Grapes of Spain

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Wine Review Online	A soft landing followed by a burst of flavor -- not big or heavy in any way, but focused and gratifying -- lets you know right away that you’re in for a truly enjoyable wine experience with this offering from Elias Mora. It is a Spanish wine that is both traditional in its uncompromised freshness, yet is also highly sophisticated, especially in its substantial depth of flavor. Another plus: The memory lingers on in the generous finish.
91	Vinous Media	(fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged for six months in new American oak barrels) Deep ruby. Dark berries, cherry pit, incense and vanilla on the perfumed nose, joined by a smoky element that emerges with air. Supple, palate-coating black currant and bitter cherry flavors are accompanied by mocha and cola flourishes. The sweet, persistent finish features repeating vanilla and spice notes, while supple tannins add shape and grip. May 2017
90	Wine Enthusiast	Heady cherry and berry aromas are forwardly potent. This young, grippy Toro is tannic and taut on the palate. Gritty blackberry and burnt, toasty flavors finish rough, with grabby, pronounced tannins. Drink from 2017–2023. November 2016

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Vinas Elias Mora 2015

92 (IWR) 91 (Peñin) 91 (VM) 91 (WE) 89 (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	International Wine Report	The 2015 Toro begins with smoky aromatics along with black fruits and chocolate rounding out the nose. Silky smooth on the mid-palate, the wine has a marvelous mouthfeel and tension. Dark cherries, black raspberry cordial, creosote and chocolate cake flavors come to mind. Downright delicious now, be sure to give this a long decant if enjoying in its youth. June 2018
91	Guia Penin	Guia Penin 2018
91	Vinous Media	Inky ruby. Deep-pitched cherry liqueur, cassis and licorice aromas are complemented by suggestions of violet and cola. Densely packed black and blue fruit flavors unfold slowly and pick up a spicy nuance that adds lift and back-end cut. Chewy tannins lend shape and grip to the long, smoke-tinged finish, which leaves a strong, mineral-inflected floral note behind. Give this promising but still youthful wine some cellar time or, at the very least, a good decanting. 2023 – 2032” Josh Raynolds - February 2021
91	Wine Enthusiast	Savory, meaty berry aromas are unconventional and gamy more than bold, oaky and fruity. A plump round palate is full but not fat, while roasted meaty blackberry flavors finish toasty and snappy, with touches of heat and burn that should slip away with more time in bottle; drink through 2025. December 2018
89	View from the Cellar	The 2015 Toro from Elias Mora is made entirely from tempranillo, with the vines a good age of thirty-five years of age. This bottling sees all new American oak for its elevage, but happily this is only for six months. The wine comes in at 14.5 percent alcohol and manages it quite well, offering up a bright and complex bouquet of sweet dark berries, black cherries, bonfire, a bit of roasted game, smoky new oak and a touch of licorice in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, robust and well-balanced, with a good core, focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and robust finish. I like this quite a bit. 2018-2030+. Issue #75 – May/June 2018

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Vinas Elias Mora 2016

91 (WS)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
91	Wine Spectator	This red is rich, ripe and expressive. Bright acidity balances muscular tannins, supporting cherry, blackberry, licorice and cocoa flavors that are fresh and harmonious. Lively, in the modern style. Drink now through 2031. August 31, 2019

