Pintia 2021

Pintia is the D.O. Toro estate of the Tempos Vega Sicilia group, founded on the San Román de Hornija moors near Valladolid. The wine is made entirely from Tinta de Toro, the local strain of Tempranillo, grown on plots averaging 40 years of age. The soils here are made of boulders and pebbles deposited by the Duero river, free-draining ground that forces the vines to root deeply and gives low yields of small, thick-skinned grapes. Those thick skins are the source of Toro's hallmark depth of colour and tannin. The continental climate is extreme, with very hot summers and cold winters, and the wide day-to-night temperature swing preserves freshness in fruit that would otherwise be jammy. To protect that freshness the hand-picked harvest is held in cold store for around twelve hours before processing. The wine ages for thirteen months in French and American oak, which softens the firm tannins through slow oxygen exchange and frames the fruit with spice and vanilla. It shows a deep colour, a powerful nose of ripe plum, dark cherry, liquorice and chocolate, and a full, structured palate with ripe, grippy tannin. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanting ahead. It suits roast and braised red meat.