CASE PRICE = $58.99 per bottle (add 12+ quantity to your basket)
Notes from the Winemaker:
After the first four grape harvests from 1997 to 2000, we realized that we would have to preserve, extract and protect everything that would convert Pintia into an elegant wine within the austerity of the region - the delicate tannins embraced by the aroma of fresh fruit whilst avoiding overripeness and liquorice aromas. This is Pintia's defining philosophy.
It is no secret that Vega Sicilia have been working for a number of years on a new wine - from Toro, the "next big thing" in Spanish red wine appellations. Known to some under the codename 'ALQUIRIZ', the wine (and winery) finally has a definitive name...PINTIA.
Toro is located further along the Duero river from Vega Sicilia, in hotter, wilder territory as one approaches the Portuguese border (after which, the Duero becomes the famous Douro of Port fame). The Vega group began researching the area in 1997, with experimental vinifications and judicious purchases of top vineyard sites, half of which are already planted with mature 25 to 45 year old vines. The estate now possesses 96 hectares of land, including a state-of-the-art vinification and ageing facility. The 2001 vintage is the first judged worthy of release, in a limited quantity of 80 000 bottles.
The wine is 100% Tinta de Toro, the superior local clone of Tempranillo, aged 1 year in new oak (70% French, 30% American). It displays the style and class of a Vega Sicilia Group wine, but with the extra spicy, forceful presence of a Toro. A fantastic newcomer to the Spanish scene!
Ratings & Reviews
95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:"Bodegas Pintia is owned by Vega Sicilia. Pintia is located further west along the Duero River inside the warmer D.O. of Toro. The estate owns 96 hectares of land. The first vintage released was the 2001. As for the 2005 Pintia, it is 100% Tinta de Toro aged for one year in new French and American oak. Opaque purple-colored, it offers a complex perfume of pain grille, pencil lead, spice box, black cherry, and blackberry. This leads to a full-bodied, ripe, layered wine with intense flavors, serious complexity, and exceptional length. It has enough structure to unfold for another 4-6 years and drink well through 2025." - Jay Miller (Feb 2008)
92 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:"Inky purple. Alluring bouquet of blackberry and blueberry preserves, cherry-cola and vanillin oak spices. Broad, fleshy and deep, with sweet flavors of dark berries, floral pastille and vanilla beans. The rich fruit nicely absorbs the oak element on the long, velvety finish. Leaves a wide swath of creamy dark fruits and licorice in its wake. Pretty sexy stuff." - Josh Raynolds (Jul/Aug '08)
91 Points -Wine Enthusiast Magazine:"Very young but exuberant and balanced. Tasted in Spain well after bottling but before its March 2008 release, Pintia, Vega Sicilia’s Toro project, comes across as a bull of a wine with huge levels of color and extraction. Floral, mineral and violet aromas lead off, followed by deep berry fruit flavors and lots of rustic charred beef on the finish. Hold until 2009 and drink through 2014." — M.S. (6/1/2008)
