San Roman

"Simply put, this is one of the great wines of the world." —
Dr. Owen Bargreen, Washington Wine Blog
Appellation
Toro D.O.
Grape(s)
100% Tinto de Toro, 60-100+ year-old vines on stony and sandy/clay soils
Altitude/Soil
700-850 meters / sand, clay and gravel, mostly with large surface stones
Farming Methods
Certified Organic viticulture, incorporating some Biodynamic principles and practices
Harvest
Hand harvested fruit, hand sorted at the winery prior to processing
Production
Grapes were destemmed and lightly crushed prior to fermentation with native microbes, 2 weeks of skin maceration
Aging
Aged for 24 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, 25% new
Suggested Retail Price
$70
Wine Name
Scores
Downloads
Reviews
San Roman 2006
94 (WE) 93 (RP)
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94 Wine Enthusiast Dark, tight and masculine smelling, San Román is once again one of the two or three best wines from Toro. This vintage is black, extracted and super ripe, but it maintains a fine level of balance and more than adequate freshness. Flavors of coconut, vanilla and chocolate announce generous new oak, as does mocha and espresso on the finish. Heady but ready; ageable for another 5–8 years.
Editor’s Choice, Top 100 Enthusiast Wines - November 2010
93 The Wine Advocate “Aromas of smoke, incense, scorched earth, espresso, and blackberry jump from the glass. Full-bodied and already revealing some complexity, this opulent offering is packed with succulent fruit and enough structure to evolve for 3-4 years. Drink this pleasure-bent effort from 2013 to 2021 if not longer.
Issue 188 - April 2010
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San Roman 2007
93 (RP) 93 (WS)
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93 The Wine Advocate The 2007 San Roman is 100% Tinta de Toro aged for 25 months in seasoned French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it gives up an already complex bouquet of toasty oak, pencil lead, damp earth, licorice, tapenade, and blackberry. Layered and multi-dimensional on the palate, it lacks the power of a great vintage such as 2009 but the result is a more immediately friendly wine that can be enjoyed from 2015 to 2022 if not longer.
Issue 195 - June 2011
93 Wine Spectator This expressive red shows plenty of oak, with cocoa and coffee flavors, but the ripe, bright core of plum, blueberry and cassis keeps it all balanced, with rich, well-integrated tannins matched by fresh acidity. Best from 2014 through 2024.
September 2011
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San Roman 2013
93 (RP) 93 (VM) 93 (JS) 92 (VfC)
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93 The Wine Advocate The 2013 San Román was produced with fruit from older vineyards in Toro. In 2012 they started reducing the amount of the new oak in this wine and the change is quite noticeable. There is something leafy and floral showing elegance within the power that the place provides naturally. 2013 was quite different in Toro from Ribera del Duero, here the cooler years are a plus, as they balance the extra ripeness the place provides. In 2013 there was no rain during the harvest and the grapes were very healthy. There are some fine tannins and the profile of a more austere and transparent vintage, a mineral year. But it does have the smoky and slightly wild character of Toro. 87,000 bottles produced. 2017-2022
28th Feb 2017
93 Vinous Media (aged for two years in 75 percent French and 25 percent American oak barrels, half of them new) Inky purple. Heady cherry, dark berry, vanilla and violet pastille qualities on the oak-accented nose. At once rich and energetic; a firm spine of acidity provides lift to sweet cassis, blueberry and vanilla flavors. Closes with youthful tannic grip and impressive persistence, leaving dark berry and licorice candy notes behind. 2021-2028
93 JamesSuckling.com Very pretty aromas reminiscent of graphite, crushed blackberries and capuccino undertones that turn floral. Concentrated and fine-grained Toro with berry flavors. Plenty of wood, yet this is silky and attractive. Better to drink in 2018 but delicious now. Galicia, Canary Islands lead the charge on Spain’s bright future
92 View from the Cellar The 2013 old vine bottling (sixty to ninety year-old vines) of San Román from Bodegas Maurodos was raised in fifty percent new oak, in a combination of American and French casks. This is entirely tempranillo, with the 2013 vintage coming in at the same 14.5 percent octane as last year’s fine example. As I mentioned in my note on the 2012 a year ago, this is a modernstyled wine that is done impeccably well, with a sense of aromatic precision that is pretty rare in wines at this level of ripeness. The bouquet offers up a nascently complex blend of black cherries, cassis, a touch of cigar smoke, balsamic tones, a good base of soil, gentle notes of garrigue and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, ripe and well-balanced, with a rock solid core, fine focus, firm, chewy tannins and very good length and grip on the slightly warm finish. As I mentioned in my note on the 2012 San Román, this is really a beautifully made wine that could clearly be even better to my palate if harvested just a touch less ripe. Why not trade just a touch more youthful structure for a wine of even greater complexity and breed? That said, the 2013 San Román from Bodegas Maurodos is really a fine example of the more modern style in Toro. 2021-2045+.
