Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Notes on wines I have tasted

July 19, 2012 · 9:46 pm

Lavradores de Feitoria – 17/07/2012

Tres Bagos Branco 2011
Open clean and pure fruit aromas, some salty leesy notes, slightly toasty and flinty. Initially brisk on the palate, but then quite broad and expressive, textural and ripe with some nice sharp green notes. Good tropical profile, some ripe pear and citrus notes. Body depth, pretty easy drinking stuff.

Meruge Branco 2010 (viuzinho, fermented in Portuguese oak)
Roasted walnut and burnt vanilla aromas, ripe creamy citrus fruit. Soft and subtle, smooth and long, round and very delicate, a lot of complexity and depth. Quite shy and reserved, the oak and ripeness is subduing the wine for now. Hopefully it will open up. A tad overworked.

Tres Bagos Tinto 2008
Nice ripe dark fruit, black olive tapenade, some soy and dark spice elements, ripe but focused fruit. Intense full, warm and ripe but fresh and approachable, good vibrant character with balance and integration. Some appealing warmth on the front fades nicely.

Quinta da Costa das Aguaneiras 2008 (south-facing under 200m)
Quite oaky and robust, sweet toasty smoky, roasted nuts and dried flowers. Really intense and full, but soft and supple on the back. Pretty much cooked wine, too modern and stylised, lacking subtlety but it does have some structure. I’m not sure it will age.

Meruge Tinto 2008 (400m altitude north-facing, tinta roriz made in lagare)
lighter more classic tempranillo colour. Soft light fruit sweet and silky focused tannins, intense bright and focused, fresh but mature ripe fruit and tannins, oak could be paired back perhaps. Good power and structure, but the oak is giving it too much sweetness.

Tres Bagos Grande Escolha 2008
Classic Douro nose, really good expressive dark fruits but the promise of something more that isn’t oak. Old vines, good maturity, low yield, healthy extraction, balance elegance, potential and structure, but drinkable now and into the future. Still quite modern, but very good modern.

Tres Bagos Grande Escolha 2009
Perfect expression of 2009, balance structure, density but ripe and full dark fruit characters. Won’t last as long as 2008, but looking pretty damn good now.

Lavradores de Feitoria Tres Bagos Grande Escolha 2008

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July 19, 2012 · 9:31 pm

Quinta do Noval – 16/07/2012

Cedro do Noval (Vinho Regional Duriense (30% syrah, touriga nacional, touriga franca, tinto roriz)
Bright purple colour, intense but not heavy in colour. Bright juicy yet spicy dark fruit aromas, some interesting floral notes. Fresh full-flavoured clean, great acidity and intensity of fruit. Balanced approachable but structured and with personality.

Quinta do Noval Douro DOC 2008
More intense purple, more extraction and depth. Smoky toasty notes of dark berries, more intense and extractive on the nose. Very intense and dark on the palate, but surprisingly fresh and lifted on the palate. Crunchy toast oak adding to texture but not adding any sweetness. Intense but complex elegant and structured. Still a bit tight.

Noval Black Reserve
Soft jubey plummy cassis and blackcurrant. Intense full and spicy warm, fresh finish and balanced alcohol and sweetness, velvety and dense but clean and juicy, well structured and worth ageing a little bit.

Quinta do Noval LBV 2005
Rounder and fuller, sitting more in the mid-palate. Better balance throughout and extension on the back of the palate, slightly more savoury maturity, serious considered port wine, powerful yet haunting.

Noval ten-year old
nice sweet nutty and toasty dry red fruits and carob spice. Bold yet smooth, very casky and nutty in youth, bright and fresh, clean yet complex, balanced and pure. Excellent clarity of purpose.

Noval twenty year old
Denser fuller and more viscous, more subtle nut characters, almost an almond Magnum flavour to it, nice texture. Opulent rich and yet focused and toasty. Not quite enough difference between 10 and 20 in my opinion.

Quinta do Noval 2008 VP
Spicy mulberry clove green pepper notes. Really intense and not sweet, dry full and powerful, broad yet focused and structured, balanced and long on the palate, but obviously far too young and in need of a lot of time in bottle. A wine too early to see much expression.

Noval Ten Year Old Tawny Port

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July 19, 2012 · 9:26 pm

Quinta do Vale Meao – 16/07/2012

Meandro 2010
Wonderfully intense purple colour, very deep. Very aromatic spicy black fruit, concentrated and intense on the nose, complex and somewhat closed at the moment. Very soft supple very focused and nice firm tannins, subtle fruit slightly disagreeing with the nose, balanced and well integrated, supporting oak not influencing at all.

Vale Meao 2009
More rustic earthy stalky and brown on the nose, slightly dusty dark red fruits. More intense and fruit sweet, dark and certainly a big influence of new French oak, persistent and concentrated but elegant and full without weight or heat. Will benefit with some time in bottle.

