Douro
2021
$313.02*
2 case(s) available
While Quinta do Vale Meão only began bottling under its own label in 1999, the estate has an incredible history. Vale Meão was one of the shrewd acquisitions of the celebrated Douro landowner Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. In 1877 she purchased 270 hectares of land near Vila Nova de Foz Côa in the Upper Douro, and over the course of the next decade established a model winery, planting all the vineyards from scratch. The Quinta remained in the family and is owned today by Francisco Javier...
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The latest release of this top wine is as impressive as ever, a rich medley of flavors enhanced by 16 months in wood. The black fruits combine with structure to give a wine with a great future.
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The eponymous red 2021 Quinta do Vale Meão was produced with grapes from the same five vineyards from the first year, fermented with some full clusters, which they've done since 2017. This year saw some 20%, a little like it was done in the past in the Barca Velha from the grandfather of winemaker Francisco Olazabal. It has the same character from the previous years, a strong personality, good tension and, as with the rest of the wines I tasted from them, a little less ripeness and extraction. They used some 30% new barrels, and they have been gradually using less toast and coopers who respect the wines. The wine is more elegant, tasty and spicy, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish—very long with nothing jammy about it.
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There's an effortless elegance to this focused red, with firm, fine-grained tannins seamlessly meshed with layers of ripe black cherry and mulberry fruit, dried violet and mint, and Earl Grey tea, plus a mineral-driven underpinning. Expands nicely on the palate before echoing on the lasting finish. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Alicante.
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