Quinta do Mouro: latest releases

It’s always a treat to catch up with the latest releases from leading Alentejo producer Quinta do Mouro. Top estate wines are very well structured, long haul wines.  As for the junior wines, ready to go now, they combine interest and great drinking pleasure.   Here are my notes:

Vinha do Mouro Tinto 2012 (Alentejo)

This unoaked blend of Trincadeira, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet Sauvignon has a plummy nose and palate with sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit, a touch of savoury dried fig and chocolate.  Smooth tannins and juicy acidity make for nice balance/persistence.  A flavoursome but easy-going taste of the south.   14%

Zagalos Reserve Tinto 2011 (Alentejo)

Aged for one year in 300l French and Portuguese oak barrels, this self-same blend has significantly more opacity and depth of colour; a more savoury, intense nose and palate too.  It reveals rich, dried fig to the palate and juicy blackcurrant, well supported by ripe but present, velvety tannins.  The finish has a minty, leafy/mulchy edge with warm earth and pronounced liquorice spice.  Long, complex and generous, it is rich but without being overly concentrated/structured. Lots to like here for drinking now and into the medium term.  14%

Quinta do Mouro 2010 (Estremoz, Alentejo)

Deep aubergine in hue, the 2010 Quinta do Mouro is a blend of Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon.   The nose is inky/floral, slightly bloody, with warm earth, membrillo, blackcurrant and liquorice, which notes follow through on the palate.  The frame is sturdy, with savoury, rich, ripe and powerful tannins. Dry but not drying, a little mouthcoating.  With lovely complexity, structure and balance (a juicy persistence), it finishes long with an attractive dusty mineral (schist) note.  Partially de-stemmed and foot-trodden, it was aged for 14 months in 300l French and Portuguese oak barrels, 50% new.

Quinta do Mouro Dourado Tinto 2011 (Estremoz, Alentejo)

Dourado – Gold – is only made in exceptional vintages.  Inky with little discernable difference between rim and deep purple core, it is a formidable blend of Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon.  And tastes as concentrated as it looks, with great intensity and depth of black currant and berry fruit, dried fig, liquorice and hints of leather.  Sinewy, slightly chewy tannins make for a very long, involving palate. Decades of drinking pleasure here; give it at least a couple of years before broaching. It was aged for 18 to 24 months in new 300l French oak barrels. 14.5%