Quinta do Vesuvio, Douro DOC (Portugal) 2018

 Portugal’s Douro Valley, once known exclusively for Port, is, increasingly, home to dry, non-fortified wines.  Symington Family Estate, one of the top Port producers, has fashioned this robust one from the Pombal vineyard located at their Vesuvio estate.  A warm and soothing wine, it delivers a hint of Port-like spice — mint — without a trace of sweetness.  Good grip in the finish, and more of that lovely spice component, offsets a seemingly paradoxical softness.  Surely, a wine for when temperature plunge below freezing.