Bodegas Vetus – 2019

Organic
Tinta de Toro, Garnacha
92 points, Wine Advocate
92 points, James Suckling

Bodegas Vetus, founded in 2003, holds 49 acres of tinta de Toro with a smattering of garnacha. Poor soils produce low yields of extremely concentrated grapes, which together with Toro’s hot and dry climate makes for big, sometimes rough wines.

However at Vetus, winemaker Alvaro Trigueros prizes elegance over pure power. Alvaro takes a harder path, restraining his terroir’s natural rusticity and promoting balance and elegance in all the wines that he makes. To do this he is careful to harvest grapes that are not overripe, works in small batches, prevents excessive extraction during winemaking, and employs a combination of new, second and third use barrels for the aging process.

This 2019 was fermented in stainless steel, followed by 12 months of French oak. It pours into the glass with deep cherry hues that yield black fruit and sweet spice aromas.