The 2005 VINHA DA DEFESA is a blend of Aragones (also known as Tempranillo) and Castelao Frances. It opens light and friendly, showing off easy, very ripe, fruity flavors and simple charms, but it then flexes some muscle with air. It actually has a fair bit of tannin, enough so that I wondered at times whether it was completely in balance. At about the two hour mark, it showed its best, which is pretty good for a wine in its price category. The finish at that point was bright, sweet and intense, nuanced with red berry notes. I gave this another couple of hours of air out of curiosity, and while the wine was still flexing its muscles, it pretty much lost the charm it had, developing a sort of sour rhubarb note. Those who like its flavor profile may gravitate more to it. I give it credit for trying to be a cut above its price category, but I liked it less as I sat with it more. Drink now-2010. Esporao is one of Alentejo’s iconic producers, with vast vineyards (some 650 hectares) that partly have some age on them (some vines are around thirty years old, considerable relative to the many young wineries in the region). It has some of the region’s most beautiful and atmospheric cellars. Its lineup tends to be value oriented, and the winery excels in producing nice wines for little money, sometimes to the point where you wonder why you should step up. Its winemaker, Australian David Baverstock, is a long time resident in Portugal who has assisted many prominent wineries in the Douro as well.Importers: Aidil Wines & Liquors, a division of Olde World Imports, Inc., Rahway, NJ; tel. (973) 642-0044; Vinum Importing, Redmond, WA; tel. (206) 621-8843.
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