What to eat with aged red wine? Mouchão, Alentejo and a tribute to blackness.

Cork, sheep and a little wine

Iain is the sixth generation of the Reynolds family at Mouchão. The family came to the Alentejo from Porto in the 1820s and 1830s looking for cork, and cork still dominates: around 700 hectares of cork oaks, about a thousand sheep, olives as the second crop, and only 45 hectares of vineyards. Iain was educated in Britain and Portugal, began his career at a German wine company in London and worked for years as a consultant viticulturist before returning to the family business.

The estate also lived through hard times. After the 1974 revolution the family had to leave, and the 1985 vintage was made just after Mouchão was returned to them. Iain tells how the 1954 vintage, sold by the cooperatives to the big Lisbon hotels during those years, ended up spreading the estate's name.

The home of Alicante Bouschet

Alicante Bouschet is a red-fleshed grape that gives deep color, and Iain calls Mouchão the place where it all started. The 1985 comes from some of the earliest plantings. The winemaking is simple and traditional: everything is hand picked and every red grape is foot trodden. The wine then spends four or five years at the estate before release, which Iain says brings stability and helps it age, and the family wants to stretch that to 10 to 12 years.

Andreas, who has followed the wine for years, compares its purity and traditional style to some of the most legendary wines of France. Iain also pours something new: a barrel sample of Verdelho, grafted onto older vines in 2015 after he found the variety mentioned in a 1909 travel book chapter about Mouchão.

Pigeon, black olives, truffle and pumpkin

For the old red, Andreas sets out to make a tribute to blackness. Anjou pigeon breasts are sautéed in oil and butter, while the carcass and innards are browned with vegetables, deglazed, reduced with red wine and pressed for every drop of flavor. Galega olives from Mouchão's 100-year-old trees season the sauce instead of salt, and a pumpkin purée with butter and black truffle adds a touch of sweetness.

The thinking is classic: with a mature, complex wine, gamey and truffle flavors echo the forest floor and secondary notes in the glass, while a little sweetness flatters game. The dish also stirs a memory, as Iain recalls that Mouchão was known as the place where the pigeons go to sleep and that his grandfather loved to shoot and cook them.

A blind bottle and a savory dessert

Iain's surprise bottle is a regular favorite. Andreas finds fresh grape, floral notes, dried fruit, fig, caramel, orange zest and oriental spice, with a rich, fortified feel. Rather than a sweet pudding, he makes small Stilton cheesecakes with a gingerbread cookie crust, a hint of honey and toasted hazelnuts.

His rule for complex fortified wines is to avoid high acid fresh fruit and sorbets and go for salty and nutty flavors instead, and when serving sweet wine with dessert, the wine should be sweeter than the dish. Watch to see if he identifies the wine, and how Iain does in the food and wine memory game.

Tips for aged reds and fortified wines

Aged reds love game birds, mushrooms, truffle and reduced meat sauces, and are best with fairly simple, savory sweetness rather than sharp acidity. Fortified wines often work better with cheese and nuts than with fruit desserts. Mouchão itself has made a fortified Alicante Bouschet for generations, a small reminder of the family's Porto roots.