wines. The Quinta da Cortezia estate is located a mere 30 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal's capital city. The grapes are farmed in a sustainable manner. The tourigan nacional bottling is aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, and the 2005 vintage shows up at a robust 14.5 percent alcohol. Many of the other Estremadura region reds come in somewhat lower, generally in the 12.5 percent range.Quinta da Cortezia Touriga Nacional arrives in the glass showing a medium red tone, moving towards opaque in the center. Upon swirling, the nose is reasonably bold, showing a cleanm candy-apple red fruit as its most prominent tone, some dark cherry and dust.
Upon sipping, the first impact is deep into the mid-palate, with a shy full fruit blossoming at the back of the mouth once the tannins and acids release it. The dark cherry is still held in check by the big alcohol though, and seems to be trying to fight its way out of the straightjacket. Red fruits - raspberries and red currants - claw up into the reaches of your cheeks, hoisted again by the 14.5 percent alcohol. Finish is clean, but hot.
This will need a serious decant - or a few more years in bottle - before trying again. Right now, three stars because I am curious to come back to this again.
Find Quinta da Cortezia Touriga Nacional at WineZap.
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