Caves Transmontanas Branco Grande Reserva (Vertice)

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：1544

The 2009 Branco Grande Reserva (Vertice) is a blend of 34% Gouveio and 63% Rabigato plus a dollop of Codega do Larinho, aged in barrel for 9 months. A nice bookend to the 2008, it has some more noticeable oak at the moment, but also nice acidity for this vintage, which cuts through the oak and gives the wine some vibrancy. The oak integrated steadily with an hour of time. Quite delicious, it becomes sterner with air and shows some character, too, and against my preconceptions, I think I’d give the nod to this over the lovely 2008. Let’s see how they each develop over the next couple of years. Drink now-2015. In talking to the producer, I was advised that the winery produces only one still Tinto and one still Branco per year---whether it gets called “regular” or “Reserva” or “Grande Reserva” they say is a decision largely made by the results of the tastings and judgments rendered by the wine authorities in Portugal. As for the sparklers, the winery’s signature claim to fame, a vertical (1992-2001) of the higher end sparklers poured for me by the owners/winemakers in Douro was impressive in demonstrating ageworthiness for what are, after all, relatively inexpensive sparklers from a region not famed for them. Based on this demonstration, I’d suggest that 10-12 years after bottling, depending on the vintage, is reasonably safe. After that, the wines still showed considerable power, acidity, vigor and intensity – they were hardly dead – but also increasing oxidation and less forgivably some sherry notes. If you can look past that, 20 years may seem quite reasonable and it is entirely possible that the new versions may age better than the early examples. A few of these library wine notes are set forth here for historical purposes.Importer: Wine In-Motion LLC, 2421 Iorio St, 2nd Floor, Suite A, Union, NJ 07083 Tel: (908) 688-3837