Caught up with David Ferreira of Portuguese winery Mouchão yesterday to taste through their wines. I remember visiting Mouchão back in 2005, and since then I’ve had a soft spot for them. This is one of the classic wine estates of the Alentejo, and I love the labels, too: understated and immediately recognizable. Mouchão introduced Alicante Bouschet into the Alentejo: a teinturier grape with red flesh, it does really well in the region, and  the Mouchão estate wine, reviewed here, contains 85% Alicante Bouschet, together with 15% Trincadeira (Tinta Amarela in the Douro), fermented in lagares and then matured in large, old casks. Also worth checking out: their affordable Dom Rafael red, a blend of equal parts Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira and Aragonez.

Mouchão 2010 Alentejo, Portugal
There’s lovely depth here: spicy, powerfully structured, and driven by sweet cherry and plum fruit. This is youthful and could do with further ageing. I really like the dense but well balanced fruit. More a traditional-style Alentejo red than a modern blockbuster, but it means you can cellar it with confidence. 93/100

Find this wine with wine-searcher.com