1992 Adega Regional de Colares 11.0%
Brought back from a trip to Colares last December (the local coop has wine going back to the 1930s at steeply escalating prices; this cost Euro thirtysomething). From ungrafted vines planted on sandy soils. Shows straightforward aromas of blackberry, tar and leather. Mouthfeel is lovely, plush without being fat, surprisingly dense for 11%. Acidity is powerful and requires food, after which it finds balance with the vivacious, but not complex, fruit. The only offputting note is a come-and-go metallic finish, similar to silvery fish scales. Marcia also didn't like what she called an unusual "leafy" taste which I could barely discern, a medicinal relative of eucapyptus. At the end of the day, this was a mixed pleasure: there was much to like about it, but the only things that were unique were also the ones that were offputting. And the bottle was put away unfinished. Chalk this one down to exploration.