2013 Mouchao Tinto

2013 Mouchao Tinto

2013 Mouchao Tinto – Red Blend  from Portugal  – This 2013 wine opens with complex and opulent notes of blackcurrant and berries. A big, rich and fruity wine with delicious acidity and a darkly tannic character. Perfect alongside red meat or game meat.

90 Robert Parker’s The 2013 Tinto Ponte das Canas is sort of the second wine here, but it a pretty fine one in its own right. This is a blend of 37% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, 26% Syrah and 12% Alicante Bouschet, aged for 21 months in 80% new French oak. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. This is beautiful, velvety, beefy, complex and well balanced. The tannins are obvious just now, but they are not overly hard and will support the wine well. The beefy nuances are a bit too much, however, but they will be pulled in with time. Make sure to drink this with an appropriate food match if you dive in now. Overall, this is another well-crafted Ponte das Canas, but based on what I was given at the upper end this issue compared to last, the “suggested” price seems to be rising fast. If that translates to the street, this is less of a value, but it is still, at least, a nice wine

In 2013, this blend of the estate’s best Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Syrah features a splash of Alicante Bouschet – “the soul” – as they say on the back label. And bless my soul, perhaps this is what gives this vintage of Ponte das Canas the edge for me.

Herdade Do Mouchao