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San Roman 2014
94 (WS) 94 (RP) 94 (IWR) 91 (W&S) 91 (VfC)
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94 Wine Spectator A velvety texture carries ripe fruit flavors of plum and blackberry in this plush red. Cocoa, loamy earth and mineral notes add depth and interest. Ripe tannins are well-integrated, andnbalsamic acidity keeps this lively. Drink now through 2029.
#41 Top 100 Wines of 2018
94 The Wine Advocate I also had the opportunity to taste the 2014 San Román, which has benefitted from one extra year in bottle. The year was less warm and ripe than 2015, but the fruit is still quite ripe, but without excess. It has nicely integrated oak and a powerful mouthfeel keeping the poise and elegance. The flavors are focused, and the end is long. 95,000 bottles produced.
August 2018 - Issue 238
94 International Wine Report Lifted, opulent and intense, the 2014 'San Roman' Toro is showing incredible range right now. Following extended air contact, the wine begins to opens with a ripe dark fruit bouquet with toasty oak, white rose and milk chocolate shavings which all build in the glass. On the palate this displays a wonderful combination of tension and viscosity. Blueberry Coulis, blackberry pie, coffee grounds and dark chocolate flavors all come to mind. Complex and seductive, this will have an exceedingly long life in the cellar.
June 2018
91 Wine & Spirits Magazine Mariano García, one of the pioneers of contemporary Toro, seeks finesse in an area where red wines with brutal power are the norm. This wine has the sweetness and the unctuous flavors of fruit grown under the region’s intense sun, even as its texture is silky and round. Its flavors of strawberry and cherry are ripe and expansive.
June 2018
91 View from the Cellar The San Roman bottling from the winery of the same name is one of their old vine cuvées, produced entirely from tempranillo, with the vines ranging from sixty to more than ninety years of age. The vineyards here are far stonier than those used for their Prima bottling. The wine is raised in fifty percent new oak for two years, with the barricas a combination of both French and American oak. The 2014 San Roman comes in at 14.5 percent octane and offers up excellent complexity in its aromatic constellation of cassis, licorice, dark chocolate, a fine base of soil, a bit of saddle leather and a well done base of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, broad-shouldered and rock solid at the core, with firm, ripe tannins, good focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and robust finish. This carries its alcohol pretty well, but it is still a touch warm on the backend. But, in the context of Toro today, this is pretty classy juice. 2020-2040.
Issue #75 – May/June 2018
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San Roman 2015
95 (Decanter) 94 (VM) 94 (VM) 93 CS (WE) 93 (WS) 93 (RP)
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95 Decanter Magazine A hint of gaminess on the nose, but the palate is packed with generous fruit. Notes of chocolate from the oak are married to cherry and elderberry fruit, tobacco smoke and cedar. Silky texture with grip but also great finesse. Great persistence. Power and elegance combined. Drink 2019-2035
Discover Toro, March 2019
Sponsored content by the Consejo Regulador of Toro
94 Vinous Media The 2015 Bodegas San Roman Toro is another sensational release from this storied property in the Toro region. Toro saw very high heat spikes in 2015 so it is not surprising to see this massive wine weighing in at 14.5% alcohol. Needing a one hour hour decant, after some air this beautiful wine slowly unveils gorgeous aromatic range from black tea and Asian spices that mingle with notes of milk chocolate covered red cherry and tobacco leaf that are all marvelously woven together in the glass. The texture is soft and sumptuous, giving this wine a hedonistic edge. Suggestions of black forest cake and sweet pipe tobacco fill the palate, deftly mingling with minerals and peat moss tones. This finishes exceedingly long with dark fruits and minerals. WHile this is a delight to savor in its youth, the 2015 San Roman has both the acidity and stuffing to cellar well for the next twenty years. Drink 2020-2035
September 2019
94 Vinous Media Deep, shimmering violet. Expressive, spice-accented aromas of blackberry, cherry liqueur, vanilla and licorice, plus a smoky mineral nuance in the background. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy black and blue fruit and violet pastille flavors and a suggestion of exotic spices. Rich yet lively in style, with a very long, gently tannic finish that features lingering smoke and mocha notes. 2022- 2032
Josh Raynolds - February 2021
93 CS Wine Enthusiast Classy aromas of lemony oak, cigar box, bramble and berry fruits set up a massive palate with fierce tannins and years of aging potential. Dark, toasty flavors of pure cacao, charred oak and black fruits finish with power and structure. Decant if drinking anytime soon; best from 2022 onward.
