Our final day on Saturday was devoted to one estate in the DO Toro. We were lucky enough to be visiting Estancia La Piedra on their 25th Anniversary and a bumper day was in store.
On arrival, we headed straight into the vineyards to see pre-phylloxera bush vines in the very sandy soils and Lujan who hosted our visit gave us plenty of detail about the development of the estate and their recent move to organic certification.
From the vineyard into the cellar with a glass in hand, we tasted from the tank a white blend, (Verdejo, Albillo and Malvasia) and then tasted the same wine in barrel. It was fascinating to taste the difference and see the effect of the wood.
After a couple more tank tastes of reds it was time for something a little bit different.
As it was their anniversary day, Piedra had organised for a local cooper from Burgos to make a barrel right in front of our eyes. This was terrific as we saw at first hand just what hard work it is and very impressive to see it achieved in just under an hour!
It was thirsty work watching someone else battle in the hot sun, so it was time to head in for lunch. Russian salad, croquetas, grilled mushrooms and steak was just what we needed despite the fact that dinner was coming later.
This was a great visit and really showed the quality of Toro wines.
Our final event of the tour was a ten course tasting menu at Trasto restaurant in Valladolid. I ate here in 2018 and it was impressive then. This time it was even better. An amazing array of clever dishes came through at a regular pace. Delicate, elegant, small mouthfuls of utterly delicious food. It was a visual as well as gastronomic feast. The Sommelier Miguel also took us through a range of pairing wines that complemented the menu really well.
We arrived at 8.30 and left well after midnight! A fabulous end to the tour!
