CRITIC REVIEWS
Joaquín Hidalgo
The 2017 Numanthia, sourced from various old vines in Toro, was aged 18 months in French oak (60% new, 1/5 in 400-liter barrels). This garnet-red wine presents balsamic aromas of black olives, graphite and oak, complemented by blackberry and strawberry yogurt hints. Rich and mellow on the palate, it features finely reactive tannins wrapped in a thin, supple texture. The 2017 is a flavorful and enduring Toro wine from a warm and dry vintage.
JancisRobinson.com
Full bottle 1,484 g. 100% Tinta de Toro from vineyards that are either certified organic or in the process of being certified. This comes from more than 100 tiny parcels of vineyards from three of the key terroir regions of Toro, one in the north, one in the south and one in the centre. The age of the vines in the parcels range from 50 years old to 200 years old. Lucas Lowi, director general of Numanthia, tells me that the average age of vines in Numanthia ranges between 70 to 120 years old. 2017 was their driest and hottest vintage since the estate was founded (in 1998), up until this year, 2022. The harvest was one of the earliest on record (although it could be earlier in 2022) and, technical director Jesus Jimenez tells me, that had to completely rethink their winemaking approach in order to avoid overripe notes and heavy tannins. It was, they both told me, a milestone (very complicated) vintage that marked a new trajectory for Numanthia. From 2017 onwards, they began to infuse rather than extract, looking for freshness, purity of fruit, and dialling down on the oak. They're also hold the wines back for longer in bottle after the 18 months of barrel ageing (French, mix of new and used). 2017 was also the first time that they started to use larger-format barrels (400 litres) and do some of the fermentation in closed-top tanks. The contrast between the 2017 and the 2016 is clear, even if I did taste the 2016 out of a small, decanted sample tube. 2017 was a hotter year, but the tannins have changed, the freshness is more to the fore, the alcohol is a lot less noticeable. Deep, wild blackberry fruit, indigo inkiness, lavender and black olives. Elderberries. Mushrooms dried fried with fresh rosemary and thyme. There's a sooty smudge to the velvet of the tannins, dense but not thick-set, not as implacable. The length of the finish carries a sense of spice and windswept herbs, but doesn't lose the sweetness and purity of the dark, glossy fruit. The wine is far less monolithic than the 2016. It has lilt instead of punch, a capella harmony instead of a blast of concentration. I can hear the vineyards more clearly, in the 2017, than I could in the 2016. If this is the direction Numanthia is heading in, I can only say that I'm watching with a sense of excitement. (TC)