The 2004 TOURIGA NACIONAL is elegant, with a lovely floral nose. It is smoothly textured and projects a certain delicacy, despite some underlying power. It fleshes out a little and develops more varietal typicity with some air. It is bright and tasty, if a little foursquare, and I liked it more after an hour or so of air. Drink now-2012. Esporao is one of Alentejo’s iconic producers, with vast vineyards (some 650 hectares) that partly have some age on them (some vines are around thirty years old, considerable relative to the many young wineries in the region). It has some of the region’s most beautiful and atmospheric cellars. Its lineup tends to be value oriented, and the winery excels in producing nice wines for little money, sometimes to the point where you wonder why you should step up. Its winemaker, Australian David Baverstock, is a long time resident in Portugal who has assisted many prominent wineries in the Douro as well.Importers: Aidil Wines & Liquors, a division of Olde World Imports, Inc., Rahway, NJ; tel. (973) 642-0044; Vinum Importing, Redmond, WA; tel. (206) 621-8843.

The aromas are the thing here, as so often with Touriga Nacional, keeping the soft tannins and ripe, sweet fruit buoyant and lively. There is acidity, but there’s more, maybe too much, of blackberry jam flavor.——R.V.(12/15/2007)—— 86