Quinta Quietud Reserva 2017 1500ml Magnum

The Quinta Quietud cuvée shows the elegant side of Toro's terroir. The 2017 Reserva is dense and concentrated, its ripe tannin remains fine-grained, and the 15.0% vol. is carried by freshness. In the large-format Magnum, ageing proceeds more slowly.

The estate farms 22 hectares at 700 metres above sea level, two kilometres south of the Duero. The soils contain 55 to 85 percent sand and were therefore spared by phylloxera: the bush vines planted between 1900 and 1920 still stand on their own roots today. The continental climate ranges from -11°C in winter to 37°C in summer, with just 350 millimetres of rainfall a year and no irrigation. Yields run at 20 to 40 hectolitres per hectare.

Tempranillo, known in Toro as Tinta de Toro. Horses plough between the gobelet-trained vines; the estate has farmed organically since 2002, and vineyard practice is biodynamic. In the cellar, the must ferments spontaneously with native yeasts; Jean-François Hébrard, who came to Toro in 1999 from Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley, forgoes the addition of sulphur.

On the nose, ripe blackberry, plum compote, black pepper and forest floor, with toasted oak notes underneath. The palate opens juicy, the tannin broad and composed, the finish long and spicy.

Braised ox cheeks, wild boar ragout and roast lamb with rosemary and garlic. A mature, dry Manchego also works well.

Across Europe, vines had to be grafted onto American rootstock after phylloxera; here they continue to grow ungrafted. Quietud means stillness, and the site itself lies in quiet seclusion. The Magnum holds 1500 millilitres.