14% Vinho de Talha DOC. Lots of transparent, clearly passionately grown fruit in this wine made from Aragonez, Alfrocheiro and Trincadeira. Although from a very hot year, it doesn’t show ‘hot’ characters. Quite tightly closed up initially. After airing, an ever expanding bouquet is dressed with a mineral, graphite complexity that glosses over a mix of dried, and not so dried, black fruit characters. It’s a sexy, adult kind of wine. Seamless, finely textured and highly concentrated in the mouth with a long, long finish. I particularly liked the honest skin tannins, balancing acidity in harmonious support. From a hot year, surprisingly, it honestly illustrates that seasonal influence without being cooked or overblown or spirity. 97