Colinas de Sao Lourenco, Principal Grande Reserva, Bairrada

Decanted, it threw a small sediment. Deep, dark ruby colour to the rim. The nose is savoury, even a little funky, with grilled meats and umami notes with some dirt too. The palate has power but beautiful balance of blueberry, red and black cherry fruits with a spicy, peppery note and with spicy heat on the finish. With some air the wine softens and makes it even easier to slip down. Complex and delicious which will be even better with …

Wow - what a glass. A lovely wine from Portugal with a crazy blend of Touriga National, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has it all - power, elegance and balance. Everything about this wine feels like "it's turned up to 11" but without "breaking the speaker". A great expression of sweet cherries combined with spicy herbal notes of sage, thyme and basal. Enjoyed this wine with a nice palate of beef tenderloin with herbs and baked root crops.

3 hour decant, then back in the bottle to the restaurant. Disappointed doesn't even get close - this was one of the "top 10" wines of the world, apparently in 2013. Almost odourless and flavourless at pop time the few hours got it somewhere, thankfully - I mean, yes, a decent wine, but really nothing very special and, to be sure, not worth the hefty price tag.