2019 Howard's Folly Reserva
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,143 g – an early adopter of light bottles. 35% Syrah, 35% field blend, 30% Alicante Bouschet from Portalegre, on the granite foothills of the São Mamede mountains at 665 m. Hand-picked, destemmed, crushing, fermentation in small 4-ton stainless-steel tanks with regular pumpovers and rack and return, temperatures 23–25 °C. 12 months in a mix of new and used French oak barrels. TA 5.6 g/l, pH 3.53. Deep garnet, almost black at the core. Lovely aroma of sweet and savoury combined: rich dark fruit, spice and just the start of something balsamic, with a touch of black olives. Mouth-filling, generous, with all the sweetness of the Alicante Bouschet and the upright structure of Syrah. Powerful, firm, deeply but finely tannic and just fresh enough to balance the power. Deep, long and with a way to go though it would be lovely now at the table. More powerful than their Cristina 2019 but not as immediately refreshing. Should have a long life. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Reserva Tinto was produced with 35% Alicante Bouschet, 35% Syrah and the remaining 30% a field blend from old vines. It hits the scale at 14.6% alcohol and has the house profile of ripe berry fruit, aromatic herbs and generous spice, toast and smoke from the élevage, in this case 12 months in new and used French and American oak barrels. It is quite straightforward. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.
Full bottle 1,149 g. Field blend from the foothills of the Serra do São Mamede. Harvested by hand. Bunches sorted prior to destemming and crushing. 48-hour cold settling. 500 litres of the blend fermented in a new 500-litre French oak barrel and 1,900 litres of the blend fermented in a concrete egg. Left in the concrete and oak for 9 months before bottling in November 2022. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.31. The artwork on the label is by a participant in the Sovereign Art Foundation's Make it Better programme. Subtle but definite spicy/peppery notes as well as deep, cool citrus, both lemon and lime, the oak very well integrated. On the palate, the oak shows a little more but as much in the rounded texture as in any oak flavour. Firm, extremely fresh but quite full-bodied. Just starting to show complexity and has the balance between intensity, freshness and texture to age well. Still remarkably youthful for a 2019. (JH)
Full bottle just 1,140 g. A field blend of old Portalegre vines. On opening: great natural acidity with real purity, a little pungency and potential for ageing. Absolutely no hurry to drink this, in fact I'd wait until next year before broaching it. Delicate palate weight and lots left ready to unfurl. A day later with a little time in the glass: so much more expressive! Decanting is recommended by the producer. There is richness, a floral note and complexity here backed up by a green-fruited spine. (JR)
About the producer
A joint project from British entrepreneur Howard Bilton and Australian winemaker David Baverstock, Howard’s Folly is a boutique wine producer in the Alentejo. Working with old vines and indigenous grapes largely in the cooler Portalegre, they craft fresh and modern expressions of the region.