Vinas Elias Mora
"This is very pure, fruit driven wine. It is very fresh with a fleshy and crunchy texture." —
Victoria Benavides, winemaker
Grape(s)
100% Tinta de Toro, from vines averaging 20 years old
Altitude/Soil
650 meters / clay over limestone with sand and pebbles on the surface
Farming Methods
Practicing Organic
Harvest
Hand harvested, into small boxes at the end of September
Production
Whole berries undergo a 3-day cold soak, 7-day fermentation with skins, malo-lactic conversion in stainless steel tanks
Aging
Aged for 6 months in 100% new American oak barrels
Suggested Retail Price
$28
Vinas Elias Mora
2020
93 (WE) 91 (OB)
| 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 |
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| 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)
| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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
92 (WRO) 90+ (VfC)
| 92 |
Wine Review Online |
Bodega Elías Mora, Toro (Castilla y León, Spain) Tinto 2022 ($28, Grapes of Spain / Aurelio Cabestrero): This isn’t priced along the lines of everyone’s idea of an “entry-level” wine, but neither does it taste remotely like a basic offering. The bouquet is complex and alluring at a very high level of expressiveness right after the cork is pulled, showing gorgeous fruit notes that are mostly red in “tone” but also with some black fruit shading, along with light toasty accents and a lovely spiciness. All these notes are echoed on the palate, with medium body but a very high ratio of flavor to weight. It is true — but nevertheless difficult to believe — that this was exposed to 100% new American oak, even if only for 6 months, as the wood notes lend complexity without remotely taking over the wine. Immensely enjoyable now, with wonderful purity of fruit, this is still a serious wine with a serious future, during which it will improve for at least five years and maybe longer.
Michael Franz May 21, 2024 |
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| 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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