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Vinas Elias Mora 2017

92 (WRO) 91 (VM) 91 (IWR) 90 (Peñin) 88 (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	Wine Review Online	My score of 92 may seem a bit high for an entry-level wine, but I have every confidence that you’ll agree that I’ve got it right if you taste this delicious offering. A persistent problem in wine criticism is that wines are often scored in a scaled way conforming to where they stand in a series, price wise, from particular producers. But the fact is, modestly oaked Tempranillo from the high plain of central Spain provides some of the most fabulously pure, satisfyingly delicious fruit in all the world of wine. This is a stellar case in point. Darkly colored and deeply concentrated, it shows its seriousness immediately, but then its playful side emerges in the form of very expressive aromas and flavors showing both red and black tones, with almost no overt oak but a very appealing undertone of saline minerality. Full-bodied but still fresh, formidable but still fruity and fun, this is terrific young Toro. Michael Franz - August 18, 2020
91	Vinous Media	Vivid ruby-red. Expressive dark fruit and floral aromas are sharpened by a spicy cracked pepper note, and woodsmoke and vanilla nuances emerge slowly. Juicy and smooth on the palate, offering bitter cherry and blackberry flavors that firm up slowly with aeration. Shows very good depth as well as vivacity on the finish, which is firmed by gentle, slow-building tannins. Aged for six months in new American oak barrels. 2022 – 2028” Josh Raynolds - February 2021
91	International Wine Report	Entirely made of Tinta Del Toro the 2017 'Viñas Elias Mora' was aged for six months prior to bottling. Showing a deep core, this delivers a mouthful of juicy red and dark fruit flavors that mingle with the minerals and citrus rind undertones. This is seriously impressive for the price as it displays both the weight and freshness to cellar well over the next decade. 2019-2029 September 2019
90	Guia Penin	Colour: brighy cherry. Nose: red berry notes, spicy, dry stone, burnt matches. Palate: balanced, good acidity. Spanish Wine 2020
88	View from the Cellar	The 2017 Toro Tinto from Elias Mora is a ripe wine at 14.5 percent, but it also has a good sense of balance and carries its octane quite well. The deep nose offers up scents of black cherries, chocolate, cigar smoke, a touch of tariness and a bit of cigar wrapper in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite broad-shouldered, with a rock solid core of fruit, firm, but buried tannins and very good length and grip on the focused and gently warm finish. This is a classic example of Toro in this era of global warming, with plenty of muscle and the structure to age, and with the alcohol managed fairly well. It will need some bottle age to soften up, but should be a pretty good drink when it is ready to go. 2024-2045+. Issue # 85 - January/February 2020

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Vinas Elias Mora 2018

91 (WRO) 90 (VfC)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
91	Wine Review Online	This is the first 2018 vintage wine I’ve tasted from Toro, and it has me smacking my lips in anticipation of the wines still to be released. There’s not much suspense about those wines being even richer in texture and deeper in flavor than this one, with more complexity from newer oak and more potential for improvement over the long term. However, there really is some suspense over whether they’ll be any more delicious than this bottling, especially for the vast majority of wine lovers who drink what they buy within the first few months of purchase. If you fall into that camp, give this a go. It shows all the best characteristics of a relatively new breed of wines from nearby Ribera del Duero that are minimally oaked (with the period of oak aging indicated on the front or back label) and styled with pure Tempranillo in the forefront, and it is every bit as good as any of them. In this case, the wood aging was six months in duration, but I got that from the importer’s website rather than the label, and the variety is Tinta de Toro, which is Tempranillo—but named by reference to a local mutation that has adapted to Toro’s growing conditions over a long span of time. Medium-plus in body, but quite soft in texture, with mostly black-toned fruit flavors, this is a joy to sip on its own already (at least of those of us who love young red wines with some tannic grip), but still with enough stuffing and texture to work well with moderately robust foods like seared pork chops. The acidity, oak, tannin and fruit are already quite seamlessly integrated, and the wine still shows lively primary fruit characteristics, but isn’t remotely “grapey” or obvious. The wine is utterly flawless, and if that was the same as “perfect,” this would earn 100 points rather than 91 — which is the right score for a wine that is impeccably made at this level of complexity and capacity to improve. Trust me…you’ll love it, or I’ll shovel your snow for the rest of the winter. Michael Franz - February 16, 2021
90	View from the Cellar	The regular bottling of Tinto from Elias Mora hails from thirty year-old, organically farmed vineyards and is composed entirely of Tempranillo. The wine is aged for six months in American oak casks prior to bottling. The 2018 version comes in listed at 14.5 percent octane and delivers a deep and promising bouquet of cassis, black cherries, a bit of roasted meats, dark soil tones, a touch of saddle leather, cigar smoke and a deft seasoning of American oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, broad-shouldered and quite solid at the core, with good focus and grip, ripe tannins and a long, nascently complex and really very nicely balanced finish. This is a young wine and deserves some time in the cellar to soften up a bit more on the backend, but it is only moderately tannic and will not demand long cellaring before it really starts to drink well. A fine value. 2025-2050. John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021

