Quinta do Pôpa in the Douro produces some excellent wines, amongst them one of my favourite varietal reds coming out of the region, their TR (Tinta Roriz) which costs close to €30.
Their lower-priced labels include an unoaked range in red, white and rosé, and just above these sits the recently launched “Reserve”, priced at around €11 to €12 in supermarkets.
This is a medium bodied from the 2020 vintage, made from a blend of the typical Douro red grapes – Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão.
The wine was aged half in stainless steel vats and half in a mixture of new and used oak barrels for eight to 10 months. There is plenty of upfront forest fruit on the nose with little sign of the oak; fresh and smooth in the mouth with a dry finish. This is a precise and elegant wine, presenting excellent value for money. It could do with another year or two in the bottle to reach peak condition but is already very enjoyable.
