Quinta do Vale Meão 2016

The 2016 Tinto is an equal blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca with others filling out the blend, all aged for 16 months in 50% new French oak. It comes in at 14% alcohol. Set for bottling in a few weeks after this tasting, this was the final blend. The winery is using some stems now for a little extra tension, winemaker Xito Olazabal said. He said this vintage was a big surprise, producing pessimism early on but changing in barrel. This touches all the bases. This looks like a star in the vintage. What would you like? Texture and finesse? Vivid, expressive and delicious fruit? Fine structure? Check all those boxes. It has a long finish as well, showing some tannic pop and intensity of flavor. It's fresh and will make a great food wine as well. It is a little backward now, however, so give it a few years in the cellar. It will show a lot better around 2023-2025. Then, it should age well.

- Mark Squires