Situated in northwest Spain, the Toro region is a little over two hours from Madrid and about an hour from the Portuguese border. Wines have been produced here for centuries, but the denomination of origin (DO) only dates to 1987, thanks considerably to the efforts of Manuel, Sr. and his belief in the area.

With its span of seven decades, Bodegas Fariña is one of the oldest wineries in the Toro DO. Beyond simple longevity, the winery can also claim to be a pioneer in establishing the reputation of Toro wines. Founded in 1942, Bodegas Farina was created by Salvador Fariña in the village of Casaceca de las Chanas, located 30km from Toro. A new winery was built within the Toro border upon creation of the DO.

Born just a year before the winery was established, Salvador’s son, Manuel was destined to take over the business. However, Manuel wondered why the Toro wines weren’t doing better in the world wine market.

Studying wine in Bordeaux as part of his studies proved pivotal, revealing to him that people didn’t want high alcohol wines. Back then, tradition dictated that the local wines should be harvested in mid-October, the result of which was wines that clocked in at an average of 17% abv. Returning home, Manuel changed his family’s practices, producing the first wine at 13.5% abv.

Other trail-blazing measures included being the first to use a de-stemmer and the first to use temperature controlled stainless steel for fermentation. Historically, the wines were packaged in jugs, but along with his other shifts, Manuel, Sr. began bottling in Bordeaux bottles. Not surprisingly, the winery was also the first in the region to be exported.

Today, Bodegas Fariña is highly regarded, with the wines available in numerous countries. Not content to rest on these laurels, both of Manuel, Sr.’s sons share their dad’s passion for wine and innovation. Bernardo, the oldest, serves as technical director, while Manuel, Jr. focuses on the vineyards. The 2011 vintage found them actively evaluating their soils and vine nutrition and was their first vintage with separate vinification of different vineyard plots. The family’s next challenge is to convert 65 ha of their land to organic farming.

The impact of this innovation can be found in the glass. The Bodegas Fariña wines over deliver for the money, especially in the mid-range. At the lower end, fresh fruit flavors of strawberry and plum showed nicely in the Pimero 2011 ($n/a), a 100% Tempranillo wine, which begins with carbonic maceration before regular fermentation takes place. The Dama de Toro Tempranillo Roble 2010 ($13.00) was barrel aged for four months and offers more complexity with dried herbs, spice and a hint of the oak as well as strawberry aromas and flavors.

Even more complex, the Dama de Toro Crianza 2006 ($17.00) had aromas of strawberry, oak, herbs, balsamic notes, and spice, all of which persisted on the palate and culminated in long length. The winery’s special release, Bodegas Fariña 70th Anniversary 2009 ($25.00) had similar notes, but was more floral on both the nose and palate. And, to cap off one’s meal, the Val de Reyes “Tino Dulce” ($20.00) is a late-harvested Tempranillo wine with black raspberry, dried red fruit and cocoa, which was much lighter on the palate than Port.