Ramos Pinto Duas Quintas, Douro, Portugal

威比特酒莊杜艾絲莊園干紅葡萄酒

點擊次數：16587

The 2020 Duas Quintas Tinto is mostly a 50/30 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the rest composed of other typical grapes. It was aged for 12 months in a 50/50 mixture of stainless steel and various sizes of wood. It comes in at 15.2% alcohol. This was a year with weather problems that caused the winery to declassify the Reserva. That fruit went here. That makes this a rather high alcohol red, plus deep and concentrated for the regular DQ. You can smell the very ripe fruit here, making it seem like a relatively roasted version of the 2019. It certainly tastes great, but it isn't what the winery normally delivers. If you're not a normal DQ fan, you might like this better than the fresher versions, but I'd say this is a bit ponderous. Still, it is hard to deny the big fruit. In its own right, it sometimes seems delicious. Every time I started liking it a lot, though, the other side of the story popped up—the fruit might also be a touch overripe. That may be more obvious as it ages, but for now, it has many virtues of its own, and a lot of consumers will think that they are getting a lot of wine for the price.

The 2019 Duas Quintas Tinto is mostly a 50/30 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the rest composed of other typical grapes. It was aged for 12 months in a 50/50 mixture of stainless steel and wood (20% of the oaked half in barrel, 30% in large oak vats) and comes in at 14.3% alcohol. As is customary, this is a fruit-forward wine that adds a little distinction. This year it has very good concentration and a fresh feel, but this is a year that leans a little more to jammy fruit than freshness. Still, it never goes too far overboard in any direction. In its youth, it's going to be a crowd-pleaser for casual drinking, a little shy of structure, but tasting great. It's made to drink now, but it will hold a few years. When the fruit calms down a bit, I do wonder what will be left or if it will be nearly as much fun. I suspect not. In the meanwhile, it will do great on its own.

The 2018 Duas Quintas Tinto is mostly a 45/30 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the rest composed of other typical grapes. It was partly aged in well-used French oak (20%) and tonels (30%) for 12 months, the rest in stainless steel. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. For the nice price, this is nicely done, as always. It is fruit-forward, of course, with a certain nod to Beaujolais. However, it also has some structure in its youth. It shows great overall. For an inexpensive wine meant to be drunk young, this is a perfect choice that is a cut above in its style. It can certainly age a bit, but this will be best when it is young and exuberant.

The 2017 Duas Quintas Tinto is mostly a 45/30 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the rest comprised of other typical grapes. It was partly aged in well-used French oak (20%) and tonels (30%) for 13 months, the rest in stainless steel. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol, an uptick from last year. This was in bottle only about six weeks when seen. It winds up roughly in the same place as the 2016, perhaps fruitier, but still a lighter-styled red. It's tasty and fresh, hard to resist just now. It has a little muscle underneath too. Ramos Pinto is very consistent with this bottling, but this looks like a nice year for it. It can easily hold for several years, but there is little point to doing so. It's great today and is worth leaning up on it.

The 2016 Duas Quintas Tinto is mostly a 45/35 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the last 20% comprised of other typical grapes. It was partly aged in well-used French oak (20%) and tonels (30%) for 13 months, the rest in stainless steel. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. When seen a couple of weeks after bottling in Portugal, this was quite a buy. It's now in the USA. Has it held serve? Mostly, yes. You sure can't go wrong at the price. It shows some structure for the level, finishing with grip. The tannins are ripe, though, and they've moderated just a bit. There isn't a lot of concentration in the grand scheme of things, but it still coats the mouth. It may lack the intensity of flavor of the 2015—showing just a bit flat at the moment—but probably adds a little bit of depth. The fruit is pure with a stonewashed feel. Overall, this does everything well but nothing exceptionally well. Now, look at the price again. It's a great house pour. While these do tend to hold surprisingly well, exercise some caution.