Quinta do Vale Meao 2019 Meandro Douro Tinto 750ml

The 2019 Meandro do Vale Meão is a blend of 44% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca, 15% Tinta Roriz and dollops of Tinta Barroca and Alicante Bouschet for the rest, all aged in used French oak for 14 months. It comes in at 14.1% alcohol. This wasn't seen too long ago, but a little bottle time often helps a new wine expand. The fruit is more open and expressive now. Originally, it seemed nicely concentrated but perhaps even more so now in terms of intensity of flavor. If it opens, it’s soft and fruity, still demonstrating that with aeration, there is a real backbone. You can drink this now, but it might be better this time next year, and it should age gracefully for at least a decade. I'm not sure how many rewards there will be if you age it a long while, but this will continue to evolve and become more harmonious. It will be interesting to see if it can become something much more, but I suspect people won't be able to keep their hands off of it long enough to find out. It's pretty delicious. It is worth leaning up a little today.

Score: 91 points -- Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate, 2022