Vintage: 2022
| Vintage | Product Code | Format | Closure | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | VE203A22 | 12 x 75 | Natural Cork | Available |
Producer
The Antón family (of Izadi and Finca Villacreces) have also invested in the Toro DO, purchasing 20 hectares of Tinta de Toro (the local name for Tempranillo) vines in 2003 for their Vetus project. These 25 to 60-year-old, south-facing vineyards are located on sandy and clay soils in Villabuena del Puente.
Growing conditions in this area are extreme, with cold winters, frost, strong winds and hot summers all presenting huge viticultural challenges. The vineyard’s poor soils create low yields, resulting in wines with excellent flavour and colour intensity. However, high temperatures and 3,000 sunshine hours per year can bring high alcohol levels without effective vine canopy management.
Vetus’ ‘Flor de Vetus’ Toro, is made from 100% Tinto de Toro and has a deep, black cherry colour with expressive aromas of red and black berry fruits and touches of spice from time spent in American and French oak. It offers a fresher, more accessible style, designed to be drunk in its youth, compared to its more premium Toro counterpart which spends more time in bottle before release. Vetus’ Toro is well structured, with robust tannins that are typical of the DO and bright aromas of red berry fruit, smoke, toast and oak. The resulting wine is well-balanced, with a long, powerful finish. This complexity is in part due to the wine being matured in new, French oak barrels.
The Antón family also own vineyards in Rueda, to the east of the Toro DO. The ‘Flor de Vetus’ Rueda is made from 100% Verdejo, sourced from an 80-year-old vineyard planted at an elevation of 820 metres in the cool area of Segovia, giving a crisp and fresh style of white wine.
Vineyards
The vineyards are situated in the Segovia area of the Rueda DO, which lies between Ribera del Duero - to the east - and Toro - to the west. The old bush vines, planted in 1992, grow at an altitude of 800 metres above sea level in poor, sandy soils and produce very low yields of top quality Verdejo grapes which display beautiful freshness and good levels of natural acidity, rarely found in the grapes sourced from other nearby areas. The climate is continental with long winters and dry, hot summers.
Vintage
The 2022 vintage encountered an exceptionally long, hot summer and very dry conditions, presenting huge challenges to growers across the region and meaning that both careful canopy management and close monitoring of the vines were vital to ensure the grapes remained in good health up until harvest. Despite these challenges and an earlier than usual commencement to the harvest, the outcome proved to be better than expected both in terms of quality and yields.
Vinification
The hand-picked grapes were loaded into small 20kg boxes to ensure that they arrived at the winery in pristine condition. Upon arrival they were destemmed and crushed, with fermentation taking place at controlled temperatures in stainless-steel tanks to retain the fresh varietal characters of the Verdejo grapes. After fermentation was complete, the wine stayed on its fine lees for a short period to add extra complexity and structure.
Tasting Notes & Technical Details
This wine is a vibrant yellow in colour with youthful hints. On the nose are intense aromas of tropical, white stone and citrus fruit. The fruit characters carry through to the palate, balanced by refreshing acidity and a persistent finish.
Alcohol (ABV)
12.5%
Other wines from this producer
Producer | Wine | Product Code | Features | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vetus | Toro | VE201 | Vegetarian Vegan | R Red | |
| `Flor de Vetus` Toro | VE202 | R Red |