Romanico

The Eguren family, of Rioja fame, founded Bodega Teso la Monja after they sold Numanthia-Termes to the luxury group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in 2008. They had founded Numanthia-Termes, a project that turned out to be critical in resurrecting the Toro DO (Denominación de Origen), with Jorge Ordóñez, the famed Spanish wine importer, about a decade earlier. With Bodega Teso la Monja, they are fine-tuning their techniques and approach in Toro to achieve elegant wines. For Romanico, the grapes, all Tempranillo, known as Tinto di Toro, locally, come from the youngest vines on the property, which date from 1990. It’s a powerful red whose gracefulness belies its robust profile. Lovely now, it’s ideal to accompany a hearty stew this winter. 91 Michael Apstein

A deep, flavorful and very ripe Toro with baked black cherries, graphite, violet and oyster shells. Rich and extremely full-bodied with plenty of baked black and purple fruit. Concentrated and tight, but a little forceful, too. Go for it if you like heavy, flavorful reds. Drinkable now, but better in a year or two.