Quinta Vale de Meao Tinto 2008

The last of my 3 bottles of Portuguese reds picked up on my too-brief visit there in May. True to form, it's better having it on the third day, after opening it first on Nov 17. Now it's super-smooth and silky with complicated aromas of forest, flower, vanilla, and cream or cheese (weird but very pleasing to me). Despite the round nature and big fruit on the palate there is plenty of acid and soft tannins too so I think this will be a great pleasure to drink for 6-8 years. The finish is long, and a bit warm but not overly so in my opinion. If I didn't know this was Portuguese I might be tempted to guess it's a Priorat. I hope to learn, by reading Jancis Robinson's new book on grape varieties, how the major Portuguese grapes that generally grow nowhere else, relate to the better known types like Grenache, Syrah and Cabernet. 92 points.

Wine Advocate says 93 points. The 2008 TINTO, the winery’s flagship label, is a blend of Touriga Nacional (55%), Touriga Franca (30%), Tinta Roriz (10%) and Tinta Barroca (5%). Ethereal, showing its oak a bit too much in its youth, and reminding me just a little of fine Rioja, this seems otherwise and remarkably graceful early on, a wine that has a Burgundian feel in the mid-palate. It has that stereotypical iron-fist-in-velvet-glove demeanor, too, as it packs quite a powerful punch underneath the initially elegant and oaky demeanor. The oak should integrate with time, but make no mistake about it, there is a lot more here than oak and this wine has a lot of upside; as with a lot of 2008s, it just may not all be apparent early on. Drink 2012-2028.