San Roman Malvasia
"Probably Toro's first great age-worthy white wine. All the subtlety, delicacy and uniqueness of the Castilian malvasía." —
Alberto García Montaña, Winemaker
Grape(s)
100% Malvasia Castellana from the 60-year-old El Pinar vineyard
Altitude/Soil
/ sandy, alluvial deposited soils
Farming Methods
Organic farming, Biodynamic practices
Harvest
Hand harvested into small bins
Production
Grapes were destemmed and saw overnight skin contact to increase aromatic intensity, fermented with native yeast in 500L barrels
Aging
Aged for 10 months with periodic lees stiring
Suggested Retail Price
$95
San Roman Malvasia
2018
93 (VfC) 93 (VM) 92 (RP)
| 93 |
View from the Cellar |
The 2018 Malvasia from Bodegas y Viñedos San Román is produced from sixty year-old vines, which are farmed organically and are ungrafted, as the soils in the El Pinar vineyard are quite sandy. The wine is barrel-fermented with indigenous yeasts in five hundred liter casks and aged for ten months prior to bottling. The 2018 comes in nicely balanced at thirteen percent octane and offers up a nascently complex bouquet of lemon, green olive, tart pear, a lovely base of soil and a topnote of lemongrass. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with great focus and grip, excellent backend mineral drive and a long, zesty, bone-dry and very serious finish. This is still a young wine and it will very clearly improve with further bottle age, though it is already very easy to drink! It is the first white wine I can ever recall tasting from Toro and it is far beyond my expectations! 2020-2035+.
Issue #86 - March/April 2020 |
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| 93 |
Vinous Media |
Light, bright yellow. Highly perfumed, mineral-accented aromas of white peach, pear, tangerine and smoky lees, plus a bright floral overtone. Juicy and densely packed on the palate, conveying richness as well as vivacity to the mineral-laced orchard and pit fruit flavors, which pick up an orange zest nuance with air. Shows impressive power and sharp delineation on a long, penetrating finish that leaves hints of buttered toast and citrus pith behind. 2023- 2033
Josh Raynolds - February 2021 |
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| 92 |
The Wine Advocate |
The second vintage of the white from Toro is the 2018 Malvasía, produced with Doña Blanca grapes, which are known locally as Malvasía Castellana, a more austere grape that shows more the soil than the variety. This matures in 500-liter oak, and it goes unnoticeable. Bottled without malolactic, it felt a little reductive and austere at first. It's a grape that shows vibrant acidity and minerality. This is delicious now but has the balance and stuffing to develop in bottle. 2,400 bottles were filled in July 2019.
The García family from Mauro has also started converting their vineyards to biodynamic, a fascinating change, but a normal move after their organic work.
December 2019 |
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San Roman Malvasia
2019
94 (VfC) 93 (RP)
| 94 |
View from the Cellar |
This is the only white wine that I can recall every tasting from Toro, and I was very happy to see that the 2019 version was a superb follow-up to the exceptional 2018 vintage of this cuvee. As I mentioned last year, this wine is made from sixty year-old Malvasia vines grown in the organically-farmed El Pinar vineyard; the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for ten months in French demi-muids prior to bottling. The 2019 comes in at 13.5 percent octane and delivers a superb bouquet of breadfruit, lemon peel, a touch of green olive, salty soil tones, wild fennel and a topnote of menthol. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, deep and complex, with a superb core, lovely soil signature and grip, good acids and a very long, beautifully balanced and classy finish. 2021-2035.
John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021 |
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| 93 |
The Wine Advocate |
2019 was a low-yielding vintage, and the 2019 Malvasía is the third vintage of this white from San Román that is produced with Malvasía Castellana grapes, which are not as aromatic as other Malvasía varieties. It comes from a 60-year-old organically farmed vineyard called El Pinar on sandy soils where they also apply biodynamics. It fermented in 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine matured for 10 months with two bâtonnages per month. It has moderate alcohol and a very healthy pH. It's not a very floral variety and is more like the Doña Blanca, somewhat austere and shows the soils where it's planted. 2019 follows the line of 2015, with a little more freshness, and the wine is ripe but without excess. It has some aromas of dried herbs and spices and is clean and more expressive and open than the previous years, approachable but serious. It has a harmonious palate with integrated oak and with a salty touch on the finish. It's very balanced and elegant, subtle rather than exuberant. 2,400 bottles were filled in
July 2020. 2021-2025.
