2018 Touriga Nacional - Magnum Quinta do Vallado

The 2018 Touriga Nacional was aged for 16 months in 50% new French barriques and comes in at 13.9% alcohol. Mildly aromatic, very graceful and precise, this balanced Touriga seems caressing and sensual. The expressive fruit is not fully developed by any means, but this is surprisingly easy to drink right now, once past the initial tannic pop. The tannins, in fact, are quite ripe. Not quite as concentrated as the previous vintage, this is nonetheless pretty fine on its own terms. It should age well too, but let's be at least a little conservative. This still has room to grow and improve in the cellar if you can hold it a few years.

It is probably fair to say that I mostly liked the 2017 reds from Vallado (reviewed in the past; not tasted together for this issue) a bit better than the 2018s. Yet the 2018s were still super, refined and consistent. They have plenty of room to grow if you have a cellar and some patience. They should develop well. Maybe in the long run they will prove to be the equals or betters of the 2017s. At the moment, I suspect not, but they are good enough to make it a horse race.