1995 António Bernardino Paulo da Silva Colares Chitas 11.0%
Made predominantly from ungrafted Ramisco planted on sandy soils. Sourced from the winery last December. High fill.
Owner said to drink at 21/22C, where aromas are most expressive.
We started at 15C (straight from the wine cellar). At that temperature there were practically no aromas (the low alcohol must make them less volatile). As the liquid warmed, the nose began to stir like a sleepy faun and, towards the end, there was blackberry, leather, cedar, tar and eucalyptus to be had. Nothing too unusual, but multiple and worthy.
The body was medium; I’d want more gravitas. Tannins were fine-grained and pleasant. Acidity, however, got increasingly intense as it warmed, with an unpleasant metallic tinge, similar to the taste of silvery fish skin. By the time we got to Woodstock, the acidity had totally overwhelmed the fruit, leaving it buried underneath the sandy soil. On the bright side, the lack of wood flavor is refreshing, though the beneficial effects of open pore aeration would have been welcome.
Dim sum, one of those where the nose delivers but the mouth disappoints. For all the geeky cachet of the experience, it was more taxonomically informative than pleasurable. Few things more worth preserving than diversity, but this had me wondering if this appellation's decline is not entirely unjustifiable. But no need to rush to judgment; two more Colares are waiting in the wings.
