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any talk of “terroir” goes straight out of the window, when you make wines that is blended of 6 different irrigated plots and 300 different barrels that was temperature control fermented with aromatic yeasts. robustness is least of the problems😅 and like you said, just because you feel difference between these wines, it does not mean they express terroir differently, with so many variables, it could just be a harvest time difference between them.
Great video Matt. A good idea to do a terroir test with such region as Toro. I know the region and its wine rather well and I have to confess that I doubt the terroir test would survive the scrutiny of a blind test. It's a robust style and I'm inclined to believe that any difference will be down to length of ageing and whatever else the wine maker does post crop. The brilliant Bodegas Alvear, better known for their Montilla wine (sherry), who are based in the Cordoba region have been experimenting with different plots to produce batches of white wine from the Pedro Ximenez grape variety. They are really interesting wines with subtle differences. Indeed, Andalucian white wine made from the Pedro Ximenez grape is very much under the radar but I really like them, especially when made by such super producers like Ximenez Spinola. Toro is not very far from Valladolid where my wife's family come from and it's quite easy to visit with public transport for those that don't have a car. You can get to Valladolid from Madrid on high speed rail - book in advance. Valladolid is a great place to stay if you want to explore Castile Leon and visit bodegas (wineries) in Ribera del Duero, Bierzo, Rueda and Toro. There are regular buses to Zamora which stop at the wonderful and historic town of Tordesillas, then on to Toro before arriving at Zamora. You will see loads of vineyards on that route. You will probably need to get a taxi to visit any bodegas. By the way, Zamora is famous for its Romanesque churches and cathedral but produces stunning local food produce as well, including the best garlic in the world. I'm not exaggerating, it's amazing. The shops in Zamora will sell plenty of Toro wine and it has a fine and great value Parador if you would rather it to Valladolid. My choice for those that have never done it would be Valladolid because it's a fine city in its own right but has great transport links throughout Castile which is an amazing region. Matt, maybe you could mention this or direct folk to this post. Not for my own ego but because seeing this part of Spain is far easier than many might think. If you can fly to Madrid it's not difficult. You can get to Chamartín tube station from the underground at Madrid airport and that station will take you to Valladolid. WT
Wow that is a plethora of information! Thanks so much for providing all of this. I have to make my way over there sooner rather than later. Thanks again for all your Spanish insight!
Toro is soo snobbed by the sommelier culture in quebec who seem too be looking just for light and elegant wines, my favorite tempranillos are from toro numanthia and san roman maybe even my favorite wines….
Numanthia are my go to when talk of toro but now it's not cheap anymore. Try Platon if you can from Divina Proporcion. San Roman Pretty good too. If you like even more bold ones try from Dominio del Bendito "Las Sabias" or Their Titan del Bendito. And if you like more complex and red flavours try Cenit from Viñas del Cenit it's a Toro outside the DO.
I think its great because if people pay attention to some subtle differences they might find out why they really love a wine and maybe another one not as much
Priorat red wines, despite their power and high alcohol, express their terroir quite well, especially when comparing villages like Escaladei (more clay and sand), Grattallops (schist) and Poboleda (cooler). Scala Dei, Clos Figueras and Mas Doix are great ambassadors of the respective villages.
This video actually reminds me of the one you did on Napa (mountains vs valley floor) which sums up aspects of terroir nicely. Toro sounds a tough style for this type of tasting but good on you for drawing more attention to this underrated region.
love this comparison. my wife and i recently were comparing the grenache grape in france to the one in spain.. (du pape. vs priorat). same grape but entirely different terrain. and the taste is completely different.
Great video! Definitely a master class because discerning differences in the same varietal, same region, similar oak treatment, and winery would be tough outside of people that taste a lot or professionally.
Great video, really difficult taste the terroir, for me sandy are the one who make less impact but calcareous and board are the one i can diferenciate for sure... As you say they make a lot of "cheating" doing a wine. Love Toro like a lot of wines from that region, almost always chocolate on their profile of flavours. Maybe you can find Cenit (from Zamora it's a Toro outside the DO) sand terroir prefiloxeric old vines really complex.
You are right, so much is done in the cellar that it can be difficult to taste terroir unless you are a winemaker and tasting the musts just after harvest and before blending
A very fun tasting. I especially took note of your idea that Cab lovers might like to add some of the wines from Toro to their wine cellars. We all know that we can spend as much money as we like buying Cab but there are other bills that do need to be paid.
I just bagged a very good value Cab from Chile so it's worth looking around. I love Toro though. It's big and bold but in no way new world. It's still got old world minerality and it's great value, although prices are creeping up.
We just returned from a trip to Piedmont and visited the Grasso Fratelli winery so it was uncanny to see a photo of their bottles in this video. Sometimes life throws strange coincidences at you. We enjoy all your videos - thank you for making them!
@@JohnAmidon-c6r because if you look at what defines a vintage, one of the most important aspects would be perception. if you take rain out of equation, you are pretty much guaranteed same quality and style of grapes every year.
I've launched Channel Memberships! Click the 'Join’ Button to see the perks. I'm most excited about a monthly Live Stream Hangout/Tasting for those who join the Grand Reserve tier! Thank you so much: www.youtube.com/@drmatthewhorkey/join
any talk of “terroir” goes straight out of the window, when you make wines that is blended of 6 different irrigated plots and 300 different barrels that was temperature control fermented with aromatic yeasts. robustness is least of the problems😅 and like you said, just because you feel difference between these wines, it does not mean they express terroir differently, with so many variables, it could just be a harvest time difference between them.
