Tuesday 20 April 2010

Esporao Trincadeira 2003

Alentejano, MOP196, terrible cork

Trincadeira? It's one of those exotic 'other' Portuguese grapes and from what I can gather it's widely planted in the hot southern regions of Alentejano and Algarve. Produced by Herdade do Esporao, this is part of the 'Moncastas' range of single varietal wines from which I previously sampled their Aragonês. This saw six months in new American oak and was sealed with the crappiest cork I've seen in a long time. I still smile when I notice it was imported by Goodtime Distributors.
It took a bit of time for the nose to open up, but when it did I got aromas of plum, cassis and mocha, along with chalk and leather. It tastes of green plums and boysenberry stirred with a bit of mint. Medium bodied with good grippy tannin it's a wine that benefits from being served with food. It's still fresh and very much alive, though my only complaint is it's a little hollow on the mid-palate. Esporao Trincadeira 2003 is a pleasant drop that's drinking well.

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