The 2008 Tinto “Maria De Lourdes” is from the winery’s Quinta da Urze property, which has the winery’s oldest vines (planted in 1946). It is a blend of 70% Touriga Nacional and 30% Touriga Franca, aged for 24 months in 3rd pass French oak. This is an interesting wine that evolves fairly radically. It is likely to be a bit divisive. It opens rich, flat and sweet, the oak too noticeable, but it acquires some feeling of brightness and elegance, while being tinged at various points with blueberries and vanilla. Then, it shows a touch of kirsch as well. It is not exactly a wine for the intellect, but rather the palate, likely to win some fans for being very tasty alone, as well as some detractors as well for its flamboyance. It does develop a hint of game and earth as it airs out for a couple of hours, along with some ripe tannins. I was not entirely convinced by this, but it certainly has its moments and I suspect it will have a fan base. It clocks in at just 14%, in case you were wondering. Drink now-2018. Importer: Grape Moments, a Division of Sintra Imports, New Bedford, MA; tel. (508) 997-0100.