Esporão Reserva Tinto 75cl

Esporão Reserva Tinto 2021 from the Alentejo in Portugal — and this is a seriously good bottle. It’s a step up from everyday Portuguese reds.

It comes from Herdade do Esporão⁠, one of Portugal’s best-known estates. Esporão Reserva is historically important for them too: it was the first wine Esporão produced, back in 1985. The 2021 is made entirely from the estate’s certified-organic grapes. 

The blend is Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Aragonez (Tempranillo), Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon. It spends 12 months in French and American oak barrels, 20% new, followed by at least another six months ageing in bottle. It’s 14% ABV. 

In the glass it’s quite rich but not clumsy: blackberry, ripe plum and dark berry fruit, then cinnamon, liquorice and sweet spice from the oak. It’s full-bodied, with proper structure and a long, balanced finish. This is a great steak, roast beef, lamb or slow-cooked meat wine.

The 2021 vintage scored 93/100 from Wine Enthusiast, which described it as rich yet elegant, with concentrated black fruit and polished oak, and suggested drinking from 2026 onwards — so you’re opening it right at the beginning of its drinking window. 

The label Esporão commissions a different artist for every Reserva vintage, which is why the bottle looks so distinctive. The artwork on the 2021 red is by Portuguese artist Alexandre Conefrey.