Elias Mora, Toro DO (Castilla y León, Spain) 2014

 So, you tell me:  If a Spanish producer released two high-end wines, calling one “Gran Elias Mora” and the other “Elias Mora Reserva,” would you guess the first of the two was the more expensive flagship wine of the Bodega?  If so, we’d both be wrong, having been habituated to ranking “Gran” above “Reserva” among Spanish wines.  Either the producer has a rationale that escapes me, or maybe just a mischievous nature, but in any case, both wines are marvelous, and this one slightly my favorite of the two.  This 2014 release is even better than the 2012, which I adored; this shows even more concentration and intensity, and though it is a bit less open for early enjoyment, it more than makes up for that with extraordinary aging potential (20+ years from now) based on physical density but also balanced acidity, tannin and oak.  Sourced from the same single site as the “Gran” (the 80-year-old Senda del Lobo vineyard) but aged for 24 rather than 17 months in French oak, it combines exceptional depth of dark berry fruit flavor with very silky, fine-grained tannin that enables near-term enjoyment…even though this really deserves time in the cellar to blossom more fully.  It shows no more oak than the “Gran” 2015, and the fruit seems slightly more restrained in terms of ripeness, but make no mistake — this is a big, powerful wine despite the fact that it is also graceful and beautifully proportioned.  Sensational stuff.