Numanthia Termanthia 2012 750ml
Rated 95 by Wine Enthusiast
Tarry blackberry and cheesy oak aromas are appropriate for a wine of this size and magnitude. In the mouth, this Tinta de Toro is expansive and grabby, with bullish tannins. Slightly salty earthy accents come with core blackberry flavors and notes of baking spices and chocolate, while on the finish this is long, chocolaty, delicious and not too hard or tannic. Drink through 2023. (Editors' Choice)
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Rated 95 by Wine Spectator
Dense and polished, this red is muscular yet balanced, with firm, well-integrated tannins and lively acidity supporting rich flavors of blackberry, cocoa, licorice and mineral. Monolithic now, but has real depth. Best from 2018 through 2028. 600 cases made, 300 cases imported.
Rated 94 by Wine Advocate
The limited, top of the range 2012 Termanthia is a single-vineyard Tempranillo from a plot of vines planted some 120 years ago. The bunches are hand-destemmed and then foot-trodden, and fermented in oak vats. The wine spends six months in new French oak barrels until malolactic is completed and then transferred to another set of brand new barrels for a further 18 months. The aromas are dominated by the élevage, with plenty of oak, smoke and peat, with something organic and earthy, even with some hints of Islay whiskey. If you look hard enough, there are some heady aromas of violets and blueberries underneath. The palate is quite straight within its full size and power, with good freshness, marked acidity, more elegance than the Numanthia and also better drinkability. Even with 200% oak, there is fruit here that talks about the quality, natural concentration and power of the grapes used, which are able to stand such brutal treatment. The new winemaker tells me the 2014 will only have around 80% new oak, and I'm looking forward to tasting the bottled wine, as I believe you could make an amazing wine with these grapes, and a softer hand in the vinification and aging. Around 5,000 bottles are produced per vintage.
Opaque ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe dark fruit, violet, licorice, pipe tobacco and smoky vanillin oak, and a zesty mineral flourish adds energetic lift. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering powerful black currant, cherry-vanilla and floral pastille flavors that become livelier as the wine stretches out. Rich yet surprisingly graceful, showing zero excess fat and no rough edges on a strikingly long, sappy finish, where building tannins add framework and grip.
Rated 93 by James Suckling
Big and powerful red defined by a stony, seaweed, blackberry and bay-leaf character. Complex and layered. Full-bodied and broad-shouldered with fine tannins and a fresh, spicy and earthy finish. Jammy and old-school Spanish red but impressive nonetheless. Drink now or hold.