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Herdade do Mouchao 2013 Tinto (Portugal, Alentejo red wine)
Herdade do Mouchao 2013 Tinto (Portugal, Alentejo red wine)
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$60.00
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$60.00
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The Wine
There is a certain gravitas to Mouchao's wines - their top bottlings are head-turning wines that invite deeper consideration. For this and many other reasons, they have earned an enviable spot on the world stage. And this blend of Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira (80/20) is the winery's flagship label.
The wine is known to be a bit shy on primary aromas (those from the grape and vineyard), and truly awe-inspiring tertiery aromas (those that develop over years of bottle age) that reward the patient collector - or my customers who are lucky enough to buy this well-stored bottle.
In the glass look for notes of coffee, a hint of molasses, balsamic vinegar and fruit cake spices. Despite its age, decanting for hours produce delicious results if you have the discipline not to sample from the decanter throughout the day, which would make you a better person than I.
Drink now or save for as long as you care to. I've heard rave reviews for the winery's 1954 bottling, which was deemed to be "fresh as a daisy"!
Pro Tip - "Teinturier"
Grape varieties with red pulp are quite rare. Peel most any red grape and you'll find a light greenish pulp and clear juice - all the color in red wines from these grapes comes during several days after crush while the juice is in contact with the red skins.
But the rare red grape that has red pulp and juice are in a class known as "Teinturier" (the French word for "dyer"!) - this class includes the grape used here, the Alicante Bouschet.
Such grapes produce deeply pigmented red wines rich in tannins and anthocyanins that provide anti-aging benefits. So drink up!
The Winery
Herdade do Mouchao is to Portugal what Lopes de Heredia is to Spain - an iconic producer largely under the radar except for those with the time to pay close attention. They are the oldest active winery in Portugal's Southernmost region of Alentejo (allen TEH jho), beloved by wine writers that include Jancis Robinson (one of my favorites), Sarah Ahmed and Hugh Johnson.
How do they regularly produce such world-class reds and stunning, age-worthy whites? Well, they integrate modern trellising techniques, designed to offset the challenges of climate change, with traditional production techniques including gentle foot-treading and prolonged barrel aging before additional bottle aging prior to release.
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