2019 Quinta de S. Jose Douro Vinha Ruy Francisco

The 2019 Vinha Ruy Francisco Quinta de S. José is a 65/35 blend of Touriga Nacional from relatively young vines (12+ years) and old vines (80+ years) from a field blend, aged for 16 months in 60% new French oak. It comes in at 14.8% alcohol. This is so fresh, so focused and shows off so much mid-palate finesse, that it doesn't at first seem as ripe or as big as it actually is. It leans to muscle and precision. The new oak does get in the way of this closed and unevolved young wine just now, but even now, this shows steel and structure over everything else. There's a juicy finish that I loved. This tightly wound Tinto is a bit different in this lineup. I have waffled periodically about where this young brand without much track record is going, but this seems like a winner. Let's lean up for the moment. You're just going to need to give it a few years in the cellar for it to come around. This runs around 90 euros in Portugal.