The 2004 Tinto (Quinta do Vale Meao) is what other estates would call a reserve wine, in essence, a selection of their best lots. It is a blend of Touriga Nacional (60%), Touriga Franca (20%), Tinta Roriz (15%) and Tinta Barroca (5%). It is a more refined, elegant wine than the Meandro, but most importantly, far more flavorful, with some of the most charming, delectable fruit you can possibly find. The fruit is simply delicious, red berry nuanced, sweet and wonderful. The gorgeous flavors and the lively, bright presentation add a dimension that the “Meandro” cannot come close to matching. The wine is not particularly intense, and tannins are fairly controlled, but there is a backbone and it has a certain, elegant, Burgundian feel to it. Still, this is not, in my view, the best structured wine, nor the most complex, and it will likely not be the best cellar candidate, legitimate issues for a wine in this price range. However, the fruit is so tasty – dare I use the technical term “scrumptious?” – that it is simply hard to resist. This charming, graceful wine is one of the wines in this report that I most wanted to keep drinking. That counts. Drink 2007-2015.Francisco Olazabal, the former president of Ferreira, owns and runs Quinta do Vale Meao with his sons, one of whom (Francisco) is the winemaker. (Francisco, Jr. is also the winemaker at the well regarded Quinta do Vallado, separately listed.) This winery is another in the Douro’s new wave, and another example of how the Douro mingles tradition with something completely new. This historic estate was founded in 1887 by Olazabal’s great-great-grandmother. The Ferreira house, of course, became Portugal’s iconic dry red wine producer. Here, the tenth vintage has not yet been released.Importer: W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Harrison, NY; tel. (914) 251-3209

The name refers to the big meander the Douro river takes around the quinta’s vineyards, forming a long peninsula. Like its big brother, the quinta wine, this reflects the heat and the concentrated fruit that comes from this famed vineyard. Its tannins are almost impenetrable at this stage, deep and dry, needing several years of aging to reveal the solid, ripe dark, spicy flavors.——R.V.(9/1/2007)—— 91