TN: 2008 Vertice Grande Reserva Douro -- by Caves Trasmontanas

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:56 pm

I have no idea what the blend of this is or what the production method was as I can find no producer website. Oak is still noticeable but not out of place given how young it is. This came off as being noticeably alcoholic and a check of label showed why, the 15% ABV really shows. Medium bodied with mostly black fruit, prominent tannins, and very noticeable minerality. This took almost 2 hours to fully open up, which until that time it was quite lean bodied. I wasn't a fan of this early on but as it opens up it's gotten more impressive and I'm liking this more. Though the excessive alcohol has never subsided even when I chilled this down considerably. If they can tame the alcohol this has potential to be a fine Douro. My only worry with this vintage is as this ages the alcohol is going to become even more prominent leaving it seriously unbalanced.
87 Points