Alvar de Dios Aciano 2018

“The top Toro red 2018 Aciano was produced with the grapes from a three-hectare plot of old ungrafted vines planted in 1919 on sand, sandstone and limestone soils. He uses all the grapes, but the vines are planted at around 1,000 plants per hectare and the yields are very low. The whole clusters were foot trodden daily during the fermentation with indigenous yeasts, with a soft maceration that lasted some 30 to 45 days. It matured in 300-, 500- and 600-liter oak barrels for 12 months followed by a further eight months in concrete before it was bottled. Since 2019, all of the wines are Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León, the wines from Toro and the ones from Arribes. It goes back to the style of the 2016, perfumed, characterful and with a strong personality. It’s an elegant and lighter style of Tempranillo, with fully developed flavors and ripeness but with great balance and elegance. The tannins are very fine, and it has a chalky texture. The extra time in concrete seems to have polished it, but it’s still energetic and undeveloped, but a little more polished. Like all the wines from own vineyards, this is now certified organic. This is incredible for the price—still young and with potential to age in bottle, a very different style from Toro. 7,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2020.” – Wine Advocate 94 Points