Wow. A glorious chardonnay that I have been admiring for decades. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe apple, hints of white peach and nougat and vanilla undertones. Creamy. It’s full-bodied and gorgeous all the way through.\n Producer Information\n Bodegas Torres is one of the largest wine producers in Spain, possibly the most-recognized Spanish wine brand, and one of the most visible wine producers in the world. The house was established in 1870 by Jaime Torres Vendrell. Torres gained much of its traction overseas in the 1940s when the French wine industry was unable to export because of German occupation during World War II. The United States became the major destination for Spanish wine. The brand had a further boost when its 1970 Torres Gran Coronas, made from young vines growing in Penédes, won at the World Wine Olympics, a blind tasting organized by Gault & Millau in 1979. The success of Torres is such that its vineyards have been visited by two generations of Spanish kings, and after several years in the top five, it was named the most admired wine brand in the world in a poll of hundreds of industry professionals. Bodegas Torres now makes and sells millions of cases of wine a year, up from hundreds of thousands in the mid-1990s, and exports to more than 140 countries. The company produces wine from both DOCa regions Rioja and Priorat, and in multiple DO regions including Penedès, Ribera del Duero and Rueda. Torres has had particular success with three wines: Viña del Sol, a white made from Parellada and Garnacha Blanco, Coronas, a blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon from Penèdes, and Sangre de Toro (bull's blood in Spanish), a blend of Carignan and Garnacha. Torres also now includes a rosé made from Tempranillo, Grenache, Syrah and Carignan, and a white made from Parellada and Grenache Blanc, under the Sangre de Toro label.
