Bulas Cruz, Quinta da Costa de Baixo 2019, Porto Vintage

The wine has a deep ruby color. The nose is concentrated and precise, and offers a lot of richness, depth and complexity. On the first nose, the wine expresses the distinct notes of pine sap and fresh pine needles, fresh rosemary branch, fresh liquorice stick and peppermint. They then develop towards aromas of sweet spices (ground cumin, cinnamon, grated nutmeg) and ripe red and black fruits (black plum, wild blackberry, morello cherry, crushed strawberry) and candied (blackberry jam, morello cherry, wild strawberry jam). There are also touches of torrefaction/ground coffee, toast, toast, as well as roasted aromatic herbs and dried flowers (peony, dried rose petals). On the palate, the wine is fleshy, and expresses a lot of power, fine, powdery, but present and strong tannins, a rich body and a lot of fruit, accompanied by lively acidity and energy. The flavors are precise, warming and very ripe (even jammy), without being heavy. We find notes of juicy blackberry, fresh black plum, fresh sour cherry and jam, crushed strawberry, wild strawberry jam, blueberry jam, combined with herbaceous, spicy and floral touches of fresh thyme, chopped rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, fresh licorice, white pepper, grated nutmeg, as well as coffee and dried rose and fresh peony. The finish is very long and reveals notes of dried aromatic herbs, as well as sweet touches of dark chocolate, prunes in chocolate and cherries in chocolate, which add to the complexity of the wine without making it heavy. A wine of exceptional concentration and great aging potential.