Vega Sicilia - Pintia - Toro

The current release is the 2021 Pintia, an exceptional vintage for them in Toro, and is one of their finest to date. It was cropped from a cooler year, and the wine has more freshness despite the 15% alcohol. It has a pH of 3.83 and 4.7 grams of acidity. It fermented in stainless steel and oak vats and matured partly in stainless steel (15%), barrels and foudres with 75% new oak, for 11 months. Three episodes of rain in September really made the vintage, something unusual in the zone, putting the icing on the cake of a cooler year. The wine is always more powerful than the wines from Ribera or Rioja, with more oomph, density and abundant tannins but with very good balance and freshness. It's a Pintia for the long haul, like a 2018 with more weight. There were 235,355 bottles, 13,944 half-bottles, 6,535 magnums and some larger formats produced. This was bottled in April 2023.