Wines Toro Bodegas y Viñedos Pintia - Vega Pintia - 2017

Viniou Reviews

The Pintia 2017 from Bodegas y Viñedos Pintia is an exemplary red wine hailing from the Toro DO in Spain's Castille and León region. Crafted exclusively from the Tinta de Toro grape—a local and robust clone of Tempranillo—this wine is renowned for its deep colour, expressive aromatics, and powerful structure. The 2017 vintage benefitted from a warm, dry growing season, resulting in ripe, concentrated fruit. Vines are typically grown on gravelly, sandy soils at fairly high altitudes, granting intense yet balanced grapes. After careful manual harvesting, the wine undergoes ageing for several months in new French and American oak barrels, which imparts a spicy complexity and silkier tannins to the natural richness of the fruit.

The Toro region itself is steeped in winemaking heritage, with records dating back to the Middle Ages. Its continental climate, punctuated by sizzling summers and cold winters, contributes to the grape's thick skins and the wines’ muscular style. The soils, composed primarily of sand, clay and pebbles, are well-drained, helping limit yields for greater concentration. Toro’s wines were famously celebrated in royal courts and by travellers on the Camino de Santiago, and today are considered some of Spain’s boldest reds.

With its depth and structure, Pintia 2017 is a versatile companion for a range of dishes. It excels with grilled red meats like ribeye or lamb cutlets, as well as slow-roasted Iberian pork shoulder. Regional Spanish favourites such as oxtail stew (rabo de toro) or a rich morcilla (blood sausage) casserole work beautifully with its powerful profile. Mature cheeses like Manchego or Zamorano also pair well, picking up on the wine's savoury notes.

To best appreciate its complexity, decant Pintia 2017 for at least an hour before serving, ideally at 16-18°C. This temperature allows the succulent dark fruit, spice, and subtle toasted oak to fully emerge, while rounding out the wine’s structured tannins and lingering finish.