2013 Quinta da Touriga-Cha Tinto

The 2013 Quinta da Touriga-Chã is a blend of 71% Touriga Nacional and 29% Touriga Franca aged for 15 months in French oak (25% used and the rest new). It comes in at 14.2% alcohol. This was tasted last year, when it was very tight. In better shape now, it looks like a big winner, as I had thought and had hoped. Perfectly balanced, with notable but relatively refined tannins, this shows mid-palate finesse, a long finish and a tightly wound demeanor. Its only flaw now is that it is a little too oaky. The wine will easily pull this in with time and it should age beautifully, continuing to improve over the next decade or so and holding for another decade or two after, maybe more. I'm indicating that you can approach this now—and you certainly can, since the tannins are not hard—but it is not all it can be. There isn't a lot of it produced, so don't waste it. Alas, this is not yet imported.