2016 Quinta da Falorca Traditional Blend

They are among the secret heroes of the international wine world: vintners such as the quality-seeking Carlos Figueiredo, who values his native Dão and the local terroir, but also produces world-class wines. In his wines, wine lovers will find the individuality that is often lost in times of increasing globalization of wine taste: authentic, traditionally prepared wines with a radiant regional character, made from indigenous grape varieties in a small edition.

This Quinta da Falorca is an example of a beautiful, traditional Dao wine with a great price/quality. At Falorca, they always bring the Traditional Blend to the market after 4-5 years. This is purposefully kept off the market until they start drinking at their best especially as the Touriga is a grape with great aging potential and needs time to mature. The vineyards are on average 40 year old vines with some vineyards over 70 years old. These contain over 30 different Touriga clones and this important genetic strain is carefully preserved by grafting cuttings from existing old vines onto new roots. One of the reasons Quinta da Falorca wines are among the very best Portuguese wines is because the Falorca vineyards are able to produce ripe tannins and sugar levels in Touriga Nacional at 13-13.5% alcohol so the wines remain unprecedented elegant and don't become alcohol bombs. The Tinto Quinta da Falorca is a mix of Touriga Nacional 33%, Rufete 28%, Jaen 21%, Alfrocheiro 12% and Tinta Roriz 6%. About half of the juice was aged in aged French oak for 12 months.