91 points Wine & Spirits

 In 1999, the Fundação Oriente, a cultural foundation based in Lisbon, purchased a 22-acre property once owned by Manuel José Colares, with the goal of keeping the Colares appellation alive. Once an acclaimed district for long-lived reds based on ramisco grown in the sands along the coast west of Sintra, this farthest western point on the European continent is now valued for its beachfront homes. Tucked amidst the houses, a few parcels of vines still survive. The foundation is now offering older bottles from the winery’s cellars, including this 1997, a tawny-colored red that needs a swirl in the glass to coax the tannins into the background. Their fennel-seed character slowly gives way to scents of nori, red cranberry and licorice, the wine taking on an autumnal intensity, ghosting its red flavors into the finish. Savor this on its own, or pour it with herb-roasted goat. (4/2017)

K&L Notes

Colares is a very tiny, sandy growing region on the wind swept Portuguese coast off Lisbon. It is known for producing some very particular, impressive, underappreciated (abroad) and highly treasured (in Portugal) reds and whites from pre-phylloxera, own rooted vines.