Question: Can Toro wines age? Can they live, not just survive? The 2001 San Roman, served during an evening dinner in the town of Toro, was proof that it can in the right hands. Even after a decade, it bestows a heady bouquet that would embarrass a top-flight Margaux – pure blueberry, cassis, vanilla and violets that are wonderfully delineated. The palate follows suit, still youthful, with ebullient dark berry fruit laden with glycerin and seamless tannins that lend it a cashmere texture. It slips down the throat with almost too much ease! This is an outstanding, dare I say, thrilling Toro wine. Drink now-2020+ Bodegas y Vinedos Maurodos is one of the leading lights of Toro. Founded in 1997 by former Vega Sicilia winemaker Mariano Garcia Fernandez, they own 60 hectares of vineyard in San Roman de Villaester and Hornija, mainly planted with Tinta de Toro and Garnacha, the average age of vines around 35 years interpolated with vines on un-grafted rootstock. The oak aging here is very prudent, with around 20% renewed each year, both French and American. The present winemaker is Mariano’s son Eduardo Garcia Montana, who trained in Bordeaux and Burgundy among other regions. These exceptional wines were suffused with personality, purity, a life-affirming sense of “controlled opulence” that, to be frank, put many a more expensive Toro wine in its shade. What is more, a bottle of 2001 San Roman testified to a Toro that truly does age with style and panache. Importer: Aurelio Cabestrero, Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA; tel. (571) 642-0343

Another stunning offering from Toro, San Roman is the product of Bodegas Mauro, and that producer’s typical high quality comes through in this wine. Made from 100% Tinta de Toro cropped at 15-25 hectoliters per hectare, aged 22 months in both new French and American oak, and bottled without filtration, it boasts a dense purple color as well as a rich bouquet of black cherries, berries, vanilla, and spice box. Textured and medium to full-bodied with some tannin to shed, it is an explosively rich, impressively endowed red that should drink well for a decade.?Importer: Aurelio Cabestrero, Grapes of Spain, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 413-3875

This silky red carries dark flavors of coffee, chocolate, briar and plum supported by chewy tannins that linger with floral and vanilla notes on the finish. It's well-balanced, clean and still very young. Drink now through 2012. 4,400 cases made, 725 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Toro Select to Add