James Suckling 96 points
Numanthia is the most emblematic wine from Bodega Numanthia, and is considered as one of the great wines from D.O. Toro.
Numanthia gets its name from Numancia, a city famous of the resistance of an epic attack from the Roman army. The citizens defenced the city until the end, choosing death rather than surrender.
Drawing a parallel with history, the Numanthia vines have resisted the extreme climate for almost 100 years and have been able to overcome some "bloody" episodes like the phylloxera epidemic in the nineteenth century.
Numanthia is a single variety Tinta de Toro, the reigning variety in D.O. Toro.
It is made from grapes grown on old vines about 100 years old, different plots around the Duero River at an altitude of around 700 metres above sea level.
The vines have a low yield, but this makes the grapes very concentrated.
They support the extreme climate with a difference in temperature between the day and nights, between the winter and the summer.
The results are wines with strength and intensity. Numantian.
The harvest is done by hand when the grapes have reached their optimum ripening point. After a rigorous selection in the vineyard, the grapes are transported to the winery in small crates in order to preserve them in perfect conditions. Once at the winery, the grapes are crush by the traditional methods. The whole production process is a handicraft.
The fermentation takes place for 9 days at a controlled temperature between 26 and 28 ºC, applying two daily stirrings.
After the fermentation there is a maceration with its skins for 25 days, applying soft stirring.
Numanthia ages for 18 months in new Bordeaux French oak barrel that support the wine's good structure and balance. There is a racking every four months.
Numanthia is a wine with intense and complex character but very balanced with a soft texture, silky and elegant.
A search for excellence which takes shape in every bottle.
