Bulas Cruz, Diwine, Douro, Portugal 2020

Anyone who has ever ventured into a young vintage port will know that few regions in the wine world can deliver fruit with the force, power, energy and exuberance of the Douro -- so why not try to capture just a little of that in a simple, inexpensive, straightforward but exuberant red table wine? That's exactly what this wine does. It's a deep, saturated black-red in colour, and is packed with the irresistible tea-leaf, peony and black-fruit character of Douro's classic varieties. That's exactly what you find on the palate, too, shouting the wine's origins at the same time as it delivers fruited perfume and pleasure, juicy acidity and supple, tumbling tannins on the palate. This Value Best In Show is, in that sense, a distant Iberian echo of our Best In Show Fleurie: both are perfumed head-turners and smile-inducers.

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