The 2009 Alicante Bouschet was aged for 8 months in a combination of French and American oak. Despite the relatively short time in oak, the woody character makes the fruit impossible to find. That said, I kept it open for a couple of hours and was gratified to see the sweet oaky notes begin to recede and the wine begin to show some steel underneath. It should make a lot of folks happy and it has enough structure to age in the cellar, giving the oak some chance to integrate further. This went through several stages, some more charming than others, but eventually wound up in a good place. It is approachable now, but you might be better off waiting until mid-2012 on it. There was an occasional moment when the alcohol (14%) seemed obvious, but it did not seem too distracting. Drink now-2019. The winery is also part of the Wine and Winemakers by Saven group, making some wines under “Azul Portugal.”Importer: Vino Cava, Wayne, PA; tel. (610) 688-8415; Iberia Wines & Spirits, East Hartford, CT; tel. (860) 291-8988

The 2008 ALICANTE BOUSCHET is a bit more successful than the Touriga Nacional, reviewed this issue, in terms of integrating oak and fruit on opening. It has a nice backbone and the potential to hold awhile in the cellar. It does turn a bit astringent with air, at first, but opens nicely, becoming quite charming after an hour or so. Drink 2011-2017. The winery also has a “Dona Ermelinda” brand brought in by another importer. I’m told the other brands are somewhat different blends. They also work with Saven, making wines under “Azul Portugal.”Importer: Vino Cava, Wayne, PA; tel: (610) 688-8415

The 2005 ALICANTE BOUSCHET was aged for 8 months in a combination of French and American oak. This fairly dense, rather ripe and intense wine has firm tannins on the finish. It is well marked by oak, though, which supplies a considerable amount of the initial flavor. The fruit is intensely flavorful, too, though, and the aromatics very powerful. Alicante can seem intensely flavorful in its youth, of course. That combination means that this wine is not for the shy, especially now. Granting that it is a little flamboyant early on, with air it develops a certain gravitas that takes it out of the norm, as its structure is quite good. I suspect it will become more and more interesting and “serious” with some time in the cellar. More or less approachable now, it will likely be better in a couple of years, when the tannins and fruit come into better balance and the fruit begins to show some maturity and, hopefully, complexity. It will be interesting to watch this in the cellar. It promises to be a pretty good value. Drink 2011-2020. Importers: Vino Cava, LLC, Wayne, PA; tel: (610) 688-8415; Aidil Wines & Liquors, a division of Olde World Imports, Inc., Rahway, NJ; tel. (973) 642-0044