2021 Carlos Raposo “Impecável” Touriga Nacional, Dão

Carlos Raposo is a young man from the Dao region, who loves to learn, even at great personal cost. From the age of 16, he realised that he loved winemaking, he then knew ‘this is my life’. Soon after he decided to go to France, in Bordeaux to study. Not knowing a word of French, the struggle was real. He went on to spend a season at Smith Haut-Lafitte which produce some of the most highly regarded wines from the region. He owns no vineyards but scours the region’s vines buying grapes in small quantities, a few rows here and a few rows there, from several vineyards, typically 30 to 50 years old and mostly in the cooler and granitic Serra da Estrela subregion. He pays above the odds to make sure the grapes he wants do not go to a co-operative or another producer. Why do we like it? Impecável, meaning ‘impeccable’, is an extremely pure expression of Touriga Nacional from the Dão region, where it probably originated even if it is more often associated with the Douro, for both ports and table wine. Touriga Nacional is a dark-skinned grape variety that is widely believed to produce the finest red wines of Portugal. Extensively planted in the country. This ‘impeccable’ wine is full of life and energy, it certainly has some longevity ahead, you can keep for the next three or four years.   Grape           Touriga Nacional Country        Portugal                                Region          Dão                              Vintage         2021