Bodegas Numanthia Toro Old Vine Tempranillo 2020

Toro makes some of Spain's most muscular reds, and Numanthia is the name that put the region on the map. The fruit here comes from ungrafted old vines — some around a century old — planted on their own roots near the Duero at altitude. That is Tinta de Toro, the local, thicker-skinned strain of Tempranillo, and in Numanthia's hands it makes a wine of real depth without losing its shape.

The 2020 is fermented over nine days, given a long skin maceration, then aged eighteen months in new French oak. It smells of red berries wrapped in cocoa, sweet spice and a floral top note. The palate is expansive and silky — there is power, but the tannins are fine — with ripe cranberry and blackcurrant, cinnamon and nutmeg, and a savoury lift of rosemary and graphite on the finish. Serious stuff, and it drinks the part.

Open a bottle now with a decant, or lay some down: this has a decade of life ahead.

How to Serve

Serve at 16–18°C in a large glass. Decant an hour ahead — a young, oak-aged Toro needs the air to unwind.

Where to Drink It

Barrafina for its Spanish list and open kitchen. Or Sabor near Regent Street, where the char-grilled cooking meets a wine of this weight head-on.

Food Pairings

Chuletón — a big, rare rib steak — is the classic Toro match. A slab of aged Manchego works if you're keeping it simple.