Mouchão Tonel Nº 3-4 2013 – 100% Alicante Bouschet – Alentejo DOC – 75cl

Mouchão Tonel Nº 3-4 2013 is one of the great icon wines of Portugal and arguably the ultimate expression of Alicante Bouschet from the Alentejo. Produced only in exceptional vintages, Tonel Nº 3-4 comes from carefully selected 100% Alicante Bouschet grapes from the historic Carapetos vineyard at Herdade do Mouchão. The grapes are harvested by hand and traditionally foot-trodden, with whole bunches, in the estate’s open stone lagares. Its name comes from the legendary Tonéis Nº 3 and Nº 4, two old 5,000-litre wooden vats reserved for the estate’s finest Alicante Bouschet. The wine spends several years ageing in these historic vats before receiving extended bottle maturation prior to release. The 2013 vintage displays an intense garnet colour with powerful aromas of black fruit, black olive, graphite, Indian ink, mint and exotic spices. Structured, exuberant tannins are balanced by remarkable freshness and give the wine exceptional longevity. Herdade do Mouchão suggests that Tonel Nº 3-4 can require 15–20 years after harvest to reach full maturity and may peak considerably later. The vintage has received extremely strong critical recognition, including 98 points from Wine Enthusiast and 97 points from Robert Parker according to current specialist listings.