Bodega Numanthia 'Termanthia' 2015

Bodega Numanthia Termanthia 2015 is an immensely powerful, profound, and monumental Spanish red wine representing the absolute pinnacle of the Toro region. Crafted exclusively from century-old, pre-phylloxera, ungrafted Tinta de Toro vines planted in the iconic Teso de los Carriles vineyard, it undergoes a meticulous hand-crafted vinification before spending 22 months maturing in fine French oak vats and barrels. Displaying a deep garnet-cherry hue of incredible concentration, the nose uncoils slowly to reveal an opulent and intricate bouquet of crushed black cherry, wild blueberries, and warm fig cake, seamlessly interweaved with savory notes of tobacco leaf, forest floor, clove, and aromatic hints of wild lavender and eucalyptus. On the palate, it delivers a massive, full-bodied, and beautifully generous entry with a teeth-staining core of dark berry preserves supported by a firm, iron-like backbone of natural mountain acidity and dense, velvety tannins. This monumental structure guides the opulent fruit into an extraordinarily long, muscular, and persistent finish marked by lingering notes of dark chocolate, smoke, and an intense, earthy minerality.

Food Pairing: Pairs spectacularly with charcoal-grilled dry-aged ribeye steak, slow-braised wild boar shoulder with rosemary, or intensive spice-rubbed roasted rack of lamb.

94 Points - James Suckling

A rich and intense red with lots of red-fruit aromas and flavours, together with lightly toasted oak and dried flowers. It's full and powerful, but with a touch of elegance and focus. This is a selection of about five or six of the finest parcels. Drink or hold

94 Points - Wine Spectator

Dense and compact, there's a sense of restraint to this potent red, with flavors of black raspberry puree, tea rose, fig cake, dark chocolate and herb-laced balsamico unfurling slowly on the palate. The dark and brooding flavour range is buoyed by lively acidity, and minerally iron and smoke accents show on the finish, alongside fine, taut tannins.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2015 Termanthia is a selection from 120-year-old ungrafted Tinta de Toro vines from six plots that fermented in French oak vats with commercial yeasts and matured in barrels for 22 months; this vintage is when they started using less new oak. It has 15% alcohol and a pH of 3.67. Tasting this next to the 2016, it feels like there's more toasty oak here, and it's very balsamic with notes of camphor and a little minty, a little heady and quite ripe with black rather than red fruit, abundant tannins and plenty of oak-related flavors. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2017 and launched in 2022.