Tasting Notes

96+/100 Mark Squires, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
The 2013 Tinto Tonel No. 3-4 was aged for 40 months in large Portuguese and Brazilian tonels, then held back for 22 months in bottle. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. This will be released at the end of the year. More concentrated than the regular 2013 and with very dark color, this then adds what the Tonel usually adds—acidity, freshness and silky texture. Not to mention power. Overall, it is simply more vivid, livelier and more lifted than the regular Estate Tinto. As with the regular, I also saw this with several hours open. However, the change here was not as great as with the Estate Tinto because this Tonel is simply so much tighter. It is almost frozen in place. With air, the power only increased. This is potentially a great Tonel, but that is always a determination that is finally made by having it take the test of time. For the meanwhile, let's say "brilliant," and add that it has a lot of upside potential. This will have a long aging curve. Let's start here.

Property Information

In a country steeped in winemaking history, the name Mouchão is synonymous with wines of distinction. The family owned estate has been producing wine for over a hundred years and maintains the traditions established in 1901 when the winery was built. The distinctive character of Mouchão wines derives from three principal characteristics: the Alicante Bouschet grape, the specific terroir and adherence to traditional winemaking methods. At Mouchão grapes are hand-picked, foot trodden in marble cement lining lagares and the wine aged in five thousand liters vats. Mouchão wines are renowned for their longevity, maturing subtly as they age.