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Mouchão Tinto Tonel 3-4, Herdade do Mouchao 2011

RegionPortugal
Subregion Portugal
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyAlicante Bouschet

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Tinto Tonel No 3 4 has been seen before, but it was only at a very early, pre-release stage. It's now released and heading to the USA, so let's check in. Sourced from Vinha dos Carapetos, a specific parcel, it is an Alicante Bouschet aged for 24 months in Brazilian wood vats (tonels) #3 and #4, around 60 years old. This is one of the top labels from one of the region's iconic wineries. The vintage is pretty good, too. So, what happens? Something really good. This is a wine built for the long haul. The Alicante beefy nuances are cut, sliced and diced by the wine's power and acidity. Showing fine mid-palate finesse, too, this is quite brilliant, reeking of potential, but needing more time in the cellar. The next day, it was far better, the fruit being more expressive while the concentration and power did not dim. This sure isn't built to drink young, but it is more expressive now than when I first saw it. It is coming along slowly, but surely. It should age effortlessly and flawlessly. There were times over the last decade or so that I wondered if historical Mouchão still existed. I've been more and more impressed of late and this release has an answer: its ancestors would be proud. Drink 2019 - 2051.

Mouchão strikes gold with this bottling, only produced in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008 and now 2011. It is something to grab for the cellar. I won't be surprised if it exceeds my end-date drinking window. It should age beautifully.

97
Mark Squires, Wine Advocate (230), August 2019

The 2011 Tinto Tonel No 3 4 (scheduled for release in the Fall of 2016, probably) is perhaps the best wine I've seen from modern Mouchão. Far more expressive than its 2008 sibling, this shows more concentration and better balance while retaining a lot of the 2008's ideas, crispness and power. This is not lacking anything, from an elegant mid-palate to brilliant structure. It is going to need some cellaring, but it is also going to last a long time. Since this is still an unreleased preview, I'm not going to finalize a score just yet. No matter the final result, you won't likely be disappointed--if you have a cellar and you're prepared to be a bit patient.

95/97
Mark Squires, Wine Advocate (221), October 2015
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.