Teso la Monja

D.O. Toro

Valdefinjas

100% Tinta de Toro

Estate pre-phylloxera ungrafted single vineyard planted in Valdefinjas

1885

Practicing organic dry farmed viticulture with certain selective biodynamic practices. Teso la Monja is sourced from a spectacular single plot in Valdefinjas that is pre-phylloxeric located in a privileged enclave surrounded by pine trees.

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.

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.

The clusters are hand-destemmed, berry by berry, by a team of 75 at harvest. The whole berries ferment (inoculated with yeast cultured from their vineyards and cellar) in a single 1,000L French oak vat. During fermentation, the cap is submerged by hand several times a day to limit extraction of the concentrated Tinta de Toro. Gentle press in a vertical basket press. The wine undergoes malolactic in a Taransaud Ovum, a 2,000L ovoid wooden vat with a stainless steel bottom. Due to the different thermal conductivity of the stainless steel and oak, and the shape of the vat, the lees are kept in total suspension throughout MLF.

9 months (including malolactic) in a Taransaud Ovum, followed by 18 months in new French barrique

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. These ancient clones of Tempranillo were responsible for Toro being celebrated as Spain's finest winemaking region during the Middle Ages. 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.