The 2009 TINTO is a kitchen sink blend of Syrah, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Trincadeira and Petit Verdot, aged 8 months in French oak. Showing good purity of fruit with some velvety texture, it becomes rather harmonious as it airs out, showing good balance and developing well. Juicy and succulent on the finish, this is a tasty Tinto that finishes with intense bursts of flavor, while seeming like real wine, not being jammy. Some tannins do eventually pop out. This has a little more finesse and hints of oak (it spent 8 months in French oak) versus the less expensive, slightly more exuberant Fonte da Serrana reviewed this issue, but they share some stylistic attributes and are not really qualitatively different. Bargain hunters may find the Fonte da Serrana is a very good choice. As with the Fonte da Serrana, drink this on the younger side, and don’t be surprised if you pick it up 4 years later and don’t like it as much. There were 100,000 bottles produced. Drink now-2016. Ravasqueira is an estate long associated with horse racing and breeding. The wine is more recent, the first vintage having been produced in 2001, and is handled by winemakers Rui Reguinga and Carlos Rodrigues. Total production is about 200,000 bottles. In this group of “first look” releases, the winery has provided some pretty good values with their lesser wines, but struggles, I think, to justify the price gap between the big boys and the value entrants. While the big boys may be technically better and the various levels may separate themselves with age, as the lower level wines just don’t have the same structure, I’m not sure they ever will be as charming or win as many fans as the lower priced wines. Just drink the under $20 wines young and fresh, for best results.Importer: Artisan Vines Distributing, Atlanta, GA; tel: (404) 688-0232