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Vinas Elias Mora 2019

92 (OB) 91+ (VfC)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
92	OwenBargreen.com	This 2019 Toro is very forward and juicy with dark fruits, tobacco leaf and milk chocolate flavors. Enjoy now. Drink 2022-2027 Owen Bargreen - August 18, 2022
91+	View from the Cellar	The 2019 Tinto “Viñas” bottling from Bodega Elías Mora comes in listed at the same octane as the 2020 version, but the extra year in bottle has mellowed it considerably on the nose and it presents a more polished veneer in its aromatic constellation of plums, black cherries, cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, a touch of violet and a judicious framing of new American oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and plush at the core, with plenty of ripe fruit, good soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, complex and well-balanced finish. Again, this has just a whisper of backend heat, but all in all, it carries its octane very nicely. The 2020, at this stage of its evolution, is the bigger bruiser of a wine, whereas the 2019 is far more suave in profile. Tasting a wine such as this, one can see why Vega Sicilia way back in the day used to source grapes in Toro for their Único bottling! This is an excellent wine. 2026-2050. John Gilman – Issue #98 March/April 2022

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Vinas Elias Mora 2020

93 (WE) 91 (OB)

Score	Publication	Review	Copy
93	Wine Enthusiast	Deep-ruby to the eye, this wine features aromas of dark plum, cassis and black olive. It is bright at first sip, with flavors of cherry and pomegranate and notes of toffee, milk chocolate and orange blossom. Sleek tannins evaporate into a floral and butterscotch finish. M.D. - Best of the Year 2022
91	OwenBargreen.com	The 2020 ‘Toro’ by Elias Mora offers complex and delicious flavors of espresso grounds, dark currant and milk chocolate flavors alongside a soft texture. Showing a smooth mouthfeel, this over-delivers for the price. Really good now, this will cellar well for another eight plus years. Drink 2023-2031- Owen Bargreen - October, 2023

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Vinas Elias Mora 2021

91 (WRO) 90 (WS) 88 (VfC)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
91	Wine Review Online	I opened this along with several other roughly comparable reds, including one from another producer in Toro that I esteem highly, and this was clearly the most complete and enjoyable wine in the group. It is made from relatively young vines averaging 20 years in age — but only “young” in the context of Toro, and especially for a wine priced at this level. Regarding price, it is amazing that this was aged in 100% new oak barrels, all American ones in this case. That could have been a recipe for a coconut and vanilla disaster (two notes that lesser American cooperage can impart that I cannot abide). However, either the barrels were of high quality or the wine’s limited time in them (only 6 months) prevented those notes from resulting. What did result was a pleasantly spicy, lightly toasty edge on a core of ripe, dark berry fruit that shows excellent integration with the wood and very fine balance of all components, including acidity and tannin. This is remarkably delicious for its age and price. Michael Franz - Issue: June 6, 2023
90	Wine Spectator	This red is lightly reductive at first, opening in the glass, so give it some air to reveal the overtones of fragrant herbs and spices, plus the minerally underpinning layered with flavors of crushed blackberry and toast. The finish is firmed by chalky tannins. Best after 2024. 10,000 cases made, 2,500 cases imported. Alison Napus – October 31, 2023
88	View from the Cellar	The 2021 Viñas Tinto from Elías Mora is made entirely from twenty year-old tempranillo vines that are farmed organically. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and raised for six months in one hundred percent new American oak barrels and bottled unfiltered. The wine comes in listed at 14.5 percent alcohol and offers up a deep, ripe and slightly roasted bouquet of dark berries, cassis, grilled venison, coffee bean, dark soil and spicy oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and powerful in personality, with a good core of fruit, ripe tannins and good length and grip on the slightly roasted and still quite youthful finish. This needs cellaring to allow its tannins to soften up, but it will be a good, solid wine once it is ready to drink. 2031-2060. John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023.

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Vinas Elias Mora 2022

90+ (VfC)

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Score	Publication	Review	Copy
90+	View from the Cellar	The 2022 Viñas Tinto from Elías Mora comes in listed at 14.5 percent octane in this vintage. This Tempranillo-based wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and raised for six months in one hundred percent new American oak barrels and bottled unfiltered. The vineyards are farmed organically. The wine delivers a deep, ripe and complex bouquet of cassis, black cherries, a nice touch of tempranillo spices, a bit of meatiness, dark soil tones, cigar smoke and new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, broad-shouldered and full, with fine depth at the core, ripe, buried tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, well balanced and promising finish. Though the 2022 version comes in listed at the same octane as the 2021, the balance here seems superior to my palate and this wine is a step up from last year’s version. This is really an excellent, entry level bottling! 2032-2065. John Gilman; Issue 109, January – February 2024

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