 |
| 16 / 20 |
Producer: Quinta de Arcossó
Region: Trás-os-Montes
Country: Portugal
The wines from the northmost region in Portugal are relatively unknown, even in Portugal. I can think of one
brand coming from there - Valle Pradinhos, although there are some more and I distinctly remember having a really interesting
Reserva from one of the Adegas up there a couple of years ago.
This farm is a new enterprise (they started in 2005) and their wines are made by Francisco Montenegro, very well known in the Douro
- his Aneto brand is one to check. This particular wine is their reserva (apologies for the back label but for some weird reason the shop
where I bought this had not received the front labels yet). The nose is very alive and vibrant, with lots of red wild berries along with
toast and coffee. There's no hint of evolution here.
The same youth and vibrancy can be sensed in the mouth, with the wine showing a fresh, vibrant acidity - usual in these regions - in a relatively
light weighted body. I was actually expecting greener, spikier tannins but the five years seem to have done their work, taming those tannins down
to a round, well behaved and appealing version.
On the whole, I'd say I was expecting a bit more focus in the palate, maybe some more fruit notes, which are
in the background here. But it's an interesting wine from an offbeat region, nevertheless.
