Dominio del Bendito – 2016 – La Cuesta de las Musas – 750 ml.
Spain – Toro
Tempranillo
Red – Vintage: 2016 – Size: 750 ml.
Gallic Antony Terryn is one of the most unconventional winemakers in Toro, captivated by its “exceptional” heritage of old, ungrafted vines, some of which are pre-phylloxera. The Spanish word ‘Bendito’ is joyful, perfectly fitting his state of mind when working with such old vines. Terryn grows around 22 hectares of vines, 15 of which are his own. One of the few winemakers in the area employing cement vats and describes his winemaking style as “simple and intuitive.” El Primer Paso is a perfect introduction to Toro reds: robust yet not heavy, fruit-driven, and showing the area’s distinctive rustic-earthy edge. The opulent and enveloping Las Sabias comes from 45+ year-old vines, while Titán del Bendito is made with the oldest, ungrafted vines from Pago La Jara and aims to show the purest expression of Toro’s terroir made to age
Expert Notes
Robert Parker: 97
The 2016 La Cuesta de las Musas is a red wine that manages to combine power and elegance, concentration and floral notes, texture and aromas, in what is probably the finest vintage to date of this somewhat mysterious bottling. The nose is reminiscent of the great wines from the Duero from yesteryear, the black fruit and the earthiness, with chalky tannins, ripeness without excess and a rustic elegance reminiscent of the farmer dressed in good-quality corduroy trousers. It has the energy of a hunter and should have a long life in bottle. Not for the faint of heart.
