The Eguren Family creates a unique wine from Toro which presents biodynamic elaboration and growing.
The new wine is called after the winery “Teso La Monja” from the region of Toro, owned by the Eguren Family, and it comes from a small prephylloxeric vineyard, whose quality was notable during vinifications which were made separately.
Teso La monja 2008 is the result of the application of biodynamic methods in all the stages of growing and elaboration, in order to benefit from the best of the rhythm of nature.
It has started the sale in advance (premier) of this wine, whose market price will reach the 1100 euros.
The Eguren Family from the Rioja region makes a bold step in the Toro’s project “Teso La Monja”, with the birth of a top wine -that is called after the winery- rooted in the principles of biodynamic as regards its growing and elaboration. 828 bottles are available from this first vintage 2008 of “Teso La Monja”, a handmade wine, coming from a small prephylloxeric and old vineyard within a plot of 1.8 hectares, and which has even surprised Marcos Eguren -the oenologist from the winery- due to its quality and just due to the fact that the vinification was made separately.
“Every day we have a deeper knowledge of the terroirs from the Toro and the Rioja regions. We have been working during several years in the identification of the best expression of every terroir. During the discovery of these unique terroirs, we have noticed that we had some jewels that, until now, needed a vinification process made separately, but we were not in the mood due to the low productions”, states Marcos Eguren.
Through this new wine “Teso La Monja”, Marcos and his brother Miguel Eguren had led the biodynamic viticulture to its highest expression, as a return to the agriculture of their great-granfather Amancio. In this regards, they stress that all labours in the vineyard (pruning, farming…) were made by hand, at the right time, to optimize processes and to preserve the principle of minimum intervention, obtaining the maximum identity and character, while respecting the uniqueness of the terroir and the rhythms of nature.
This approach, “exclusive and expensive,” could be practice due to the fact that it was a small size vineyard, but would not be feasible in a larger plot, as it involves “going to the vineyard as often as necessary at a certain time,”says Marcos Eguren.
The delicacy in the process
Teso La Monja 2008, a single-variety Tinta de Toro, comes from a vineyard whose subsoil presents slight streaks of limestone, with a level of limstone slightly higher than the area, around 8-10%, “which gives the wine an unusual distinction and elegance,” says the oenologist.
The harvest was carried out in boxes on 2 October from 10.00 to 12.00 am in one clear day, with a low temperature, with absence of dew. The stripping and grain by grain selection was completed on the same day over a period of six hours. The elaboration included the pre-fermentation maceration in cold to extract colour and aroma and taste components without being crushed. After the start of alcoholic fermentation in open wooden vats, the manually squeezed of the 25-50 cms grapes on the surface, allowing to squeeze between 35 and 45% of the grapes in a process that was developed three times daily for one hour and half. The pumping was done by gravity, without machinery intervention.
The malolactic fermentation took place for an extended period of time -between 5 and 6 months- in a special wooden tank, with an unprecedented and ideal form, which helped to promote the wine biorhythms and contributed to create a silky, elegant and integrated wine. The aging was completed in three new grain thin French oak barrels, medium toasted, for a minimum period of 24 months.
Limited and numbered production
This limited production and numbered wine is presented in a bottle with a special design -ancienne burgundy 77 – to highlight the uniqueness of the project. A team from the U.S. together with the designer Javier Romero and Tapp Label Technologies Inc from California Tapp (as principal members in the project), which usually work for Napa Valley wineries, has ‘dressed’ the wine ‘Teso La Monja’. The bottle No. 1 will be offered to the King of Spain D. Juan Carlos I.
The Eguren Family has started in “Alimentaria 2012” (one of the most important exhibitions in the world) the sale in advance (primeur) of this wine, whose market price will reach the 900 euros; 828 bottles are available from this first vintage 2008. The purchase of a primeur wine in advance allows its adquisition before the wine it is released by the winery.
‘Teso La Monja’ is called to complete the versatility of the family project Eguren at the Toro region, reflected in its actual range of wines: Romanico, Almirez, Victorino and Alabaster.
After landing at Toro with the winery Numanthia-Termes -currently owned by LVMH-, the Eguren family has meticulously chosen the north-oriented vineyards for its new career within the Toro region, with longer growing seasons and cooler soils, all with the main objective of producing wines which show balance, elegance and the maximum potential of the earth.
The Eguren Family is currently working in the elaboration of a brand new Rioja wine, following the principles that have guided the birth of Teso La Monja, in order to get a wine endowed with the highest purity and with the highest identification with the terroir.
