Colares Chitas Reserva Velho Ramisco

Score reflects what I thought was a mildly corked bottle. My mates weren’t convinced. 1 bottle left, to settle the question. The best of Colares is a personal favorite, so am hopeful.

Unique wine from pre-phylloxera vines grown in the sand less than a mile from the Atlantic. Nose is grape juice concentrate and beef jerky, teriyaki, some smoke, berries and a clay/mineral earthiness. A remarkable freshness too. Bright red fruit on the palate. Ripe, without compromised acidity. Silky texture and fine tannins. Reminds me of Cote Rotie but with a boost in acid and saltiness. Drinking beautifully now though another 10-15 years in the bottle probably wouldn’t hurt!

Ramisco varietal, borne in a sand terroir of Portugal region beginning to be overrun by hotels. It simply has become a favorite wine quickly; not cheap( about 40$ & up, usually they are 500ml bottles), gains in intensity with air. Fine grained tannins, wild red berries, lithe acidity. Low alcohol & has the rep for long range storage. God, I love this stuff. Very rare wine too, which of course adds to the allure.

Happy Valentine’s Day to me! A jewel. If it was a blind pour, would’ve guessed Barbaresco. Cherry dark fruit, great balance, well developed tannins. After an hour, still opening up…hopefully we’ll have some leftover. Pistachio crusted duck breast, yes.