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Jorge Ordonez Vatan - Arena Tinta de Toro 2017
Price: $489.99
Sale Price: $299.99
3+ Price: $279.99 / btl
6+ Price: $249.99 / btl
| Producer | Jorge Ordonez Vatan |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Toro |
| Varietal | Tempranillo |
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Size | 750ml |
Chris Cree MW - Value Score: 100 Points
This amazing wine from Spain is visionary importer Jorge Ordonez’s magnum opus, a masterpiece crafted from 100% Tinta de Toro, the local clone of Tempranillo that has adapted over centuries to Toro’s extreme continental climate.
They are grown in the Finca Los Quemaos vineyard, located in
Villaester de Abajo, in the province of Zamora, D.O. Toro. It is a stunning, gnarly patch of vines planted in 1900 on ungrafted (original) rootstock.
These soils are mainly sandy loam of sedimentary origins dated back to the end of the Cretaceous period, the oldest soils in the Spanish Duero River valley. Two-three meters below the surface, there is a 10-inch-thick layer of red clay. Due to these sandy soils, Toro was the only continental Spanish DO to resist phylloxera completely, and the only reason these vines survive today.
The region enjoys a continental steppe climate, with drastic temperature swings between day and night, and it gets very little rain. Traditional dry farmed viticulture is employed, practicing organic gobelet (vaso) trained vines, cultivated completely by hand.
Rigorous sorting is followed by gentle destemming. The whole berries are transferred to 3,000L stainless-steel temperature-controlled open vats. Fermentation starts with a pied de cuve, and maceration lasts between six and eight days.
Gentle press in a vertical basket press for eight hours. Primary fermentation finishes and malolactic begins spontaneously in 20% new, 80% used Bordelaise and Burgundian barrique, where it ages for 20 to 22 months.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to taste a unicorn wine at about half the price. Extremely limited, a couple of dozen bottles in stock. Price expires Father’s Day or while it lasts.
“A vine selection of ancient genetic material, all original massal selection, 2017 Vatan Arena offers finessed tannins that are designed to last. Full-bodied, it’s got the muscle and stuffing to shed as well, plenty to work with as it continues to develop, already lovely in a sweet, perfumed nose of nuanced balsamic and oak, with a baked quality to the berry fruit. It’s the elegance and structure that stand out most, after barrel-fermentation and then aging 36 months in barrique after a selection of the best barrels is made. There are just under 800 bottles of this wine; get it and age 20-25 years.” Jeb Dunnuck, SRP $450
Jeb Dunnuck: 95 Points
