Numanthia : Termanthia 2016

Tasting Notes and Serving Tips for Numanthia’s Termanthia 2016

Tasting

Color

The wine displays a deep garnet hue with ripe cherry highlights, with remarkable intensity that reflects the wine’s concentration.

Nose

Elegant and profound, the nose reveals a delicate bouquet of ripe red and black fruits, notably blueberries. With aeration, notes of sweet spices emerge, led by clove and nutmeg. Floral touches of violet and carnation mingle with aromas of aromatic herbs such as lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus.

Palate

The attack is silky and fresh, revealing a generous, full-bodied structure. The palate unfolds concentrated black fruits—black cherry and blackberry—alongside savory notes of tobacco leaf and forest floor. The velvety texture of the tannins brings refinement and elegance. Despite its power and intensity, this wine retains surprising freshness and outstanding balance. The finish lingers at length with impressions of black fruits, sweet spices, tobacco, and dried flowers.

Food and wine pairings

This Termanthia 2016 is a perfect match for grilled and roasted meats, especially lamb, game, and spice-rubbed beef. It also pairs beautifully with mushroom-based dishes, truffled recipes, or hearty, flavorful stews.

Serving and cellaring

Termanthia 2016 is best served at 14-15°C. One hour of decanting allows the wine to open fully. This wine can be cellared until around 2036 and will continue to develop complexity over the years.

A Powerful and Elegant Toro Wine from Numanthia’s Century-Old Vines

The estate

Founded in 1998 by brothers Miguel Ángel and Marcos Eguren in the heart of the Toro appellation. Located in Castile-León, the Numanthia Bodega quickly earned international acclaim. Acquired in 2007 by the LVMH group, the estate is now led by Julio Rodriguez as Estate Director, alongside winemaker Jesús Jiménez. The estate takes its name from the ancient Roman city of Numancia, a symbol of resistance and integrity. Numanthia stands out for its exceptional heritage of ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines, some of which are over 140 years old. Since 2020, the entire vineyard has been certified organic.

The vineyard

Termanthia 2016 comes from an outstanding 4.8-hectare plot called Teso de los Carriles, located within the Toro appellation. The vines, 110 to 140 years old, are ungrafted and trained in bush vines on sandy soils. These soil conditions enabled the vines to escape phylloxera in the 19th century. Toro’s extreme continental climate—with nine months of winter and three months of intense heat—places significant stress on the vines. Farmed organically without irrigation, the vines develop deep root systems, three to five meters down, allowing them to tap into the mineral and water resources found in the deeper layers of the soil.

The vintage

The 2016 vintage benefited from a balanced growing season, providing favorable conditions for optimal ripening of the grapes. This year yielded very high-quality fruit, combining concentration with freshness.

Winemaking and aging

Termanthia 2016 was vinified with particular attention to extraction management, given the thick skins characteristic of tinta de toro. The wine was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 80 to 90% of which were new. The use of barrels of varying sizes, notably 400- and 600-liter vessels, as well as time in large oak casks, brought a subtle, elegant oak influence, allowing the character of the fruit and terroir to shine through fully.

Grape variety

100% tinta de toro, a local variant of tempranillo adapted to the extreme conditions of the Toro region.