The 1999 Tinto, with just “Zambujeiro” on the label is the winery’s flagship. It is a library wine from the earliest days of the winery, poured for me at the winery. Mostly Trincadeira, not the winery’s typical style these days, it showed beautifully despite having been opened the day before. There are some tertiary notes and a hint of oxidation (remember that it was opened the day before, too), but it retains nice structure and sweet fruit, showing both complexity and finesse. It is a charming wine at this point, with enough power and intensity left to provide grip on the finish and all the grace maturing wines achieve if they are well balanced. It is hard to say how long this can profitably be held, but it is no danger of dying. Drink now-2016. The vertical of the flagship estate Tinto just labeled “Zambujeiro” was poured for me at the winery in Alentejo, cementing in my mind the place of this boutique at or near the top of Alentejo’s hierarchy. On any short list compilation for the best wineries in the region, this one has to appear. In this report, no one had better results in the region, although Quinta do Mouro equaled them. The stunning 2007-2009 trilogy of wines – not all released; the 08 and 09 not yet bottled – will be as good a trilogy of wines in these three vintages as exists in the region.Importer: World Wine Headquarters, tel. (800) 485-5753
