Finca Sobreno Ildefonso Toro is made from 100% Tinta de Toro
Very Old Vines (Minimum 80 years of age)
Aged in 100% new French Oak Barrels for 18 months + 12 months in the bottle
The wine is produced in very limited quantity from the estate's oldest vineyards (80 years old vines) and is fermented in 2,000-liter open-top fermentation vats. Our winemaker punches down the cap by hand three times a day using the traditional pigeage method to ensure optimal extraction.
The name of the wine is the surname of the San Ildefonso family, father Roberto and daughter Paloma, and represents the apex of their winemaking tradition.
Tasting notes
Deep cherry color.
Very expressive, elegant and complex with ripe fruit, mineral notes, sweet spices, chocolate aromas and intense toasts.
Powerful, tasty, round and very smooth. We find again black berries, mineral notes, chocolates with roasted aromas. Very long after taste.
Soil types:
The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clay and limestone, which produce a dark lime-bearing topsoil, with fine and coarse sands.
This year we had low rain falls getting very healthy bunches. Besides, cool nights and not very hot days at the end of the cycle were excellent for a complete ripening of the grapes, full of nuances.
Winemaking and aging
The fruit is manually selected and picked in small cases. After destemming the grapes are stored in 2.000 liter open fermenter tanks and cold maceration at 8ºC during 8 days. Three times a day the cap of the skins is submerged manually (pigeage) and after the alcoholic fermentation is finished at a controlled temperature, the wine is macerated until the wine maker determines the appropriate extraction polyphenols. The malolactic fermentation is carried out in new French oak barrels. The wine was aged in new French oak barrels for 16 months, followed by another 12 months minimum in the bottle.
Ideal for red meats, lamb, roasted meat and strong cheeses
Review:
The deep purple-hued 2017 Ildefonso Toro offers up classic aromatics of spicy red and black fruits, vanilla bean, graphite, cheese rind, and scorched earth, which carry to a medium to full-bodied red that has nicely integrated tannins, a round, layered mouthfeel, and a great finish. Aged 18 months in 70% French and 30% American oak, it should evolve gracefully over the coming decade.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Finca Sobreno Seleccion Especial Toro is now called Finca Sobreno Tempranillo Reserva Toro.
Finca Sobreno Tempranillo Reserva Toro 100% Tinta de Toro from selected old-vines plots and aged during 14 months in American oak.
Production: 8,500 cases/year.
Deep dark cherry red color with dark purple tones. Powerful yet elegant nose, refined and stylish with ripe berry fruit, spicy complexity with scents of clove, sandalwood, vanilla, chocolate. Muscular, elegant yet silky smooth taste shows fruit preserves/jam blackberry and chocolate truffle. Concentrated and rich but not sweet with superb length. A good match for venison or wild boar with a fruit-based sauce.
Soil types
The wine is 100% Tinta de Toro from selected old-vines plots (over 40 years old)
The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clay and lime-stone, which produce a dark lime-bearing topsoil, with fine and coarse sands.
Harvest: In Toro summer temperatures were lower than usual and only rose over 40°C on a few days, which compensated for the dry conditions. Fresher nights from mid August also helped vines to reach optimum ripeness in the six weeks leading up to harvest –which was carried out between September 19 and October 10- and tamed alcohol levels. Tempranillo (Tinta de Toro) grapes ripened well – bunches were small and clusters were loose and healthy. Yields were low but the wines show intense color, good fruit profile and ripe tannins, which will be help to achieve roundness and good mouth feel in the finished wines. The fresher summer also resulted in slightly lower alcohol levels and a slightly higher acidity and this bodes well for quality in wines destined for ageing.
Winemaking and aging: Following a careful selection, the grapes were destemmed, crushed and the must underwent cold maceration at 7º C for five days prior to fermentation, which took place at a constant 28º C. The total maceration period lasted approximately 20 days. This wine was aged in new and one year old American and French oak barrels for 14 months, followed by another 24 months minimum in the bottle.
Winemaker: Oscar Martin
Technical specification:
TA: 4.88 grams / liter
pH: 3.62
SO2 free: 76 mg/l
RS: 2.23 grams / liter
A good match for venison or wild boar with a fruit-based sauce.
