Prima 2013 75cl

The 2013 Prima was bottled in May 2015, and is a blend of Tinta de Toro (aka Tempranillo) and 10% Garnacha with a little bit of white Malvasía. The wine matured, part in used barrique and part in oak vats, in order to keep the fruit. 2013 was a cooler vintage, which in Toro produced a slow ripening of the grapes. Bright ruby-colored, the nose is cooler, earthy and showing fresh herbal aromas with red fruit and more mineral notes as it opens up in the glass, where graphite, peat and some notes made me think of a classical wine from Bordeaux. The palate is medium-bodied, with very fine tannins and good acidity; it is very elegant, balanced, fresh and easy to drink. 175,000 bottles were produced. There is a new wine in the making, a Gran Reserva, aged for three years in barrel with the idea to release a more elegant, polished wine than San Román. They might even keep the bottles before the wine is released, so we'll see. They have been buying some more vineyards and today they have a total of 94 hectares and control some more, up to 110 hectares. Very fine and more elegant wines this year -- the Atlantic 2013 for the Prima and a much fresher 2012 than 2011 for San Román.

This thick red delivers plum, coffee, loamy and licorice flavors, with solid tannins and muted acidity. Dense and muscular, in a rustic style. Drink now through 2023. 13,333 cases made. –TM