#91 Top 100 Cellar Selections 2019
93 Wine Spectator Cocoa, licorice and spice notes frame ripe plum and currant flavors in this rich, generous red. The firm tannins are well-integrated and balsamic acidity keeps this lively and balanced. Harmonious, in the modern style. Drink now through 2030.
September 30, 2019
93 The Wine Advocate The eponymous 2015 San Román was produced with fruit from a dry and warm year, from one of the earliest harvests to date (but records are broken almost every year, and 2017 was even earlier). It's always sourced from old, head-pruned and ungrafted Tinta de Toro vines on stony, limestone and clay soils in different villages of the appellation,including Morales de Toro, Pedrosa del Rey and San Román de Hornija. It fermented in wide stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured for 24 months in oak barrels, 70% French and the rest American It's ripe, wide, hedonistic and generously oaked. A powerful, generous vintage of San Román. It should age nicely in bottle. 95,800 bottles were filled in January 2018.
August 2018 - Issue 238
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San Roman 2016
96 (WRO) 95 (WB) 94 (VfC) 94 (RP) 94 (VM) 92 (WS) 92 (JS)
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96 Wine Review Online I believe I’ve tasted every vintage of this wine that’s been imported into the USA, and think that this may be the best of them all. It is still quite young, but obviously very beautiful in character and virtually perfect in ripeness, structure and proportionality. Quite deeply pigmented, with exceptional flavor impact but no heaviness, it is marvelous Tempranillo with many years of improvement ahead of it. Rather tight when first opened, with notable but definitely not excessive oak, it unfolds gradually over the course of its first hours after opening to display ever more layers of fruit and minerality, and ever better integrated toast and spice from oak. Tasted again 24 hours later, it is better still. Fresh with acidity, it is beautifully bright, with gorgeous purity of fruit. It really needs time to unwind, and will no doubt not hit its peak until it is at least a decade from the vintage, and quite possibly not until a decade from now. I’ve seen the reviews from other critics, including Luis Gutiérrez from The Wine Advocate (whom I greatly respect), and all of them underscored this wine, no doubt because they tasted it while it was still too young and tight. Odds are I’ve underscored it too.
Michael Franz - October 6, 2020
95 Washington Wine Blog The 2016 Bodegas San Roman Toro follows the really impressive line of San Roman wines over the past decade. Needing a two hour decant to fully evolve, once on the nose you are impressed by the intensity of not only massive dark fruits but non-fruit aromatics of tar, sandalwood and leather that combine with shades of damp earth. The palate is plush, with silky tannins and toasty oak that are artfully woven into the core of blackberry cobbler, blueberry cordial, mocha, and creosote tones. Showing a great feeling of range, with vibrant acidity, a light dusting of salinity and excellent weight, the 2016 Bodegas San Roman Toro will enjoy an exceedingly long life ahead of it. Drink 2020-2038.
Dr. Owen J. Bargreen, CS - July 2020
94 View from the Cellar The 2016 San Román Tinto, which is the winery’s flagship bottling, is comprised from one hundred percent old vine Tempranillo, with the vines ranging from sixty to more than ninety years of age, with all of these vineyards certified organically-farmed. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised in a combination of three-quarters French oak and one-quarter American casks, with both two hundred and twenty-five and five hundred liter barrels utilized. Only twenty-five percent of the oak is new. The wine offers up a superb bouquet, wafting from the glass in a mix of black cherries, black plum, Cuban cigar, a touch of anise, clove-like spice tones, a fine base of soil and a very refined foundation of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and impressively transparent for its octane level (it is listed at 14.5 percent, but carries it seamlessly and seems cooler in the mouth), with a great core of fruit, impeccable focus and balance and a very long, ripely tannic and very classy finish. This is one of the best young examples of Toro I have tasted in ages, but one would expect this from a winery founded by Mariano Garcia (of Vega Sicilia fame) and now run by his two sons, Alberto and Eduardo Garcia! 2030-2055+.
