(2011) Castelão, Aragonez, Tinta Miuda. Bright, focused, cherry-ripe and cola nose that burst with fruit, a little sappy Beaujolais-like note too. On the palate really focused and has masses of sweet fruit, gently flecked with spices and plum, but truly delicious, modern and bright stuff.
(2011) Lifted, waxy, delicately paraffin character and cool Asian pear fruit on the nose. A fantastically fresh palate with a big burst of fresh-squeezed lemon and lime, a nice parsley-like herby influence and cool, shimmering length. The pithy grapefruit dryness of the finish is mouth-watering. Riesling with genuine character and style.
(2011) Aragonez, Syrah, Touriga Nacional. The nose is quite discreet, with a cool, graphite minerality and sheen of tight-grained, cedary oak over refined black cherry fruit. The palate has creamy density, with sinewy texture adding lots of chewy grip, the tannins supple and chalky, but decisive and the acidity giving a keen edge. An intriguing and very composed wine.
(2010) The Reserva is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Syrah, aged 19 months in French oak, 80% of which is new. There's a beautifully fragrant oak quality here, with delicate Sandalwood and floral spices, and a supporting seam of gentle vanilla. The fruit is dark and autumnal, but with a great ripeness at its core. On the palate this fills the mouth with that black berry fruit, but as with the Tinto 2006, a lean, taut, grippy edge of liquorice and some minerality adds drama and tension. Lovely freshness again, and a long, composed finish. I'd recommend decanting this for a couple of hours before serving.
(2010) This 2005 has an extra year in bottle under its belt, and whilst the winemaking is identical, there is no mention of Syrah on the back label this time. It has a very fragrant nose again, with tobacco and spices, and that little kirsch-like, floral lift to the black fruits. On the palate perhaps just lacks a touch of the glossy plushness on the mid-palate, but that's a small complaint as that same classy structure and vitality comes through, and the fruit is balanced into the long, sweet-fruited finish.
(2010) A blend of Aragonez, Syrah and Touriga Nacional in this wine from Rocim's vineyards in the Alta Estremadura close to Lisbon. The enormous, heavyweight bottle show intent. The nose is lovely, quite discreet despite a sheen of tight-grained, cedary oak, with a cool, graphite minerality and refined black cherry fruit. The palate has a lovely sense of creamy density, with a savoury, sinewy texture adding lots of chewy grip, the tannins supple and chalky, but decisive and the acidity giving a keen edge. In the finish that mineral, smoky character reasserts, in a large-scaled but intriguing and composed wine.
(2010) Lovely mealy and lemony richness, with a touch of toast. The palate has real textural breadth and richness too, with that fat, lemony fruit and lovely acidity. Juicy and mouth-watering.
(2010) This white wine is a blend of the local Arinto grape with Chardonnay. It is a very fresh, zingy white with lime and floral notes, but on the palate there's a fatness and weight that fills the mouth. It's all about freshness and fruitiness, yet has a serious seam of concentration too.
(2010) A blend of Chardonnay with Arinto and Vital, aged seven months in French oak, the Reserva has an attractive lemon meringue pie character, combining fresh citrus with bakery notes and a creaminess. There's a freshness too, with a little leafy, herby lift. On the palate I like the decisive, dry, pithy grapefruit and lemon character here, with a lean minerality that cleaves its way through richer, more toasty and vanillin tones. Quite a concentrated and powerful wine this, with a long, very focused finish and real staying power. Impressive.
(2010) Dense, dark and liquoricy on the nose, this blend of various Portuguese grapes with a touch of Syrah has a serious, sinewy quality with edgy cherry and dark plum fruit, and a savoury, earthy appeal. On the palate it is firm and focused, with a lean, blackcurrant and olive seam running through the wine. This is the opposite of jammy, the edgy, savoury quality staying fresh and focused with juicy tannins and acidity and considerable length.