Luis Seabra 2016 Indie Xisto Red 750ml

The 2016 Indie Xisto is a blend of 30% Tinta Roriz, 20% Touriga Franca, 15% each of Tinta Barroca and Tinta Amarela, and various others filling out the blend. Sourced from 70-year-old vines in a single vineyard in Alijo at 500 meters in altitude, it was aged for 18 months in used French oak and comes in at 13.2% alcohol. Concentrated but very fresh, this adds velvety texture and ripe fruit. The tannins are ripe, but they provide support for the fruit and will allow this to develop, hopefully adding some complexity along the way. It is smooth but firm just now, but it's also a bit closed. I'm not sure this will ever match the intensity of flavor on the 2015, but it is clearly not all the way open yet, so we will wait and see. 

Score: 92+ points -- Mark Squires, Robertparker.com, Aug 2018