Muxagat Tinto Douro DOC 2016

Winemakers Mateus Nicolau de Almeida and Eduardo Lopes began Muxagat Vinhos in the village of Muxagata in 2002 in a garage, which they quickly outgrew. The next year they took over the granite cellars of an abandoned winery in the nearby town of Meda. Now led by Susana Lopes, along with Ana Sofia Silva and well-known winemaker Luis Seabra, Muxagat takes full advantage of the steep-sloped vineyards and cooler climate of the remote upper Douro region. Their 2016 tinto blends 60% touriga nacional, 30% touriga franca, and 10% sousão from three plots in Fonta Longa and Muxagata. Hand-harvested and foot-stomped, the grapes ferment with indigenous yeasts before aging for 14 months in used French oak barrels. Fans of full-bodied Italian reds will find a lot to love here: chocolate, plum, licorice, black currant, with a whiff of violets. Organically grown, vegan.