CASE ALERT: Beautiful $16.99 Spanish Red from Toro!
Just west of Ribera Del Duero, lies the little known region of Toro. Working with the same grape as Rioja and Ribera del Duero, fifth generation winemaker Eduardo Eguren produces silky reds here at his family's Teso La Manja property.
As proprietors of Sierra Cantabria and San Vicente in Rioja, it's fair to say that the Eguren family knows a thing or two about Tempranillo. Tasting like $30, yet selling for a best-in-country $16.99, today's silky red is powerful, elegant and MASSIVELY overdelivering.
Scroll down for our notes on this incredible red, and for a beautifully mineral-driven Jorge Ordoñez white, then click quick on the Big Green Button!
===========
2023 Teso La Manja "Romanico"
Toro, Spain
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Eguren family has really nailed it. With a fleshy full mouthfeel, this impressive red gives concentrated flavors of black raspberry and wild strawberry jam and additional notes of white pepper, smoke, coffee and cocoa. Is it juicy, fun and yummy? Yes. Is it more than that? Yes!!!
There's a silky texture to this deeply flavorful wine that is quite fresh and elegant, likely a result of the cool nights on their high elevation vineyard.
Finishing quite long, this drinks like a good $30 red. The fact that it costs not much more than half that amount is simply fantastic. On the second day after opening, this long, rich red is even better. Our tasters give a smile intensive 92-point rating, matching right up with these notes from Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous...
“The 2023 Romanico is from estate-owned vineyards in Valdefinjas and Toro, owned by the Eguren family of Sierra Cantabria in Rioja. Here the slow-ripening Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo) requires eight months of aging in French oak, all second-use, to result in a plush, lush, fruity wine with a baked character and easygoing tannins. It’s a great wine at the price point, too. Drink now and for the next 8-10 years. Maturity: 2025 - 2035.”
- 92 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (7/30/2025)
“The 2023 Romanico is Tinta de Toro. Strawberry and plum notes mingle with subtle oak in the background. Juicy, polished and supple, the palate is full and delicately textured with fine tannins. Long for its price point, this is a modern and accessible expression of Toro. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2040.”
- 92 Points, Vinous - Joaquin Hidalgo (6/2025)
Median online retail is $22, which is already pretty impressive. Beating every single one of the fifteen listings, our price makes it even more remarkable. For sipping with good friends, with or without food, this is a VERY easy call.
Vin Chicago Price: 16.99
This Double 94-Point White is Pinnacle Albariño!
2024 Bodegas La Caña "Navia" Albariño
Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain
~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of us drink a bottle of Albariño casually on a weeknight, without considering the potential complexity and age-worthiness of the grape. We certainly would not usually compare this northwestern Spanish white to a $50 Grand Cru bottling from Alsace or Austria. When tasting a bottle of this premium “Navia” from favorite Galician property Bodegas La Caña, however, that is exactly what we found ourselves doing.
Jorge Ordónez and winemaker Iago López craft this special dry white from vines planted as far back as 1970 on a sparse granite slope. Farmed organically at extremely low yields, Navia is a testament to the great complexity that can be achieved in a bottle of Albariño.
This wine pours a concentrated medium straw color and is noticeably viscous, clinging tenaciously to the sides of the glass. On the nose, it is tight and youthful, leading with sea-spray minerality and subtle orange oil, white peach and spring blossoms. In the mouth, it is densely packed with material, though quite shy initially. The orchard and citrus flavors expand slowly and steadily, with Meyer lemon and nectarine notes accented by crunchy white rocks and a luscious, acidity lifted texture.
Typical of a young white wine of this caliber and structure, it is on day three when it really shows its soul, with deep flavors and an expanded, longer palate giving the kind of complex pleasure that only great wines can offer.
If opening this young white now, we encourage an extended decanting and a delicious plate of scallops, crab legs or a salty fish dish. Better yet, lay it down for three to five years and serve it as you would a Premier Cru White Burgundy. This is delicious now, and if allowed to age it will likely shock serious European white wine purists. You simply can't lose here!
“The 2024 La Cana Navia is from two vineyard sites in granite soils planted in the 1970s. It shines in refined texture and mouthfeel, with citrusy acidity throughout and pronounced salinity that adds length. Medium-bodied in intensity and volume, it’s essentially a barrel selection of the La Cana and should age even longer, with an ideal drinking window of 2026-2038. Maturity: 2026 - 2038.”
- 94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (1/2/2026)
“The 2024 Albariño Navia is sourced from Finca Iglesario in Meaño and Finca Playa in Cambados, combining different soil types. Aged on lees for up to ten months, it was just bottled. This has light pastry notes, subtle barrel tones and white fruit with a faint reductive hint typical of its youth. Creamy and slightly unctuous in texture, this reveals a core of fruit but remains closed for now. It will gain complexity with time. Drink: 2025-2035.”
- 94 Points, Vinous - Joaquin Hidalgo (9/2025)
With its intense mineral core and seductive texture, this elevated Albariño will comfortably stand shoulder to shoulder with $50 to $75 Grand Cru Alsatian Pinot Gris or Smaragd Grüner Veltliner. Jeb Dunnuck quotes $40. As with the Romanico, our price beats every listing.
Vin Chicago Price: 27.99
