When I arrived in Spain over 6 years ago, Robert Parker and his team were just starting to pay attention to the wines in a big way.  Since then I have seen awareness of him take off in the wine sector…frequently these days, winery professionals talk about the ratings they’ve received from the Wine Advocate.  I often ask my groups of wine tasters if they’ve heard of Robert Parker, and though many of the foreigners have, very few of the Spanish groups have. The concept of wine ratings still hasn’t really filtered down to the typical Spanish wine consumer…he or she still rely on the recommendations of family, friends, or their local wine merchant.  There are quite a few wine guides and magazines in Spain that rate wines, but ratings are a tool that is just starting to be used as a marketing tool by wineries, distributors and wine merchants. 

Toro is a wine region that 10 years ago was just starting to change its wines, making more elegant modern styles.  Now it has gained a new reputation and though there is still a lot of room for improvement, its top wines are some of the most respected in the wine community.  Within Spain, Toro still hasn’t shaken off its somewhat rustic reputation for big “bull’s blood” style wines, though when I give Toro wines to my Spanish wine tasting groups, they are generally pleasantly surprised.  Among wine aficionados and in the export market Toro already enjoys a very good reputation.  Unfortunately this has led to some pretty high prices for the top wines.  Some of my favourites have increased in price by at least half in only a few years…I remember when Termanthia was only 50€….now it starts at 120€!  Amongst my favourites….still reasonably priced at less than 35€:  Numanthia, San Roman, Quinta de Quietud, Gran Elias Moro, and Pintia (at 25€ this is still a great bargain!) 

Before Xmas, we visited the wine region of Toro, NW of Madrid. This is a region that is famous for its potent red wines made from Tinta de Toro, a local variety of Tempranillo. The region has seen a lot of change over the last 5 years…the quality of the wines has improved dramatically, as have the prices! It can still represent good value, especially compared to its neighbour to the east Ribera del Duero! I hope to do a more in depth trip report to post at a later date.