Issue #86 - March/April 2020
94 The Wine Advocate The 2016 San Román was cropped from a generous vintage, which meant great balance in the grapes, good freshness, very fine tannins and less concentration. Having said that, I think the wine has great aging potential; it's not really a light wine (it's Toro after all), and it has structure and good grip and a classical profile, still quite generously oaked and in need of some time in bottle. They used a small percentage of 500-liter barrels for the élevage of some plots. It should turn into a very classical García wine with a few years in bottle. 100,000 bottles produced. It matures in oak for two years. It was bottled in January 2019.
The García family from Mauro has also started converting their vineyards to biodynamic, a fascinating change, but a normal move after their organic work.
December 2019
94 Vinous Media Brilliant violet. Expansive, oak-spiced black raspberry and blueberry aromas pick up cola, woodsmoke and vanilla accents with air. Supple, weighty and seamless on the palate, showing impressive focus and spicy lift to the deeply concentrated red and dark fruit preserve, cherry cola, mocha and spicecake flavors. Stains the palate without showing any excess fat. Finishes sweet, creamy and extremely long, with polished tannins, a repeating blue fruit note and a touch of dark chocolate. 2023- 2033
Josh Raynolds - February 2021
92 Wine Spectator Dusty earth and dried herb notes frame black cherry and currant flavors in this harmonious red. Firm tannins and bright acidity give it focus and structure. Balanced, with depth. Drink now through 2026. 5,400 cases made, 2,500 cases imported. — TM
November 2020
92 JamesSuckling.com Lovely bright fruit on display here, ranging from elderberries to blueberries to blackberries with lavender undertones. Medium-bodied with some really firm tannins and quite structured on the finish. Drink now.
July 24, 2019
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San Roman 2017
94+ (VfC) 94 (VM) 94 (WRO) 93 (RP)
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94+ View from the Cellar Bodegas San Roman is owned by Mariano Garcia (longtime cellar master at Vega Sicilia) and his family, and this is the sister property of his Mauro estate in Ribera del Duero. They bought their first vineyards here in 1996 and opened their winery the following year. Their 2017 San Roman Tinto is composed entirely from organically-farmed old vine tempranillo, with the vines ranging from sixty to one hundred years of age. The wine is fermented with native yeasts and aged for two years in a combination of French and American oak casks, with only twenty-five percent of the wood new each year. The 2017 comes in listed at 14.5 percent octane and offers up a superb bouquet of cassis, black cherries, sweet new leather, cigar smoke, a nice touch of tempranillo spice tones and a deft framing of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with an excellent core of fruit, impressive balance and grip, ripe, well-integrated tannins and a very long, classy finish. There is a wisp of backend heat here, but this is Toro after all (in an age of global warming), and the wine is really very well balanced and carries its alcohol very well indeed. It will age beautifully. 2030-2080.
John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021
94 Vinous Media Deep violet. Heady black and blue fruit, incense, vanilla and floral oil scents take on suggestions of vanilla and licorice with air. Palate-coating, spice-accented cassis, cherry-vanilla, mocha and fruitcake flavors are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. Manages to come off both rich and energetic. The impressively long, smoky finish is framed by steadily building tannins. 2024-2034.
Josh Raynolds – July 6, 2021 Central Spain Additions
94 Wine Review Online The 2017 rendition of San Roman is packed with power and also packed with assertive oak, and accordingly is recommended for cellaring or for more near-term consumption by those who enjoy overtly spicy, toasty wood accents along with big fruit flavors. Notably more assertive than the restrained, stylish 2016, this is still undeniably excellent in its way, with dark berry fruit and savory undertones managing to hold their own despite the very prominent influence of new oak (25% in most vintages, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the percentage is higher in this 2017). After my initial evaluation of this release, I kept it open on my tasting bench and returned to taste it on three subsequent evenings, knowing how well it absorbs its oak over time when cellared. And sure enough, it became better over every successive day, with the fruit standing rock-solid in freshness and flavor impact while absorbing and integrating the oak. I’d have continued this experiment if not for the fact that the wine was so delicious on day for that I polished off the bottle. For the patient, this will prove immensely rewarding.
