The 2017 Vinha Maria Teresa, a field blend from centenarian vines, was aged for 20 months in new oak (90% French, 10% American). It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. The final blend comes from the best-performing barrels. This was only in bottle about a month when tasted. This doesn't quite have the power of the Tinta Roriz, but it is only a small step behind. Yet the power is beautifully controlled. It never seems too astringent, even if burly at times. Of course, Maria Teresa always has beautiful structure. The key to this bottling is typically its personality, its lively fruit, its aromatics. The fruit this year is beautiful, delicious, very ripe and lingering on the gripping finish. It has focus and potential, but it certainly needs a lot of time. Could it be a little livelier and more lifted? Maybe. It might be a bit darker in flavor this year, more nuanced with plums, which became more obvious as it opened when retasted the next day. But I suspect most will like this just the way it is because it is awfully delicious. The next day it was still gripping and very long on the finish. It is on track to be another great Maria Teresa, the only question being how great. For that, we will need a little cellar time. Although it may well wind up approachable earlier, you'd be advised not to waste this small-production wine; give it a few years of rest, at least. Then, it should be a 30-year wine, more or less. That's something we'll have to check on as time goes on. There were just 6,555 bottles produced, plus some large-format bottles.
James Suckling (94)
This serious red shows a depth of flavor, with steeped black cherry, red plum reduction, vivid wild herb and mineral notes underscored with woodsy spice, anise and violet notes. Refined, with deep complexity and concentration.
BOW (8.50)
Jancis Robinson (17.50)
A warm, dry winter and an early harvest. Hydric stress throughout the season. Centenarian vines, mixed plantings, with more than 50 grape varieties already identified by DNA profiling. Completely destemmed and crushed in traditional stone tanks (lagares). After this, the juice is transferred to temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Once the alcoholic fermentation is completed, the juice is gently pressed and aged for about 20 months in new oak barrels (90% French oak; 10% American oak). The final wine is made from a selection of the finest barrels. Bottled December 2019. TA 5.4 g/l, pH 3.61, RS 2 g/l.
Very dark, the colour of elderberry juice with a vibrant purple-crimson rim. Intensely aromatic with the wild plants of the Douro Valley such as esteva or rock rose (gum cistus). As much floral as dark-fruited and the fruit is complex, defying specific descriptors but both black and red. A big but succulent wine of enormous depth balanced by sufficient freshness. Full-bodied and still aromatically vibrant on the palate. Dark with the savoury Douro character and a charry spice from the oak. Needs a lot more time. Long and balanced. The tannins are firm and dense but becoming velvety. (JH)
Wine Enthusiast (95)
This wine comes from a single vineyard of old, field-blend vines. Named after the granddaughter of the estate's founder, the wine offers rich tannins, tamed by black-currant fruits and acidity. Still developing and young, the wine has a great future. Drink from 2024. Roger Voss
