Herdade do Esporao Reserve 2003

I've had very few Portuguese wines (other than Port) but on the whole the ones I've has have been excellent - the watch word from what I've been told though is care - as with many places for every good bottle there are several of complete rubbish. I am however happy to report that this is in fact excellent - so much so that it's one of those that I've had during a tasting that is going to become one of my personal family favourites - it's kind of New World in style, but old world in flavour is you get my drift. It's very fruit led, yet beautifully complex and it's easy to spot the use of indigenous grape varities a mile away - the wine tastes porty - and is everything I would hope for in a Portuguese wine yet it contains a good portion of Cabernet Sauvignon which adds finesse and complexity without turning the wine into something rather international and bland. It comes from the Aletanjo region - which again at this stage in my life is a complete unknown to me - yet on this showing I'll be looking out for more! It is very powerful - but you kind of get that with European wines from the 2003 vintage when August temperatures on the Med were in the 40's and people were dying fast enough from the heat in Paris to call a state of Emergency!