Ramilo, Colheita 2018 Vinho Regional Lisboa

 

Well-known UK wine critic Jancis Robinson assigned Julia Harding to review this newly arrived beauty. Her take: “The Lizandro Valley provides a distinctive climate that shapes the style of this wine: cloudy mornings, breezes from the Atlantic, warm afternoons on the steep limestone slopes of the Cintra Mountains and cool nights.

“I like to think you can taste all this in the Ramilo blend of roughly 50% Castelão, 25% Touriga Nacional and 25% Aragonez (known as Tinta Roriz in the Douro and Tempranillo etc. in Spain). Colheita simply means 'harvest' though it does have a more specific meaning when used of port.

“Here’s my full tasting note: Deep crimson with a purplish rim. I can't explain why but this just smells so Portuguese! Fabulous fruit, both dark-red and black, lively and somehow wild, like small berries out in the countryside rather than in a domestic garden. On the palate, this is firm, with a bite of both tannin and acidity, yet rounded and full of vibrant fruit without any unwanted fruit sweetness, again that wild side. Fresh and so alive. A great all-rounder that you could drink with or without food. A lovely dark, slightly charry/savoury flavour on the finish even though it's unoaked. Intense, long, pure and delicious. 

“I gave the wine . . . a drinking window of 2020 to 2023 but was sorely tempted to up the score and lengthen the drinking window when I tasted it after it had been open for two weeks (admittedly in the fridge) and was still vibrant, perfectly balanced and fresh as a daisy.”

Find this gem on line (Google $), but check Wine Searcher, too. From as little as $13+.

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