Pintas Douro 2018

The 2018 Pintas is a field blend (over 40 grapes, but the dominant grapes are Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional) from old vines (around 90 years) aged for 20 months in 30% new French oak. It comes in at 14.8% alcohol. Big, fruity and textured with velvet, this is a sexy Pintas with good balance, intensity of flavor and plenty of concentration. The oak needs to be pulled in over a couple of years, but this delicious Pintas is hard to resist even now. It should develop well and improve over the next decade (or two). How well it develops will determine its final ceiling. It is already a star. The question now is how brightly it will shine. I'm not sure it will outdo the recent vintages, but it should hang with them just fine.

Trodden by foot in open lagars and then aged in wood for nearly two years, this wine is darkly colored and densely textured. It comes from a field blend of old vines. It is richly structured and sure to age well. Don't drink before 2024.