2020 Herdade do Mouchão Tinto 'Dom Rafael'

An old-vine field blend of Aragonêz, Trincadeira, Castelão, and Alicante Bouschet. At Mouchão, all red wines are vinified in open stone troughs, known as lagares. Whole bunches, including stems, are included in the maceration process making harvest timing especially critical. The handpicked bunches are foot-trodden twice daily and allowed to ferment for roughly 4-7 days.  The young, fermented wine then undergoes malo-actic fermentation in large 5000L wooden tonéis and, up to 25% of the final blend, in small new and used oak barrels.  It is racked off its coarse lees in mid-winter and then remains undisturbed for a further 12-15 months.

This medium to full bodied wine delivers amazing complexity and structure for the price. Dark, ripe, and a little brooding, with a firm texture of fine grained tannins that provide presence and freshness, it brings complexity without heaviness.  Tons of dark cassis, black cherry, forest floor,  spice, espresso and chocolate.Medium plus acidity and tannin. Decant to drink now or age for another 5-10 years.

The fine, rolling landscape of Portugal’s Alentejo region, set between Lisbon and the Algarve, is dominated by cork forests and olive groves. In the early 19th century, Thomas Reynolds moved here from Oporto, chiefly to become involved in the cork business. Three generations later, his grandson, John Reynolds, purchased a 2,250 acre  property with two small rivers running through it – Herdade do Mouchão. In addition to the family’s cork activities, he set about making wine. Vineyards were planted and in 1901 he built a high-ceilinged adobe winery (or “adega”) with white washed walls and a traditional red-tiled roof. Following the 1974 revolution, the estate was expropriated and only returned to the family in 1985. Today, the Herdade do Mouchão continues to be run by the descendants of the original family whose cellar and vineyard workers have been with them for generations. The process is, as it always has been, unhurried. The grape varieties are local, picked by hand and foot-trodden.

92 points, Wine Enthusiast. "Old vines on the Mouchão estate give an impressively concentrated wine with vanilla and leather aromas. Aged in wood, it has a rich, polished and spicy character, blackberry flavors with a dense finish. Drink from 2026."