Intense garnet colour and aromas of spicy black fruit, plum jam, ripe olives with the underlying Mouchão stemmy-minty hallmark. Wonderfully fresh and structured yet balanced and with exuberant tannins that guarantee its longevity. Despite its considerable ageing potential, it is showing beautifully in its youth.
Viticulture
Responsible husbandry and care in the vineyard is critical to achieving the best Mouchão fruit and sustaining our healthy bee population. Vineyard plots and varieties are harvested separately. Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira were sourced from 25 year old vines grown on the well-drained, alluvial loams of the Carrapetos vineyard. Since 2010, yields for this vineyard block have averaged a meagre 4.03t/Ha, contributing significantly to concentration, overall quality and expression. A riper, plummier Alicante Bouschet is often included from the Mediterranean red loams (underlain with chalk) of the Dourada Vineyard (17 years old at harvest).
2014 Growing Season
After good winter rainfall (708mm), 2014 was marked by a mild end to the growing season and a very wet harvest (from the 2nd week in September). The best Carapetos Alicante Bouschet fruit, which makes up the backbone of this Mouchão 2014, was harvested before the onset of the rain
Vinification
At Mouchão we vinify ALL our red wines in open stone troughs (lagares). Whole bunches, including stems, are included in the maceration process making harvest timing especially critical. The handpicked bunches are foot-trodden twice daily and allowed to ferment for roughly 4-6 days. The young fermented wine undergoes malo-lactic fermentation in the autumn, in large wooden tonéis (5.000L vats). It is racked off its coarse lees in mid-winter and then remains undisturbed for a further 3 years. Once bottled, the wine is matured for a further 24-36 months before being released.
Recommendation
Decant or open 12 to 24 hours beforehand particularly before 2030. Consume at roughly 17ºc as an accompaniment to roast meat or game.