Movng to the 2022 Vintage Port Nacional, this comes from a tiny parcel in the estate vineyard planted to ungrafted vines and is a field blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz that...
Movng to the 2022 Vintage Port Nacional, this comes from a tiny parcel in the estate vineyard planted to ungrafted vines and is a field blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz that spent 18 months in barrel and larger chestnut casks. It's a dramatically different wine compared to the classic cuvée and is tight and inward, with an incredible sense of purity in its blue fruits, graphite, cedary herbs, tobacco, chocolate, and crushed stone-like minerality. Despite coming from a scorching hot year, this stays vibrant and fresh, with incredible precision in both its aromatics and on the palate. It has less residual sugar (85 grams per liter) than the classic cuvée, and it certainly tastes that way as well, with a more structured, reserved style, yet it brings phenomenal extract and concentration that's flawlessly balanced with ripe tannins, notable acidity, and one hell of a finish. Unquestionably, for drinking any time over the coming 20 years, the classic cuvée is where you'll want to go. However, this is a legend in the making. It needs 15-20 years to hit maturity, and I suspect it will provide 50, 60, 70 years or more of prime drinking.