Elias Mora, Toro (Castilla y León, Spain) 2012

 What a pleasure to find a high-end, current release wine from Spain that is in the market at a point in its development when it can be appreciated fully!  This is a wine of great beauty and complexity, and one that collectors would be well advised to seek out, and yet its readiness to relish right now makes it a great option for those who don’t have cellars to buy to celebrate a special occasion.  The fruit is 100% Tinta de Toro (a local strain of Tempranillo resulting from genetic mutation over time), sourced from the single, 80-year-old Senda del Lobo vineyard.  It shows medium-plus body but no sense of heaviness and no hint of over-ripeness, with lovely accents of spices and faint hints of coffee beans, cured meat and pipe tobacco.  There’s plenty of tannin to provide structure, but it is superbly fine in grain, resulting is very soft mouthfeel and a finish that is luxuriously long, without any foreshortening from astringency.  Absolutely beautiful.