Caves Transmontanas Douro Vertice Grande Reserva

Dark to the rim. Nose is heady, raisiny, figs, sweet dried blackcurrant. The palate is dry but rich dried fruit, currants, sultanas, Christmas cake. No idea how this wine is made but this reminds me of an Amarone, high alcohol (15%), rich fruit but nice acidity to keep it in balance. Very good with some cheese or rich stews.

I have no idea what the blend of this is or what the production method was as I can find no producer website. Oak is still noticeable but not out of place given how young it is. This came off as being noticeably alcoholic and a check of label showed why, the 15% ABV really shows. Medium bodied with mostly black fruit, prominent tannins, and very noticeable minerality. This took almost 2 hours to fully open up, which until that …