2021 Bodegas Ordonez Vatan Toro 750 ml

Red wines don’t get much more impressive and powerful than Bodegas Ordoñez’s 2021 Vatan.

It’s made from Tinta de Toro, Spain’s most historic clone of Tempranillo, famed since the Middle Ages for the dark, inky, powerful wines it produces. Vatan comes exclusively from a prime plot of 125-year-old own-rooted, dry-farmed vines AND one of Spain’s greatest vintages ever. This bottle boasts 96 points from tough-scoring Vinous.

The Toro region is just two hours from Madrid, but pretty much off the radar of most US wine lovers.

No one has done more to champion Toro than importer Jorge Ordoñez, and no one makes better wine from the region’s gnarled old vines and thick-skinned grapes. Ordoñez was astounded at the old vines and incredible terroirs he saw on his first visit in 1991, when the region was basically unknown, so he co-founded Bodegas Numanthia in the late 90s. Numanthia was so successful that LVHM—which owns Krug, Cheval Blanc, Yquem, and Dom Perignon—bought the estate from him in ‘07.

But Ordoñez launched Bodegas Ordoñez shortly thereafter, continuing his focus on old vines of Tinta de Toro, the unique old clone of Tempranillo that’s found here. Crucially, Jorge has connections in the region that most newcomers could only dream of. In the time between Ordoñez’s first visit and LVMH’s entry into the region, Toro went from five cooperative producers to 85 different wineries. 

So the vineyard he bought for his new personal project had to be (and was) magnificent: old, ungrafted vines of Tina de Toro planted in 1900. The yields off the site were tiny, but the majestic ancient plants had fully adapted themselves to Toro’s intense climate, which sees little rain, baking sun during the day, and cool nights.

2021 was an outstanding vintage across Spain—Wine Spectator thinks it’s the best year ever in both Rioja and Ribera del Duero (alas, Toro doesn’t merit its own spot on the chart)—and the Ordoñez Vatan shows the impressive concentrations and complexity from such an incredible vintage. Aged for nearly two years in barrel to smooth out the region’s sometimes fierce tannins, this will be an incredible pairing at your fanciest steak night.