The 2009 Almirez was cropped between September 25 and 26. It has a clean, lifted bouquet of dark cherry fruit, pomegranate and cold stone that is well-defined. The palate is sweeter on the entry than the 2010, a little sappier and generous, with kirsch-tinged fruit towards the ebullient, sorbet-fresh finish, which demonstrates impressive weight and persistency. Drink this now and cellar the 2010 for more long-term drinking pleasure. Drink now-2018. Just as many music artists must ponder exactly how they follow up a global smash, so brothers Marcos and Miguel Eguren must have sat down and wondered how they could repeat the success of Numanthia-Termes, after they sold the estate to LVMH. They founded Teso La Monja in 2007. They farm 90 hectares of what they describe as “middle and old vineyards” plus another 72 hectares of “young” vineyard. I asked Miguel to explain his approach towards viticulture. “It is growing the healthiest, purest grapes as possible,” he replied. “The philosophy is to transmit the character and the essence of the land into every bottle of wine. Everything is done with the minimum intervention, the vinification more Burgundian in style than Bordelais, to look for gentle extraction, obtain and look after the tannins in the pips. Therefore, we are seeking a lower degree of natural alcohol. We are looking for the freshness and elegance. We have sought north-facing, high-altitude vineyards with a longer vegetative cycle and we are looking for minerality. Our passion is the vineyard. Our wines are different – we are looking for acidity around 5 or 5.7 because we have a slight limestone concentration. We have also purchased a lot of stony vineyards to minimize the thermal jump at the end of the growing season. We are looking for sugar, aromatic and phenolic ripeness that are closer together. Most of the vineyards are planted on a slope to enhance drainage and the Atlantic winds means that ripeness comes 7 to 10 days later. Less licorice notes, more red rather than dark fruits with higher acidity level and lower alcohol and perhaps less tannic structure, less green tannins because the long vegetative cycle allows us to reach a phenolic ripeness.” There are five lines from the entry level: Romanico, Almirez, Victorino, Alabaster and Teso La Monja. All represent top-class wine as one would expect, though for this writer, the Almirez offers pretty much unbeatable value for money. Importer: Jorge Ordonez, Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (781) 461-5767

Notes of cocoa, coffee and licorice frame ripe fruit flavors of black cherry jam and mulled plum in this rich red. Firm tannins and sparky acidity keep this lively. Very oaky, but still lithe. Drink now through 2016. 1,000 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Toro Select to Add

Inky ruby. Spicy red fruits, spices and herbs on the fragrant nose. Seductively sweet raspberry and cherry flavors show a seamless texture and gain spiciness and volume with air. Finishes chewy and precise, with the raspberry and spice notes repeating. Give this promising wine some air or another couple years of bottle age.