Quinta da Boavista, Vinha Velha Ujo

94+ point Parker

Nyt projekt i Duoro, med fokus på højeste kvalitet, her har Lima Smith ambitionen om at lave den bedste rødvin.

"The 2014 Vinha do Ujo Vinhas Velhas (Quinta da Boavista) is another of the winery's special field blends sourced from a 1930 vineyard (with vines around 90 years old). Aged for 20 months in new French oak, it comes in at 14% alcohol. This vineyard, Tony Smith said to me last year, "faces directly north and is the steepest vineyard on the estate, with narrow terraces that brook no access by tractor. All field work is done by hand or horse or mule. The rustic terracing faces directly North. We estimate that the Ujo, which is Douro slang for an Eagle Owl, contains 25 or more native varieties of grapes." Quite a mouthful, this seems a little fruitier than its sibling, the Oratório, and coats the mouth a bit more, but is mostly along the same lines—powerful, with a serious backbone and a crisp edge. Far too tight to drink now (2023 might be better), this should have a long life ahead. It seems potentially brilliant in a vintage that produced few Cima Corgo stars, but let's be a little conservative just now. Despite my general fears on the aging ability of wines in a vintage like 2014, this should improve notably in the cellar. Do not commit infanticide. There were just 1,600 bottles produced"