Lavradores de Feitoria Red Blend Douro Três Bagos 2009

I am hardly an expert, but I am a wine lover and this wine was an unexpected surprise, when the wine bar had run out of the wine I requested, but offered me this. I loved it, I had lots of it and I had to ask for the label info to get a case for myself. It's a great everyday wine that can carry a fancier evening just fine.

Good, what I've come to expect from Portuguese reds, easy to drink, so much so that it's easy to drink to much.

Had the 2004. Pleasant enough, but nothing was hitting me over the head. Finish kinda dies. Not too big. Didn't dance on the palate.

earthy/spice, animal, red cherry, varnish. med tannins, balanced

Deep red in color with a muted clarity. Schistist soil strong and upfront while in the background with deep red fruit, strong earthiness(barnyard), light anise, light milk chocolate, and it seems to be changing as I write. I’ll make sure to come back to this later on. Medium to big body with a strong acidity that prickles the mouth and hides the tannis that seem to be lurking very near the surface of this wine. Light spice (anise and black pepper), ripe fruit, cherry (tart), strawberry and a minerality that lingers after the fruit is gone make this palate seem a bit strange to me. The finish at this point is not very long and the wine is wound up tight not showing a lot of character. I will re-taste in a couple of hours. 2 hours later Right off the nose is showing much fleshy fruit while the mineral, anise have come forward followed by a touch of sour? Smoke? Alchol is forefront and the heat is a bit intimidating. Though there is a more expanded spice array. Rich and I think we’re on a roller coaster. Interested to see what happens in an hour, hope there is some left. Day 2 Ok my first impression is that the fruit has melded better with the spice and mineral component, though there is still a barnyard like backbone to it all. The palate is softer and more enjoyable though the acidity is still big. Not sure if this will ever change though, in the end the fruit is nice and ripe. I would think this will age and maybe calm down a bit in 2-3 years. Lots of cherry and schist with a fair amount of spice, I guess in the end it’s the alcohol on the finish that seems a bit distracting and out of balance! Not bad, though I would wait before I had another. C5a12t15o6=88 alt-3 [88]