Alvaro Castro 2018 Quinta da Pellada 'Carrocel'

The 2018 Carrocel is Castro's upper-level Touriga Nacional, the old clones from Talhão 5 in the Quinta da Pellada vineyard. It was aged for 28 months in third and fourth-use French oak and comes in at 13.4% alcohol. Just gorgeous, this is the one that has the most finesse, the most flavor and the longest finish of the group in this report. Developing well, this is still very youthful and vibrant, even if the tannins are mostly ripe. This graceful and wonderfully elegant wine relies on understatement and freshness, but the more you drink it, the more you'll want. For one thing, it is just delicious, with blackberries, plums and occasional red fruits. This will age and develop. It is a polished wine. I'd like to see it demonstrate a bit of development, but it's worth leaning up on it today.