Big hits for Farina in the blogosphere

Miguel Farina, the 'Godfather of Toro', recently paid his first visit to the UK and his trip generated some fantastic (virtual) column inches in the blogosphere.

Here's top Spanish wine critic John Radford on the man and his wines:

"I first visited (Manuel) in November, 1988 when his main bodega was out of town and called Bodegas Porto. He had to change the name since Spain had joined the then EEC in 1986 and it clashed with the DOC Porto in Portugal. Also, in order to claim the DO Toro (established in 1987) he had to move inside the city limits, and was in the process of building a new bodega. We were able to look at his new stainless steel tanks, one of which had a large dent in the top. I asked him whether this was some experimental topological aid to fermentation, but it wasn't: "It fell off a lorry" was his remark..."

2009 Colegiata Malvasia Joven...had a bright, herby fruit, some richness on the mid-palate and a 'soft-fruit' finish - 15/20

2009 Colegiata Tinta de Toro, another joven wine with all the bright, raspberry fruit of the Tempranillo, rich and jammy on the mid-palate with crisp acidity and a clean finish - 16/20

1989 Gran Colegiata which was perfectly mature - lovely, ripe fruit, rich, dark hints and a soft, endless finish - 18/20

Val de Reyes Dulce (VdlT Castilla y Leon), an unfortified sweet red made with grapes which were harvested as raisins. It had that rancio nose, giving way to soft sweetness on the palate and a hint of tannin on the finish - 18/20

You can read the whole article on John's blog.

Over on his Intoxicated Prose website, Douglas Blyde had this to say...

"Farina told how in a region where temperature control not long ago meant diverting the chilly river to flood cellars, he pioneered use of sparkling stainless steel in a brand new winery whilst his friends clung on to cement cuves. He also brought his harvest closer by three weeks, bought a de-stemmer and sewed vines densely to exert them. Cutting no corners, when grapes need to see wood, their bounty is matured in new US, and in some cases, French oak casks. Today, Farina's sons continue to navigate the relentless journey of modernisation, converting the family's 300 hectares to an organic philosophy.

Implementing such factors directly contributes to fresher, more aromatic wines that are balanced not behemoth. Farina describes this approach as 'taming the Toro beast.' That the terrain is so tough fortunately means the aphid vine-devastator, Phylloxera Vastatrix poses only a minimal threat. Vines therefore don't need to be grafted onto resistant rootstocks, meaning in their natural state, they are longer lived, channel more energy into grapes and wellbeing, and therefore remain substantially disease resistant."

Douglas picked out the Gran Colegiata Crianza French Oak 2006 as a favourite wine: "The most elegant example of Toro red I've sampled from this normally less than retiring region. It offered a sense of savoury balsamic and cassis wafts, being more evocative of a warm year in Bordeaux than wild Toro."

Finally, here is sommelier Donald Edwards, on his Notes from the Dregs blog, noted:

"Farina has always endeavoured to plough a more elegant path, avoiding excess hand time and extraction in favour of freshness balance and sensibly applied oak, and this really showed when we tasted the wines over dinner."

One of Donald's top wines was the Colegiata Tinta de Toro 2009: "at the £6ish price point I was stunned, great balance, lovely dark red fruit, very aromatic, just a touch savoury, vinified with no oak it was both refreshing and very satisfying."