The 2004 ALTANO RESERVA is a blend of Touriga Franca (75%) and Touriga Nacional. It is a step up on the regular Altano in terms of depth and structure, but it opened with a disturbingly powerful American oak overlay that made it hard for me to deal with this wine. The oak may integrate a bit with some age, and it did integrate some after 90 minutes, but I doubt that the annoying American oak flavors that currently overwhelm the fruit are going to disappear within this wine’s useful life. I took this and the regular 2005 Altano to lunch after the evaluation session, and found myself gravitating to the regular 2005 Altano. That answer will be different in 2009, to be sure. There were 1,800 cases produced. Drink now-2010.
Importer for Vale do Bomfim: Premium Port Wines, San Francisco, Ca.; tel: (415) 554-9920. Importer for the Altano wines: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel: (205) 980-8802.