2019 Luis Seabra Mono C Douro Castelao

"The 2019 Mono C (monovarietal Castelão) was aged for 18 months in used French 500-liter barrels. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. This is not a big jammy Mono C, but the grape still takes on darker overtones. Luis points to his Douro terroir. Overall, it seems perfectly balanced but rather powerful, with a gripping finish that occasionally has a little astringency. I loved the freshness here, even if the flavor profile lacks some of those tasty red fruits. It should improve with a couple of years of cellaring." - Mark Squires Review Date: July 2022