Luis Gutiérrez - Issue #255 June 2021 |
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San Roman Malvasia
2020
92 (VfC)
| 92 |
View from the Cellar |
The 2020 Malvasía from Bodegas San Román is a lovely wine. It comes in at 12.5 percent octane in this vintage (how this is done in the torrid region of Toro is beyond me!) and offers up a nicely new oaky nose of nectarine, orange, beeswax, green olive, salty soil tones,
honeysuckle and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and nicely balanced, with a lovely core, good soil signature, sound framing acids and a long, complex and very classy finish. This is really good wine. 2022-2028.
John Gilman - Issue #98 March/April 2022 |
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San Roman Malvasia
2021
94 (OB) 93 (RP) 92 (Decanter) 92 (VfC)
| 94 |
OwenBargreen.com |
2021 San Roman Malvasia- The 2021 San Roman Blanco is 100% Malvasia Castellana that was sourced from the 60-year-old El Pinar vineyard. Showing loads of nerve, with beautiful freshness and mouth-watering acidity, this delights with its melon and citrus rind flavors alongside pastry crust notes. It is nearly impossible to put down once opened. Drink 2023-2033-
Owen Bargreen - October, 2023 |
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| 93 |
The Wine Advocate |
The white 2021 Malvasía comes from a year with mild temperatures and persistent rain that resulted in a fresh and aromatic wine with a moderate 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.3, denoting freshness. It comes from 60-year-old vines in Los Almendros (paraje El Monte) and fermented in new and used 500-liter oak barrels, where the wine matured for 10 months. The nose is clean and young, quite fruit-driven but with complexity and depth and integrated oak. It's not explosive; it's a little shy with restraint, serious and harmonious with a soft mouthfeel and a tasty and almost salty finish. 3,950 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2022. Drink 2023-2027.
Luis Gutierrez – The Wine Advocate January 2023 |
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| 92 |
Decanter Magazine |
Very elegant expression of Malvasia,
fermented and aged in French oak barrels
with frequent batonnage. The lees work is
apparent in the generous body and
mid-palate width. Fleshy lemon, white
grapefruit, blanched almonds, green apple
and crunchy pear are supported by a vibrant
acidity. Very balanced and bright. Organic
certified
Decanter Magazine February 2023 |
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| 92 |
View from the Cellar |
The 2021 Malvasia from San Román is once again nicely low in octane, coming in at 12.5 percent alcohol in this vintage. The wine is an excellent follow-up to the superb 2020 version, delivering a refined aromatic constellation of peach, apple, green olive, white soil tones, vanillin oak and a lovely topnote of acacia blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core, sound acids and fine length and grip on the seamlessly balanced finish. Fine juice. 2023-2030.
John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023. |
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San Roman Malvasia
2022
93 (VM) 93 (VfC)
| 93 |
Vinous Media |
The 2022 Malvasía Castellana San Román comes from Toro. Fermented in barrels and aged for winter, this greenish-white wine o!ers Granny Smith apple and hazelnut aromas with herbal undertones. Dry and crisp on the palate, it has a saline, highly refreshing flow, ending with an electric, exuberant fruity finish.
Joaquín Hidalgo; Reds From Toro: Old Vines and New Knowhow (Dec 2023) |
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| 93 |
View from the Cellar |
The 2022 Malvasia from Bodegas San Román was aged for ten months in five hundred liter puncheons prior to bottling. The wine comes in at a cool thirteen percent octane and offers up a deep, bright and complex bouquet of white peach, tart orange, salty soil tones, wild fennel, dried flowers, a touch of citrus peel and a very discreet framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, complex and zesty, with a superb core of fruit, fine soil signature and grip, impeccable balance and a long, focused and very classy finish. This is an amazing white wine from Toro! 2024-2035.
John Gilman; Issue 109, January – February 2024 |
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