Michael Franz - Issue: December 1, 2020
93 The Wine Advocate I tasted two vintages of their flagship and eponymous wine, starting with the 2017 San Román, from one of the driest years of the decade, resulting in a very early harvest that started in late August in San Román de Hornija. This comes from a selection of over 40-year-old ungrafted and head-pruned vines on stony soils with clay and limestone in different villages of the appellation. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in 225- and 500-liter French and (30%) American oak barrels for 24 months. There was no frost in 2017 in their zone of Toro; despite the warm year, they had rain during the harvest that slowed things down, and the wines are perhaps lighter than 2018. It's not a warm or classical vintage, at least for San Román. It's approachable and has abundant but fine tannins, polished, quite unusual, more elegant than powerful. All these wines feel quite oaky when young, so if you don't want them like that, you should give them a few year in bottle. 98,900 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2020. 2021-2027.
Luis Gutiérrez - Issue #255 June 2021
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San Roman 2018
95 (WRO) 95 (VfC) 95 (OB) 94+ (RP) 94 (WE)
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95 Wine Review Online This is – and has been for two decades – one of Spain’s finest bodegas, and yet all the wines continue to show improvement, even accounting for the different character imparted by different growing seasons. 2018 was a cooler year, more along the lines of 2016 than either 2015 or 2017, and though this shows wonderful freshness as a result, it is definitely not short on the muscle suggested by this DO’s (i.e., appellation’s) name. This is a highly expressive wine in the vintage, showingwine assures a full decade of positive development. Oak spice is evident on the nose but certainly not overbearing, and though wood tannins add a bit more grip than is optimal for current consumption, the wine isn’t overly rough for those who wish to try this now to determine whether to buy more for future consumption. The fruit profile isn’t as ripe as in 2017, and the wine isn’t as soft and rounded as a result, but the inner energy is actually superior, and the aromas more intricate. The crucial indication that this will develop from something extremely promising into something truly terrific shows up in the finish: the pure midpalate fruit notes initially give way to tannin and wood-derived astringency, but then the fruit re-asserts itself and smooths out the long finish, leaving ripe fruit flavors rather than wood or tannins as the last sensory impression. Very impressive.
Michael Franz - October 26, 2021
95 View from the Cellar The flagship bottling from Bodegas San Román is made entirely from Tempranillo vines, bush-trained and ranging from sixty to fully one hundred years of age. They are farmed certified organic and are in transition to biodynamics. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for fully two years, in twenty-five percent new oak. The wood is a mix of French and American oak in origin. The 2018 San Román comes in at 14.5 percent alcohol and delivers a deep and very refined nose of black cherries, plums, cigar wrapper, a touch of bitter chocolate, dark soil tones, gentle spice tones and a well-done framing of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a beautiful core of fruit, fine soil signature, ripe, firm tannins and a long, ripe and complex finish of impressive backend polish. This is one of the best bottlings of Toro that I am aware and the 2018 is excellent. It is a big, ripe wine, as this is Toro in an age of growing heat all over the planet, but it is impeccably balanced and quite sophisticated in style. 2030-2080+.
John Gilman - Issue #98 March/April 2022
95 OwenBargreen.com The bombastic new San Roman comes from the warm 2018 vintage in Toro. It is a rich and decadent style of Toro that thrills with its baking spice dusted milk chocolate, blueberry pie and dusty soil profile on the palate. Rich and decadent, with a great mineral backbone, this expressive 2018 Toro really needs two hours in the decanter if enjoying in its full-throttle youth. Drink 2024-2040
Owen Bargreen - August 18, 2022
94+ The Wine Advocate The 2018 San Román was produced with Tinta de Toro grapes from a cool and wet year that delivered a healthy crop. The grapes are from different organically farmed vineyards in the villages of Morales de Toro, Pedrosa del Rey and San Román de Hornija and were vinified by plot in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. It matured in a combination of French and American oak barrels for 24 months. This is very young, and compared with the polished 2017, it feels raw. But 2018 has to be one of the finest vintages here; the oak is quite dominant and tannic, but the freshness and balance will make it develop beautifully in bottle. It has ripeness and black fruit and is spicy, with a touch of licorice and ink. This wine has a lot of everything! It's one of the years with more acidity since they started here in 1997. 112,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2021. 2023-2030.
