cofounded Bodega Numanthia-Termes with Jorge Ordóñez in 1997. Numanthia was the first exhaustive fine wine project to resuscitate Toro since phylloxera. Tempranillo originated in the Duero Valley, and many ampelographers believe that it originated in Toro, where it is known as Tinta de Toro. Toro was also Spain's only region to completely resist phylloxera due to its sandy soils. Teso la Monja is the Eguren family's new interpretation of Toro, where they sought to produce a more refined and restrained expression of Toro. Victorino is named for Marcos' and Miguel Angel's great-grandfather, Victorino Eguren.