2016 Caves Velhas Cabeca de Toiro Reserva DoTejo Portugal 750 ml

Soul-stirring wines like this deep, ruby red from Portugal are the kinds of underground values that keep sommeliers on the edge of their seats, and captivate them from first pour to last sip—and the kind of overperformer that we’re willing to pay a $20 corkage fee for. Twice. 

We’d just met our importer friend Irene for a BYO wine catch-up at Oakland’s cool Salvadoran pop-up, Popoca. As our pupusas turned crisp over the flickering heat of the wood-fired grill, Irene pulled out the 2016 Caves Velhas Cabeca de Toiro Reserva and gave a thumbs up to the server who had nervously reminded us that each bottle in her bag would rack up a $20 corkage fee. 

After luxuriating in its velvety texture for a moment, we all agreed the $20 fee was a pittance compared to whatever this cost. It’s wines like this that keep us coming back to Europe’s wild west.

An exquisitely built Portuguese beauty that would start at $40 and go from there if it were from almost anywhere else, we gladly paid the corkage once and then again when we decided we didn’t want to drink anything else the rest of the evening. 

Though it’s a classic regional blend of Touriga Nacional and Castelão, the 2016 Caves Velhas Cabeca de Toiro Reserva is a rare coup for lovers of plush, full-bodied reds. Its intense aromas burst out of the glass with luscious dark fruit alongside beguiling purple flower and hibiscus tea notes and back notes of grapefruit peel and mint. 

Aged for nine months in French oak barrels, its complex intensity belies its bargain status. Full and satisfying on entry, its deep, harmonious notes of fruit compote, chocolate, and menthol only broaden on the palate through a concentrated finish coated in rich tannins.

As one of the most impeccably stylish importers we know, Irene’s finger is always on the pulse. She found the Cabeca de Toiro Reserva from Caves Velhas on her last trip to Lisbon, on an afternoon outing to Tejo. Just a short drive from the capital, Tejo is a Portuguese wine region that tends to get overshadowed by the Douro and Dao but is criminally overdue for its own day in the sun. 

Humming with energy from the clay-limestone soils that have made its terroir ideal for red grape varieties for 2,000 years, Tejo’s deep viticultural heritage is evidenced with the Roman ruins, Gothic castles, medieval hilltop villages which dot the rolling landscape. 

Irene told us that Caves Velhas named this Reserva “Bull’s Head” in honor of Tejo’s centuries-old bullfighting tradition. The wine’s big, flavorful grapes live up to the name, providing a robust backbone of structure and tannins, which explains why this four-year-old wine is just now coming into its own.

It’s worth the double $20 corkage to get your fix of this 92-point 2016 Caves Velhas Cabeca de Toro Reserva wherever you might choose to bring it. A rare discovery that is sure to disappear, we hope you enjoy every last drop with as much gusto as we did.