Tom de Baton dos Heredias 2021 (Portugal) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is a delicious, vegan-friendly red blend from Portugal that returned to the LCBO as part of the recent September 7th LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.

It is produced by Magnum Wines, a winery that was born from the dream of Winemaker Carlos Lucas. He created this company in the Dão region in 2011 with the dedication to producing high quality wines, surrounding himself with a team that brings experience and youth that has a continuous interest in innovation and dynamism, while respecting tradition and history.

Carlos is a man of the land and a modern farmer. He has over 25 years of winemaking experience and has worked in various wine regions, including Montpellier, Piemonte, Priorat, and Vale de S. Francisco. Carlos was also one of the first to bring a spotlight to the Dão region.

Since the beginning, Carlos has been concerned about the environment and respectful of the land, and his practices led to Magnum Vinhos being awarded "The Best Farmer of the Year" in 2014 by the Ministry of Agriculture of Portugal. Today, Magnum Wines is pursuing a sustainable growth strategy that respects the land and wines, while aiming to show the authentic character of every region where it has vineyards.

Magnum Wines produces several ranges of wines from across Portugal, with this red wine under the "Tom de Baton" label and being produced at the Quinta das Herédias property in Douro. The name "Tom de Baton" refers to the traditional winemaking tool called "bâton", which is used for stirring the wine during fermentation, a process which is known as "bâtonnage". Tom de Baton wines are crafted to be easy to drink, while also maintaining quality and structure, and often have a complexity that reflects the terroir.

This red wine is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Barroca that was grown in the Douro on schist soil with slight granitic outcrops. The vineyards are between 15 and 50 years old and planted at an altitude between 100 and 500 metres above sea level. These vineyards experience hot summers, low annual precipitation, and are protected by the Serra do Marão and Serra do Montemuro mountains. To craft this blend, the grapes were manually harvested and de-stemmed. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of about 22°C, with gentle stirring to extract colour and aromas. It underwent natural decanting and filtration prior to bottling.

The 2021 growing season is characterized by early budbreak, a dry and cooler year with healthy yields (just a bit below average), and slow ripening. The nights were cool during harvest, with some rain that interrupted picking. The resulting wines are slightly less concentrated when compared to the year prior, with lower alcohol levels. From a cool and somewhat challenging vintage for red wines, let's see how this 2021 Douro red from Portugal is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TOM DE BATON DOS HEREDIAS 2021 - Tabuaço, DOC Douro, Portugal (#363168) (XD) - $17.95
This vegan-friendly blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinta Barroca has a fragrant, open, medium-high intensity nose that is slightly spicy with ripe plum, red & black fruits, blackberry, and black cherry aromas with underlying stony minerality. It's medium-bodied on the dry palate with ripe plummy flavours, plus red & black fruits, black cherry, blackberry, and gentle oak spice notes. Well-balanced with crisp and fresh acidity, as well as slightly grippy, youthful tannins with good structure. Smoky mineral notes linger on the crisp, juicy, and savoury finish, with very good length. Enjoyable now, but will be even better in 1-2 years. Recommended buy. Score: 88+ pts

Other delicious Magnum Wines can be purchased at the LCBO, or through their Agent - Rare Earth Wines.