Esporao, Quinta dos Murças, Douro DOC (Portugal) 2013

 Last week I attended a webinar presented by José Luis Moreira da Silva, Director and Lead Winemaker for Quinta dos Murças.  I was impressed with his knowledge and winemaking skill evidenced by the quality of the Quinta dos Murças, Douro DOC "Minas" 2018 he presented.  My favorite local wine shop was offering this Reserva, and I thought, if the Minas was so good, this wine should be very good.  I was not disappointed.  Its color is dense, opaque, black ruby, with no signs of browning.  The aromas are rich with spicy, ripe, black fruit.  In the mouth, the ripe black cherry, blackberry, black plum flavors laced with dark chocolate notes are concentrated, yet the wine fresh and crisp.  The tannins are so fine, and so well integrated, that they don’t even announce their presence.  The finish is smooth and lingering.  It is ready to drink now, but will live and develop many more years in the bottle.  The grapes are a field blend of traditional grapes of the Douro Valley.  Grapes harvested by hand, then pressed by foot, aged one year in previously used French barrels and spend three years in bottle before release.