Vinha do Fojo Tinto 2015

The Wine Advocate
RP 96+
Reviewed by: Mark Squires

The 2015 Vinha do Fojo (Quinta do Fojo) aged for 23 months in French barrels, 60% new, and has 14% alcohol. Oh, my. This wine announces itself as something to be truly appreciated only after at least 40 minutes in the glass. Then it shows pure power, though without astringency. It also has admirable depth. The first pour shows some fruit, some oak and strength, but then the power simply takes over. It's very well made, but note that it's a wine for a collector with a cellar. It needs at least a few more years of ageing. It's not completely inaccessible right now, but it would be a waste to open this rarity today. It should hold for two decades, perhaps more.

The producer tends to label its top red each vintage as Fojo or Vinha do Fojo (in a practice similar to Barca Velha). This could have been Fojo. It isn't imported; in Portugal it costs about 85 euros. From very old vines planted at the end of the 19th century, only 12,000 bottles were produced.

This issue features the debut in our pages of Margarida Borges's Vinho Verde project. The estate is Casa da Bouça, on the right bank of the River Sousa, in the Lousada area. There are 10 hectares of vines with different plots and ages. See the tasting notes for details. They're all very limited, very dry, still wines. It's always interesting to see new wines and new projects. The style leans towards pure power. Some may even border on strident. We'll see if they gain balance with a year or more in bottle. Perhaps so. There's a lot of potential there.

As interesting as the Vinhos Verdes are, the star is obviously the Fojo. This iconic red is brilliant.