HERDADE DAS MOURAS DE ARRAIOLOS | Tapada das Lebres | Premium | 2016
syrah | aragonês | alicante bouschet | cabernet sauvignon
WineStatistics will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss one. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations. The logic is simple – the more we taste, the more we learn.
Tonight we are going to review yet another wine blend, but this time it’s from Portugal – Tapada das Lebres Premium 2016 by Herdade das Mouras de Arraiolos. This wine comes from the Alentejo region, which is quite similar to California in many ways, with low rolling hills of wheat and hot temperatures with lots of sun. The blend is made of syrah, aragonês, alicante bouschet and cabernet sauvignon, therefore, the wine has a quite spicy accent. But enough with the theory part, let’s get straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Deep but not opaque garnet color with noble ruby shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruits and spicy flavours: blackcurrant, blue plum, black mulberry, ripe sour cherry, black raspberry, blackberry and some subtle hints of coriander. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of black pepper, leather, cloves, nutmeg, roasted oakwood, black tea, anise and some subtle hints of cinnamon.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It tastes tannic, tart and seedy, yet somehow round and lean at the same time, with nuanced spiciness and a touch of alcoholic warmth showing through. This is a firm, bold and quite fruity wine, one that feels too young and not ripe enough at the moment. It has a fair overall balance with a tart and seedy accent on the mouthfeel.
Aftertaste
It has a medium-plus finish and a crisp and grippy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Portugal and the overall rating says the same, with 90.7 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.
Conclusion: this is a quite tannic wine blend that is still too young to be enjoyed in its current state, as it feels angular and sharp, quite a bit off its balance, therefore we are strongly advocating for a couple more years of bottle ageing (2 to 3 years should suffice). At the moment the wine feels tart and seedy, as it tastes grippy yet lean, with a quite promising ageing potential – all it needs is a bit of patience and care. In order to counter-balance all that angularity in the wine, we would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes that are rich in spicy flavours, like for example a ribeye steak with red wine sauce or a spicy, garlic-rosemary grilled steak, as the later one is an epic pairing indeed. Enjoy!
WineStatistics tasting results:
HERDADE DAS MOURAS DE ARRAIOLOS
Tapada das Lebres | Premium | 2016
grape: | syrah | aragonês | alicante bouschet | cabernet sauvignon |
overall rating: | 90.7 |
maturity: on the rise
conclusion: fine | highly recommended
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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a one-time donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a monthly donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a yearly donation so that we can review even more wines.
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