San Roman, Toro (Castilla y León, Spain) 2011

This is a fantastic young rendition of San Roman, which is probably the single most distinguished wine from the entire appellation of Toro. Whereas some past vintages have been extremely tight and oaky when first released, requiring years of cellaring to show their inevitable greatness, this release exhibits a notably different profile.  The 2011 is already amazingly generous, with highly expressive aromas, deep and lasting flavors, and wonderful texture combining fleshiness and grip.  Dark berry fruit is accented with toast and spice notes, but these wood-based sensations are really nicely balanced against the fruit, which outlasts them in the finish.  There’s a chance that this will still shut down and tighten up, but my guess is that it will prove to be one of those rare wines that shows its beauty from the start and stays beautiful for a good dozen years.