Quinta do Mouro: Quinta do Mouro Gold Label 2019

Parker über: Quinta do Mouro Gold Label

-- Parker: The eponymous special cuvée with the gold label we usually call 2019 Gold Label (but such name is not printed anywhere; the back label said Dourado Tinto...) was produced with a blend of 40% Alicante Bouschet, 25% Aragonez, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Touriga Nacional and 10% Trincadeira Preta that were hand harvested. The partly destemmed grapes were foot trodden in lagar for three days and then finished fermenting in tank. The wine matured in new Portuguese oak barrels for 18 months and at least three years in bottle before it was released. Time in bottle makes the oak integrated and disappear into the powerful wine that has ripeness and power, 14% alcohol, incredible freshness (pH 3.31) and notable acidity (6.3 grams), parameters that partly explain why these wines have a rare combination of power and freshness that makes them long lived. This is going to require more time in bottle and should last a couple of decades without much effort. 5,800 bottles produced. He'd like to keep the bottles for longer, but he has pressure from the market and sells the wine with five years when he feels the wine is still too young.