Quinta do Vale de D. Maria ‘Vinha da Francisca’ 2014
Quinta do Vale de D. Maria 'Vinha da Francisca' 2014 has character and strength in the aroma, with black fruits present. A wine with a polished style and fine tannins. Great complexity in a remarkable red wine with great ageing capacity.
Vinification: Hand-picked grapes, carefully selected and destemmed before entering the granite presses. After treading, they ferment for 7 to 10 days at temperatures of 22ºC to 27ºC in the lagares with manual pumping over. The wines are disgorged into new 225L French oak barrels, barrels of different characteristics, where malolactic fermentation takes place. Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 50% new barrels. The final selection of barrels and the composition of the blend takes place around a month before bottling.
Tasting notes: With exceptional freshness, Quinta Vale D. Maria Vinha da Francisca 2014 stands out for its elegance. With a great depth of color, it seduces with its concentration of ripe red fruit aromas, black cherry, plum and raspberry. Elegance and freshness herald a long, creamy finish.
Grape Varieties: Tinta Francisca, Touriga Franca, Sousão, Rufete and Touriga Nacional
Always impressive, this wine is structured and powerful, with firm tannins that are still coming together. Packed with black fruits and tannins, it conveys a rich, almost Port-like quality, perhaps because the grapes are foot-trodden as in Port.
The 2014 Vinha da Francisca (Quinta Vale D. Maria) is a blend of Sousão (50%), Touriga Nacional (20%) and Touriga Franca (15%), with Rufete and Tinta Francisca for the rest, approximately. It was aged for 22 months in a 65/35 mixture of new and used French barriques. Last seen about five years back, making this one of the youngest wines in our reevaluations, this brand used to be under Lemos & Van Zeller. (That changed with Aveleda's purchase of Vale D. Maria.) It was one of the nicer 2014s that I saw, although a step short of the greatest vintages. This has rounded into form nicely, showing understatement and harmony. There isn't a lot of power, and it doesn't seem overly concentrated, but there is occasionally some firmness on the finish. Plus, the fruit is tasty and has some character, the texture is mouth coating, and this drinks great. This is a perfect time to drink this graceful Tinto. It may acquire some complexity with more age, but I doubt it will become better overall. It will hold, but it doesn't seem poised to be a brilliant ager. In the context of the vintage, though, it is a fine effort. There were just 8,681 bottles produced, plus some large format bottles.
Concentrated, with a creamy, supple texture, this full-bodied red is brimming with cherry pie, kirsch and mineral flavors. Floral and espresso elements midpalate give way to a lingering, herb-tinged finish. Decant. Drink now through 2020. 755 cases made.
