2000 Quinta do Crasto Douro Vinha da Ponte 14.5%
I believe this is 100% Touriga Nacional, but couldn't confirm this from website. Made from (then) 80 year old vines, aged 20 months in American and French oak. This is a wine that has bowled me over in the past so early last year I picked up another three bottles. The first, in December, was tasty but seemed a little tired, so last night, in case it is already headed south (an inappropriate expression here in the southern hemisphere), I decided to open a second to accompany some Portuguese (Évora) sheep's milk cheese. This was in much better shape, a reminder that there are no great wines, only great bottles.
Deep, dark crimson. Aromas of coffee, chocolate and blackberries, with heady alcohol vapors. Sniffed blind, I would have guessed malbec... Palate is complex and multilayered, with additional notes of caramel, molasses and eucalyptus. Acid and sweetness in perfect balance. Mouthfeel is sumptuous, almost syrupy, though marred by alcohol that appears to be running on the outside, poorly integrated. Powerful without being blunt, this is not at all tired and would seem to have many more years ahead of it. I don't know if the alcohol will ever integrate, the only question mark in what would otherwise be a top notch example of modern winemaking.