This charming red is the flagship wine from Herdade do Mouchao, a historic Alentejo winery that produces some of the region’s finest wines from the popular local Alicante Bouschet grape. Herdade do Mouchao’s history begins in the 19th century when Thomas Reynolds moved to the region to work in the cork industry. It was his grandson, John Reynolds, who later purchased the estate and decided to start producing wine from some of its 900 hectares of land.
In 1974 the estate was confiscated by the military junta that then ruled Portugal, and it wasn’t until 1985 that the Reynolds family was able to regain control of their property. Today they have around 38 hectares of vineyards that are predominantly planted with Alicante Bouschet along with Aragonés, Trincaderia e Moreto, Touriga Nacional and Syrah.
Their flagship bottling is Alicante Bouschet with a hint of Trincadeira. Once harvested, the grapes are crushed by foot in large lagares or stone troughs, following traditional local winemaking practices. The young wine is then aged in huge 5000 litre barrels for 24 months followed by a further 24-36 months of bottle ageing. This long and complex process produces a rich yet elegant red wine that bursts with cassis, dark cherry, plum and notes of eucalyptus and black pepper. A great wine to cellar for a few more years or enjoy now alongside hearty red meat dishes.
It can improve significantly if kept for up to two decades, or longer.
