Lapa dos Gaivoes, Tinto

Don't judge a bottle by the label... but in this case, it's safe to say that the wine is just as modern, beautiful, structured, earthy and high quality as its label is beautiful!

Made by Joao TM Barbosa in his Alentejo winery, it is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira, Aragonez and Alicante Bouschet and has a wonderfully layered nose with flavours of red fruit, black pepper and coconut.

The palate is elegant, round and has a gorgeous array of subtle spices and cocoa powder on the finish.

This is a stellar wine and shows a more mineral side to the wines of the Alentejo; grown on poor, free-draining loose soils that have a high acid content, the vines dig deep for nutrients and prosper in the densely planted vineyards.

Predominantly south-facing, they are exposed to extremes of temperature because of the very cool nighttime temperatures in the high-altitude of the Alentejo and its searing daytime heat.

This gives a very long ripening period for the grapes and ultimately a very fine balance of acid and sugars in the fully ripened grapes.