2010 Mouchao Tinto

The winery have already sold out of this vintage but cannot yet release the 2011 as it is not quite ready. They would rather have a gap in availability than release the wine too young, says David Ferreira. From the 2011 vintage they are having to start allocating the wine because of imbalance of supply and demand. 85% red-fleshed Teinturier Alicante Bouschet planted at 230 m on clay soils, plus 15% Trincadeira (aka Tinta Amarela in the Douro). Foot trodden and fermented in lagares, 2-3 years in large wooden vats and then 2-3 years in bottle before release. Extremely deeply coloured. Sweetly dark fruit, more blackberry than blackcurrant, spicy and a light note of the variety's stemmy mintiness. Blackberry, blueberry and dark chocolate. At once dark and brooding and fragrant and lifted. Superb freshness (all natural), grainy but fine tannins. With time in the glass, black olive and more savoury. With food (steak in this instance), it takes on a more silky texture and shows its elegance. (JH)