2017 Quinta da Fonte Souto Tinto Alentejo, Portugal

"The 2017 Tinto Vinha do Souto is a roughly equal blend of Alicante Bouschet and Syrah aged for 11 months in mostly new French oak. It comes in at 14.7% alcohol. This ups the ante on the regular Tinto in a few ways—there's more concentration, while remaining quite elegant, more oak impact, although that will get better, and more power. The intensity of flavor is far better, too, as the beefy nuances overlay the wine and supersede the wood. It shows nuance, understatement and finesse to go with the structure and concentration. This is lovely, a big and refined success for the debut vintage. Obviously, there is no track record, but this seems poised to age well. Let's start here." - The Wine Advocate