The eponymous 2011 Teso la Monja, the fourth vintage of this single-vineyard Tempranillo, comes from a 1.8 hectare plot planted with ancient vines on soils that have more calcium carbonate (limestone) than the average in the zone, and are covered with boulders and gravel. I had the chance to visit the vineyard and even when they show it, they don't usually explain that it's the source for this wine. Yields were a catastrophic six hectoliters per hectare and the bunches were manually harvested and destemmed on September 16th. The grapes fermented in an open oak vat for some ten days and macerated for 21 days. Malolactic was in an egg-shaped oak vat called OVUM and the élevage was in brand new French barriques and lasted two years. There are plenty of oak-related aromas, lactic notes and toast, as well as plenty of black fruit and hints of black cherries in liqueur. The oak recedes after 30-45 minutes and the nose turns a lot more exotic, perfumed and exuberant. The grapes, no doubt, must have been phenomenal, and the wine is there. The palate is full-bodied with fine grained tannins, lots of volume and a slightly warm finish. This is a concentrated, well-oaked Toro that needs some time in bottle to finish integrating the oak and show its true colors. Only 821 bottles were filled in February 2014.