Casa Aranda Encruzado/Malvasia Fina 2010 14.5% Roughly a 50/50 blend, Malvasia Fina adds a lovely, floral lift to aromatics leaving Encruzado to fill out textures. The marriage of the grapes works well offering juicy fruits throughout the mouth. Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Encruzado 2010 14.5% This is a fuller bodied style with creamy vanilla characters, alcohol driven viscosity and balancing acidity. Although highly alcoholic, it carries this well without interfering with aromas or flavors, mainly playing out through fleshy textures. Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Tinto 2008 13.5% Leading with fresh, spicy, black cherry and mineral aromas, fine bodied, it delivers clean, fresh, black cherry flavors in the mouth through a fine body with respectable persistence. Very good value at 3eu. Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Tinto Eschola da Produtora 2006 13.5% Spicy, black fruit and mineral aromatic characters, continue as sweet black cherry fruits that coat the mouth nicely balanced out with refreshing acidity. Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Reserva 2007 13% This predominantly Touriga Nacional blend supported with Roriz, Alfrocheiro, and Jaen is aged for twelve months in two year old barrels. The wine is strong on aromatics with a complex mix of leafy florals, black fruits and tons of spicy aniseed/menthol/pine needle high tones. In the mouth it offers black cherry fruitiness, fine viscosity, polished tannins and beautifully balanced acidity. I especially liked its back palate concentration and length.Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Reserva 2007 13.5% This blend of Touriga Nacional and Roriz offers up spicy, black pepper tinged, blackberry-raspberry aromas, sappy blackberry flavors, good length and firm tannins. Tasted 10.2012
Casa Aranda Reserva Touriga Nacional 2008 13.5% This has a fantastic nose laced with highly perfumed violet and black fruit aromas. Still very young and fresh, tart blackberry flavors are balanced by firm, fine grained tannins. For pure Touriga it has an especially fine, linear structure. Tasted 10.2012
Fonte de Goncalvinho Colheita 2009 A blend of equal parts of Alfrocheiro, Jaen, Roriz, Touriga Nacional, this wine from a new producer is grown in the cooler foothills of Serra Estrella. Offering pure cherry aromas and flavors with lovely juicy acidity, great depth of fruit, excellent back palate concentration and length of flavor it is excellent value at 4€ locally. Tasted 10.2012