Luis Gutiérrez - Issue #255 June 2021
94 Wine Enthusiast Aromas of blackberry, cocoa powder and caramel prep the palate for flavors of blackberry, cassis, butterscotch, mint and rose petal. Hearty tannins and notes of butterscotch power into the persistent finish.
Mike DeSimone - Issue May 2023
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San Roman 2019
94 (WRO) 93+ (VfC) 93 (RP) 93 (WE) 92 (WS)
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94 Wine Review Online The 2019 rendition of this (consistently outstanding) wine is certainly up to past vintages, and may very well surpass the 2018, which was more open and less oaky when I tasted it in late October of 2021. I hasten to note that the fruit density of this 2019 is clearly up to the challenge of absorbing its oak load and attaining excellent equilibrium for many years thereafter. The fact remains that equilibrium will require more time for this wine to attain, so lucky readers who have access to both bottles would be well advised to uncork the 2018 first and hold this in reserve. It shows spicy, toasty oak notes with suggestions of freshly roasted coffee beans and cocoa powder around a core of intense dark cherry fruit. Tasted again after the bottle had been standing open and uncorked for 24 hours, the fruit hadn’t dried out at all, and that underlines what a solid bet this is for positive development over time.
Michael Franz - July 26, 2022
93+ View from the Cellar The old vine San Román Tinto bottling comes in at 14.5 percent octane in the 2019 vintage. These organically-farmed bush vines range up to one hundred years of age. The wine’s elevage is done in twenty-five percent new oak for two full years, with the casks a mix of French and American wood. The 2019 is deep, refined and complex aromatically, wafting from the glass in a blend of black cherries, a hint of pomegranate, dark soil tones, cigar wrapper, a touch of chocolate and a beautifully refined foundation of new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied, ripe and really quite beautifully balanced for its octane level, with a great core, fine soil signature and a long, ripely tannic and complex finish that closes with a trace of heat. This is still a big boy in terms of octane, but it is a stellar example of Toro. 2034-2080+
John Gilman - Issue #98 March/April 2022
93 The Wine Advocate This time I also tasted two vintages of their flagship and eponymous wine, starting with the 2019 San Román, from a warm and dry vintage that resulted in an early harvest that started the 6th of September in San Román de Hornija. It comes from a selection of over 40-year-old ungrafted and head-pruned vines on stony soils with clay and limestone in different villages of the appellation. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in new and used 225- and 500-liter French and American oak barrels for 24 months. The wine feels quite marked by the élevage in oak, and the 14.5% alcohol seems to have extracted quite a lot of aromas and tannins from the barrels. It's warm and heady, ripe and voluptuous, with abundant but fine tannins and mellow acidity. 112,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2020. Drink 2022-2029.
Luis Gutierrez – The Wine Advocate January 2023
93 Wine Enthusiast This dark garnet-colored wine offers a nose of cherry preserves and anise. Juicy at first sip, it has flavors of pomegranate and cherry alongside notes of butterscotch, milk chocolate and orange zest. Tannins sneak onto the palate and linger into the enduring finish.
Mike DeSimone - Issue May 2023
92 Wine Spectator This elegant red draws you into the glass with enticing aromas and flavors of ripe and macerated black cherry and black raspberry fruit, dark chocolate and Mediterranean herbs. Sculpted tannins and lively acidity trim and firm the flavor range. Long and finely knit, this echoes the herb, spice and mineral accents on the finish. Tinta de Toro. Drink now through 2030. 10,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.
Wine Spectator - Oct.15, 2022
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San Roman 2020
95+ (VfC) 95 (WRO) 95 (OB) 95 (VM) 93+ (RP) 93 (WS)
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95+ View from the Cellar The flagship bottling of San Román is composed entirely from old vine tempranillo, with these vines sixty to over one hundred years of age! The farming is certified organic and again, incorporating some biodynamic principles. The wine is aged for two years in cask, made both from American and French wood, with one quarter of the barrels new for each vintage. The wine offers up a stunning young nose, soaring from the glass in a mix of black cherries, sweet cassis, cigar wrapper, a lovely touch of tempranillo spice tones, dark chocolate, a fine base of soil and nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and extremely elegant in profile for Toro, with a lovely core of fruit, great soil signature and grip, ripe, fine-grained tannins and a very long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is one of the finest young examples of Toro I have ever tasted! The wine is 14.5 percent octane, but relatively light on its feet and is going to be absolutely magnificent once it is fully mature. 2033-2085.
