2009 Herdade do Esporao Quatro Castas

For Discussion of Table Wines from all regions of Portugal

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Lamont Huxley
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Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:04 pm
Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States of America - USA

2009 Herdade do Esporao Quatro Castas

Post by Lamont Huxley »

25% Alicante, 25% Aragonez, 25% Touriga Franca, 25% Touriga Nacional, each vinified separately. 14.5% abv. Alentejano. The Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca spent 9 months in French oak and the Aragonez and Alicante spent 9 months in American oak. The bottle doesn't specify whether it was new oak or not, but the wine certainly doesn't come off as "oaky" at all.

Dark cherry red center with bright raspberry red highlights. The nose gives cherry, black olive, tomato paste, black pepper and a strong note of oregano. Medium bodied on the palate with tart cherry fruit and lots of herbal character. Silky tannins and a smooth texture create a very pleasing mouthfeel and make this very light on its feet considering the 14.5% abv - I would've guessed something more like 13%. The finish is of modest length and very clean.

I found this quite delicious and very easy to keep drinking. Definitely a wine that lends itself well to food. It's very Italian flavor profile made it a great match for the pasta casserole with red sauce that we drank it with. 89 pts, Tasted 1/11

Disclaimer: I've only recently begun scoring still wines so take my scores with a grain of salt. [shrug.gif]
The Port Maverick
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