Quinta da Carvalhosa Douro Ardosino

Dark ruby colour. Ripe red and dark fruit, gingerbread, spices, liquorice and eucalyptus, with medium-level acidity, fine, partly resolved tannin and very good length of the dry finish. Ripe and sweet upfront and through the middle, dry (not drying) towards the end. Average concentration, but good balance. Fairly smooth on day two. I am not a fan of the ripe style, but the wine definitely delivers against its affordable price and it should be fun to watch how it evolves …

D+0h: cork breaks into two pieces, a tiny, tiny bit of deposit in the filter, nothing in the bottle, smells of raspberry D+5,5h: dark as ink, on the rim slightly purple red, smells of raspberry, eucalyptus and a little bit of smoke, smooth in the mouth, medium body, in the mouth blackberry and a little bit of raspberry, in the aftretaste blackberry, acidity and liquorice at the end, good length (30 sec), better than the last time, still no pity …

D+0h: cork crumbles while pulling it out, hardly any deposit in the filter, smells of blackberry D+4h: dark as ink, on the rim slightly purple red, in the nose raspberry and eucalyptus, medium body, in the mouth blackberry and raspberry, dry, also a little sour, in the aftertaste blackberry, good length (25-30 sec.), nice Douro-red, but nothing special

Jammy, sweet fruit, confected and heavy. Quite sweet and drying on the palate. Angular and blunt.