Lacrau Douro Reserva Field Red Blend 2021 750ml

PORTUGAL : DOURO

ORGANIC : Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca

FULL-BODIED, DARK PLUM, RED BERRIES, PIPE TOBACCO, MINERAL SCHIST, USED OAK

Cima Corgo is the historic heart of the Douro — terraced schist slopes where Port was perfected, running steeply down to the river. At 600 metres, Favaios sits at the convergence of Atlantic air from the west and Mediterranean warmth from the east: hot enough for full ripening, cool enough at night to hold structure and freshness. The schist here retains water through a quirk of geology: worked over centuries of terracing, the broken stone forms a fine powder that turns clay-like when wet, keeping old vines alive through the Douro's dry summers.

Rui da Cunha and Gonçalo Lopes met as oenology and viticulture students and called their wine Lacrau — Portuguese for scorpion. The Reserva is a co-fermented field blend of all four classic Port varieties, sourced from Quinta da Faisca and fifteen local growers farming under a hectare each. Half ferments in traditional stone lagar with eight to ten days on skins; half in stainless steel with extended maceration; both lots join for fourteen months in used oak. The 2021 was the Douro's coolest vintage in years — less concentrated than usual, more restrained and fresh. This drinks on elegance, not power.

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