John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023.
95 Wine Review Online Bodegas San Román, Toro (Castilla y León, Spain) “San Román” 2020 ($70, Aurelio Cabestrero / Grapes of Spain): This is consistently one of Spain’s best wines. Although dozens of others are more expensive, the number that are better, more consistent, and enjoyable over a very long term is close to zero. It has not suffered at all from the introduction of another release from this bodega above this wine’s level, namely, “Cartago Paraje del Pozo,” which is truly marvelous. Common sense would tell you that such a move would suck much of the best juice out of this wine, and that the ratio of the very best French Oak barriques used for it would go down, but you’d be less than half right on both counts. Very little Cartago Paraje del Pozo is made, and this “San Román” bottling remains ultra-serious, concentrated, and complex, but with a little less new oak showing in the finished wine than in some previous vintages. San Román is better than ever in recent years, all things considered, as it is more enjoyable early on, while still having plenty of spice from oak and just a touch of extra grip from wood tannin. This vintage is among the most complete and convincing ever made, with plush but moderately ripened fruit, very well measured toast and spice notes, and superb texture that manages to seem both sturdy and silky after an hour of airing. This is phenomenal Tempranillo.
Michael Franz - May 16, 2023
95 OwenBargreen.com 2020 Bodega San Roman Toro- A magnificent effort, the 2020 San Roman is vibrant, polished and lithe, with gobs of stuffing and mouth-watering acidity. Baking spices, espresso grounds and milk chocolate notes all fill the nose with shades of huckleberry. The palate is dense and rich with fantastic underlying tension. Really needing a few years to evolve, enjoy now and over the next twenty years to come. Drink 2024-2044-
Owen Bargreen - October, 2023
95 Vinous Media The 2020 San Román, according to winemaker Alberto García, aims to "flatten the Michelin," referring to Toro's rich style. This garnet wine presents sour cherry aromas intertwined with oak, vanilla and wild herb notes. Dry, creamy and juicy on the palate, this taut red o!ers a structured mouthfeel with a subtle lactic texture. This is a fresh style for the region.
Joaquin Hidalgo; Reds From Toro: Old Vines and New Knowhow (Dec 2023)
93+ The Wine Advocate The 2020 San Román had a slightly shorter élevage than the 2019 I tasted next to it. These are wines of very good regularity, showing a ripe and generously oaked profile, ripe, lush and powerful, perhaps a tad lighter and fresher in 2020. 115,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2022. Drink 2023-2029.
Luis Gutierrez – The Wine Advocate January 2023
93 Wine Spectator A polished red, offering a generous range of creamed black cherry, blackberry paste, mocha and mountain herb flavors set in a graceful, medium- to full-bodied frame. Features fine tannins that provide sculpted definition, though this is bright and silky on the palate and long through the mineral- and spice-laced finish. Drink now through 2033.
Alison Napjus – Wine Spectator Issue July 31, 2023
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San Roman 2021
95 (VfC)
Score Publication Review Copy
95 View from the Cellar San Román’s top cuvée is made from old vine tempranillo, with these vines ranging from sixty to more than one hundred years of age. The vineyard is farmed by certified organic methods and the winery’s team is starting to incorporate some biodynamic principles in their viticulture. The San Román Tinto is raised for two years in barrel, with both American and French oak used for the barrels. Twenty-five percent of the barrels new for each vintage. The 2021 vintage of San Román Tinto tips the scales at 14.5 percent octane this year and delivers a deep, pure and gorgeous bouquet of black cherries, cassis, a touch of currant leaf, dark soil tones, cigar wrapper, violets and nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is focused, full-bodied, ripe and pure, with beautiful depth of fruit at the core, lovely soil inflection and grip, fine-grained tannins, lovely balance and a long, nascently complex and very refined, young finish. This carries its alcohol quite well indeed, with only the very faintest hint of backend heat, and will clearly age long and gracefully. Like the 2020 version, this is one of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted from Toro! 2034-2085.
John Gilman; Issue 109, January – February 2024
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