Many variables, that's why I often I believe producer is most important (in a lot of cases)
Great video Matt. A good idea to do a terroir test with such region as Toro. I know the region and its wine rather well and I have to confess that I doubt the terroir test would survive the scrutiny of a blind test. It's a robust style and I'm inclined to believe that any difference will be down to length of ageing and whatever else the wine maker does post crop.
The brilliant Bodegas Alvear, better known for their Montilla wine (sherry), who are based in the Cordoba region have been experimenting with different plots to produce batches of white wine from the Pedro Ximenez grape variety. They are really interesting wines with subtle differences. Indeed, Andalucian white wine made from the Pedro Ximenez grape is very much under the radar but I really like them, especially when made by such super producers like Ximenez Spinola.
Toro is not very far from Valladolid where my wife's family come from and it's quite easy to visit with public transport for those that don't have a car. You can get to Valladolid from Madrid on high speed rail - book in advance. Valladolid is a great place to stay if you want to explore Castile Leon and visit bodegas (wineries) in Ribera del Duero, Bierzo, Rueda and Toro. There are regular buses to Zamora which stop at the wonderful and historic town of Tordesillas, then on to Toro before arriving at Zamora. You will see loads of vineyards on that route. You will probably need to get a taxi to visit any bodegas.
By the way, Zamora is famous for its Romanesque churches and cathedral but produces stunning local food produce as well, including the best garlic in the world. I'm not exaggerating, it's amazing. The shops in Zamora will sell plenty of Toro wine and it has a fine and great value Parador if you would rather it to Valladolid. My choice for those that have never done it would be Valladolid because it's a fine city in its own right but has great transport links throughout Castile which is an amazing region.
Matt, maybe you could mention this or direct folk to this post. Not for my own ego but because seeing this part of Spain is far easier than many might think. If you can fly to Madrid it's not difficult. You can get to Chamartín tube station from the underground at Madrid airport and that station will take you to Valladolid. WT
Wow that is a plethora of information! Thanks so much for providing all of this. I have to make my way over there sooner rather than later. Thanks again for all your Spanish insight!
Toro is soo snobbed by the sommelier culture in quebec who seem too be looking just for light and elegant wines, my favorite tempranillos are from toro numanthia and san roman maybe even my favorite wines….
Which means they offer great QPR for you!
Numanthia are my go to when talk of toro but now it's not cheap anymore. Try Platon if you can from Divina Proporcion. San Roman Pretty good too. If you like even more bold ones try from Dominio del Bendito "Las Sabias" or Their Titan del Bendito. And if you like more complex and red flavours try Cenit from Viñas del Cenit it's a Toro outside the DO.
Thx for the suggestions i ll put them on my list for sur
I think its great because if people pay attention to some subtle differences they might find out why they really love a wine and maybe another one not as much
The beauty of wine is in subtleties for sure
Priorat red wines, despite their power and high alcohol, express their terroir quite well, especially when comparing villages like Escaladei (more clay and sand), Grattallops (schist) and Poboleda (cooler). Scala Dei, Clos Figueras and Mas Doix are great ambassadors of the respective villages.
Agree! There is a VLOG on the channel abt Priorat and Catalunya btw
This video actually reminds me of the one you did on Napa (mountains vs valley floor) which sums up aspects of terroir nicely. Toro sounds a tough style for this type of tasting but good on you for drawing more attention to this underrated region.
You remember that video! Thanks
love this comparison. my wife and i recently were comparing the grenache grape in france to the one in spain.. (du pape. vs priorat). same grape but entirely different terrain. and the taste is completely different.
Yes the styles are very different! Nice comparison
Great video! Definitely a master class because discerning differences in the same varietal, same region, similar oak treatment, and winery would be tough outside of people that taste a lot or professionally.
Thank you! I wanted to give people a glimpse of this world
Great video, really difficult taste the terroir, for me sandy are the one who make less impact but calcareous and board are the one i can diferenciate for sure... As you say they make a lot of "cheating" doing a wine.
Love Toro like a lot of wines from that region, almost always chocolate on their profile of flavours. Maybe you can find Cenit (from Zamora it's a Toro outside the DO) sand terroir prefiloxeric old vines really complex.
You are right, so much is done in the cellar that it can be difficult to taste terroir unless you are a winemaker and tasting the musts just after harvest and before blending
Good call. A lot of good wine in Spain without DO status.
A very fun tasting. I especially took note of your idea that Cab lovers might like to add some of the wines from Toro to their wine cellars. We all know that we can spend as much money as we like buying Cab but there are other bills that do need to be paid.
I love your last line hahaha true
I just bagged a very good value Cab from Chile so it's worth looking around. I love Toro though. It's big and bold but in no way new world. It's still got old world minerality and it's great value, although prices are creeping up.
We just returned from a trip to Piedmont and visited the Grasso Fratelli winery so it was uncanny to see a photo of their bottles in this video. Sometimes life throws strange coincidences at you.
We enjoy all your videos - thank you for making them!
🙏🙏🙏 for watching! I bet it was quite the trip
I put more emphasis on clone, winemaking and vintage. That's just me!
I do feel that in a lot of cases, the producer is most important
putting emphases on vintage in regions that are irrigated is kind of pointless.
@Ruirspirul I could ask "why"? But I really don't want to get into a long debate. Believe what you will. 😑
@@JohnAmidon-c6r because if you look at what defines a vintage, one of the most important aspects would be perception. if you take rain out of equation, you are pretty much guaranteed same quality and style of grapes every year.
@@Ruirspirul in a cool climate? (Germany? The Finger Lakes?) Oh, no. I disagree. But again, believe whatever you like.