Flanagan Russian River Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Grapes for this wine are sourced from several top Russian River Chardonnay sites including Platt Vineyard, Ritchie Vineyard and Bacigalupi Vineyard.
A typical day in Russian River begins with cool fog that fades by mid-morning as the warm sun transforms the vineyard into a warm, welcoming place buzzing with bees. In the late afternoon the ocean air sweeps in from the west cooling the vineyard down. Soils of clay and volcanic rock, carved into rolling hills by the Russian River, are the bass line to the melody played by the sun, wind and fog.
Flanagan Chardonnay RRV has an expressive nose that is typical of the Wente Clone of Chardonnay. The palate has an elegant mélange of stone fruit and ripe citrus flavors supported by understated barrel notes. The key to the wine is the bright acidity that ties everything together. This is a great example of what top Russian River Chardonnay sites can produce when wine making is focused on balance.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is becoming known as the top source for cool climate Pinot Noir. Flanagan Pinot Noir is founded in letting each site and each vintage express itself. They do not have a dogmatic approach to wine-making. Pinot Noir, more than any other grape variety, is made in the vineyard.
The nose is reminiscent of Chambord with rich raspberry notes. The palate has great depth of fruit and notes of Christmas spices like clove and nutmeg. The wine displays vibrant acidity and has a very clean finish. Our Flanagan Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast pairs beautifully with duck, salmon, pork and game; like pheasant, venison, and elk.
Flaunt Pinot Noir Peake Ranch Vineyard Santa Rita Hills is made from 100% Pinot Noir.
Review:
"A light shade of ruby in the glass, this single-vineyard expression pops on the nose with fresh Bing cherry, strawberry, curry leaf and carnation aromas. The palate is very zesty as well, with a taut texture that presents flavors of smashed currant, melon rind, crunchy sage and wild thyme. - MATT KETTMANN"
- Wine Enthusiast (April 2022), 94 pts
Flaunt Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A lively pinot noir which is forward on the nose. Medium bodied with red fruits - berries currant raspberry. Savory, very slightly herbal with a medium tannins on the finish. Gains on the palate as it opens up. Good acidity, focused fruit, integrated tannins.
There is no measurable residual sugar.
Total Acidity is 6.4
pH is 3.42.
Caymus Suisan Grand Durif is made from 100 percent Caymus Suisan Grand Durif.
Only 30 minutes from Napa, Suisun Valley (which became an AVA in 1982) is still largely undiscovered. With its warm days and cool nights, this pastoral region reminds us of Napa Valley in the 1960s. Known for delicious stone fruits and walnuts, it is also gaining recognition for exceptional wine. Durif is synonymous with Petite Sirah, the widely grown grape in the region – we added “Grand” to the name for its grand style. With harmonious tannins, this wine is opulent, luxuriously soft and totally enjoyable.
For many wine lovers or consumers, wine tasting is the preserve of professionals or real connoisseurs. People still have this image of it being a complex, technical, precise and highly-formalised process. In fact, wine tasting isn’t and shouldn’t be just that. No, it should be straightforward, convivial, interesting and fun. Tasting a wine should provoke curiosity, excitement, pleasure and dreams…
When you taste a Château du Retout wine, you use all five of your senses: the sense of touch when you pick up the bottle to gauge its temperature, the sense of hearing which allows you to enjoy the sound of he popping of the cork and the wine being poured into the glass, and then, of course, you use your senses of sight, smell and taste when you drink the wine:
The Médoc grape varieties and soils give us wines with superb, dense, dark hues, ranging from deep garnet to ruby-crimson, taking on brick red shades with orange tints with age.
Very intense and expressive aromas with powerful notes of black fruit such as blackcurrants and blackberries. In older wines, the nose develops a spicy bouquet of liquorice, leather and marshmallow mingled with the vanilla scents created by well-integrated oak.
Harmonious, elegant and velvety, with smooth, round tannins, that can be appreciated from the wine's entry to the palate through to the finish. These are delightfully full-bodied wines with great aromatic persistence.
Review:
"Shows the ripeness of the vintage, with dark currant and blackberry framed by singed cedar and vanilla. Ends with a tug of warm earth, a light twang of iron and a steady grip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034."
- Wine Spectator (TOP 100 wines of 2024), 92 pts and #45 on Top100