Álvaro Castro Red 2011

When Dão is as powerful and graceful as this 2011, it feels balletic. Alvaro Castro, his daughter Maria, their winemaker, Luis Lopes, and consultant, Ataide Semedo, form one of the most quirky and brilliant agronomy teams in Portugal. They base this wine on Castro's most valued inheritance, a block of old vines surrounding his family's 16th-century homestead at Quinta da Pellada. The wine was blended in 2011 with jaen and touriga nacional from the same property. All of its elements are tightly integrated, yielding a glimpse of crushed green peppercorns, of cool, foresty scents that bring ferns to mind. The formidable depth of the wine is earthy rather than fruity; the acidity seems to reflect the wine's flavors into a tessellation of light and darkness. A classic from Dão, this will develop for decades in the cellar. Score - 94. (wineandspiritsmagazine.com, April 2014)