The 2016 Alabaster was produced with grapes from ancient ungrafted vines, three plots that total 12 hectares that yield no more than 800 grams per hectare, but bear in mind, there might be 900 to 1,100 plants per hectare. The grapes were hand-destemmed and fermented in open vats after being foot trodden. The wine matured in new French barriques for 18 months. 2016 was a cold and wet year when the grapes ripened slowly and late. Yields were high and the plants took time to ripen all the grapes, so alcohols are a little higher, acidity lower and there are plenty of tannins. This is more backward and undeveloped than the 2017. One to wait. 4,000 bottles were filled in July 2019.

Teso la Monja is the second project created by the Eguren family of Rioja after they sold Numanthia to LVMH. They now produce 300,000 bottles split into five different labels. I tasted mostly 2016s and 2017s, two very different vintages. There was no frost in 2017, which was warm and dry and one of the earliest harvests on record. But the wines are incredibly fresh and balanced, I'm tempted to say fresher than the 2016s... Analytically they have lower alcohol and higher acidity. We shall see...

A Toro with very polished and refined tannins, a silky texture and beautiful fruit. Full body, yet racy and tight with a lot of tension and focus. Big and structured wine. Needs four to five years to soften. Try after 2022.

„Despite high levels of tannins, they’re silky, fine-grained and almost totally integrated into the dense, complex palate. Raspberries, elderberries, red plums, fennel and dark chocolate with smoky minerality. Incredibly precise; long and resonant, with sure-footed grace.“

Fachpressebewertungen Jahrgang 2016:
98/100 Punkte El País

Fachpressebewertungen Jahrgang 2015:
99/100 Punkte Guía Proensa
98/100 Punkte Guía de Vinos Gourmets
97/100 Punkte Guía Peñin
95/100 Punkte Wine Spectator
94/100 Punkte James Suckling

Fachpressebewertungen Jahrgang 2014:
99/100 Punkte Guía Proensa
98/100 Punkte + Bester Toro-Wein Guía Gourmets
97/100 Punkte Guía Peñin
96/100 Punkte Wine Spectator
18/20 Punkte Vinum

Fachpressebewertungen Jahrgang 2013:
98/100 Punkte Guía Peñin
98/100 Punkte Guía Proensa
98/100 Punkte Guía Gourmets

Fachpressebewertungen Jahrgang 2012:
99/100 Punkte Guía Proensa
97/100 Punkte Guía Peñin
17/20 Punkte Jancis Robinson