Vatan Arena

D.O. Toro

Vallaester, province of Zamora, D.O. Toro

100% Tinta de Toro

Finca los Quemados

Planted in 1900 on original European rootstock

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. Many of the soils have an important component of iron. Two to three meters below the surface, there is a 25 cm thick layer of red clay. Due to these sandy soils, Toro was the only continental Spanish DO to completely resist phylloxera. Bodegas Ordóñez exclusively works with ungrafted vineyards, as a result.

Drastic continental steppe climate, with drastic temperature swings between day and night. The climate is also very dry – annual rainfall levels reach 350 liters/m2, less than half of Rioja and much less than Ribera del Duero.

Rigorous sorting is followed by destemming without crushing. The whole berries are transferred to 600L open top, neutral barrels for maceration and fermentation, which begins with a pied de cuve. Maceration lasts two weeks. The wine is pressed in a vertical basket press for twelve hours and is transferred immediately to new barriques sourced from Bordeaux & Burgundy for malolactic fermentation, which begins spontaneously.

The primary fermentation finishes in barrique and malolactic starts spontaneously. The wine rests in barrel for 36 months and one year in bottle.

Vatan Arena is a singular expression of one of the most spectacular ungrafted vineyards in Toro. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain's most famous red winemaking region, and 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 resuscitated in 1997 by Bodega Numanthia-Termes, founded by Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family.