Quinta do Vallado Douro Superior 2018

The 2018 Quinta do Orgal is an 80/18 blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca (with a dollop of Sousão) aged for 16 months in used French barriques. It comes in at 14.3% alcohol. This is Vallado's Douro Superior red. This will probably win out over Vallado's regular Tinto in the long run, but there are stylistic differences that might make some as happy with the purer (less oaky) and vibrant regular Tinto—and, of course, that regular Tinto is almost half the price. That said, this is more expressive and deeper. Plus, as it airs out, it proves to have more power than at first seemed apparent, given its soft opening. It then adds some complexity as well, as the cream from the oak dissipates, and has a longer finish. Today, I prefer the lovely regular Tinto, but this more age-worthy Orgal will be the winner in the end. It certainly has more upside potential. It's not the best value, but it's the better wine. There were 37,500 bottles produced, plus some large-format bottles.