Vale de Pios, “As Tourigas”

An odd phenomenon in the wine world is how some simply smell expensive—I’m not talking “the bigger the better,” but rather wines that exude a sense of regality and refinement. Vale de Pios’ “As Tourigas” is one of the clearest examples you’ll find; if served in a blind tasting, it would be hard not to call this classy, big-ticket Bordeaux with a touch of age. This supremely limited bottling is the reason we continue sampling wines from all over the world: One sniff and you’ll be in triple-digit price tag territory, one taste will validate your prudent purchase. Even in 2003, while living deep in the Douro Valley and tasting a multitude of wines, not one was more spectacular than this.Quinta de Vale de Pios’ sole reason for crafting this delicately perfumed and finessed red was to showcase the age-worthiness of Portuguese wines. Today’s special bottle was sourced from a tiny 1.5 hectare, old-vine parcel and after two years in barrel and eight years in their cellar, this 300-case product