The 2014 Vinha do Rio (Quinta Vale D. Maria) is a field blend sourced from 85-year-old vines. It was aged for 22 months in new French barriques. Always one of the biggest wines in the stable, this comes in at 15.5% alcohol, even in this rather difficult 2014 vintage where more than a few wines had some trouble getting ripe. It feels rich and ripe, certainly, but then it pretty much always does. It seems to hold its balance nicely enough without being particularly jammy or overly sweet, but there are some hints of alcohol on the finish as well as quite a bit of oak. Yet, it has many, many virtues. Its focus is admirable in this year and its ability to project flavor is probably at the top of the 2014 heap for Van Zeller's reds. It is very exuberant in terms of fruit for this vintage, but it doesn't lack for structure. Even after being open (recorked, though) for some 30 hours, it could tighten on the finish. Many will swoon over it--although I personally preferred the much better balanced and far more elegant Vinha da Francisca. This should be approachable fairly young. I'm less certain as to how it will reward extended aging, so let's be conservative just now. There were 2,645 bottles produced, along with some large format bottles.
(WA 1st Mar 2017)