Vintage Port 2002
Less obviously porty on the nose, nice bright dark red fruit aromas with some very subtle toasty smoky notes. Beautifully tight and concentrated, elegant and balanced with finesse and structure, focus and drive. Not heavy or alcoholic until the very back of the palate, well integrated tannins.

Oak fermentation vats at Quinta do Vale Meao

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July 14, 2012 · 6:39 pm

Warre’s – 14/07/2012

Warrior Ruby Reserve
Nice spicy black fruits, Christmas style wine, very slight floral elements. Soft sweet brightness, smooth and long, nice and velvety and rich, nicely balanced sweetness. Brightness, sweetness and really approachable, exactly what you want from a ruby port.

LBV 2001 Unfiltered
Nice ruby creamy bright nose, showing some nutty characters, quite concentrated. Rolling flavours, quite complex, sweetness of ripe red fruits with a very creamy nutty texture, showing some nice characters of maturity, robust and full on the palate, good acids tying things together.

Otima 10 year old
Very subtle and smoky caramel. Crisp fresh and bright amazingly, tight and oxidative almost like an amontillado. Very intense and note really that sweet until very late on the palate. A very unique port wine.

Quinta da Cavadinha VP 1989|
Colour already starting to tawny up in colour. Almost like an old wine rather than an old port, fresh soft focused not sweet vey much, smooth yet brisk, showing its age.

Warre’s Otima 10 year old Tawny

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July 14, 2012 · 6:37 pm

Graham’s – 14/07/2012

Six Grapes Reserve Port
Much more oxidative barrel elements, slight smoky characters, mature and more still wine notes on the nose. You can see the VP character in this wine. Soft bright but complex on the palate with some interesting sea influence, perhaps from the ageing? Velvety again, but more complex and savoury.

20 year old Tawny
Lovely intense golden caramel colour. Subtle smoky whiskey like nose, very casky and complex. Nutty texture and complexity, a little fiery and creamy, very long and opulent, good concentration, balance and still retaining freshness after all these years.

VP 2003
Deep intense dark but not expressive, very closed and young. Bold intense sweet, quite broad and simple, I’m not convinced this should have been a vintage year. There is absolutely no structure.

Graham’s 20 year old Tawny

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July 14, 2012 · 12:11 am

Ramos Pinto – 13/07/2012

Duas Quintas Vinho Tinto 2010
Very balsamic on the nose, savoury dark fruits, very slight herbal toast elements. Fresh focused dark red fruits, balanced and approachable, clean and pure, oak not having a huge influence in weight and texture, just a very slight honey character late on the palate.

Duas Quintas Reserva 2008
Sweeter oak and fruit notes, coconut caramel, black olives, blackcurrant, slightly new-world/international wine. Round robust tannins, sweet oak profile, deceptively hot on the palate. Aggressive, over-macerated, over oaked, fruit totally overwhelmed, maybe due to concentration from the vintage but I struggle to see this wine improving.

LBV 2007 (kept in ‘large’ barrels and bottled unfiltered in 2011)
Ruby black fruits, violets, camomile, smoky chocolate and cumin, slightly spicy. Soft mellow bold, very warm on the front of the palate, rich broad and creamy on the mid-palate, wonderfully smoky and spicy, sweet but quite nutty towards the back with some dark chocolate notes. Cassis and blackcurrant, showing a little bit of freshness very late on the palate.

VP 2003 (two years in large old barrels, released after another two years in bottle)
More subtle on the nose, quiet fruit and floral elements, very closed but obviously like a coiled spring waiting to open up. Very intense and full, sweetness well restrained and good depth. Broad and mouth-filling but very focused with a core of acidity. I think I’m missing something with this one, not really seeing it…

VP 1983
Starting to thin out and get more of a tawny colour. Picking up much more complex oxidative notes, very nutty and spicy, very dry raisins, smoky chocolate and carob elements. Exquisitely smooth ad mellow, quite heady as the alcohol has integrated very well. Unbelievably complex and long, layers upon layers of flavours hard to pinpoint. Smoky herbal sweet thyme and a creaminess as well.

Porto White (medium dry white, fermented on skins but not able to age in the cask as long as a red port, 3 years ageing)
Nutty vanilla caramel honey. Fresh vibrant yet subtly sweet, showing the warmth a bit, but nice nutty and oxidative flavours and textures. We should be importing this if we aren’t already, a really delicious wine that can be chilled. Summer port! Complexity in youth!

Lagrima Branco (three years ageing, more sweetness)
Quieter on the nose, subtle salted caramel. A lot less subtle on the palate, quite simple and sweet, very creamy and too viscous. Opening up a bit more with some warmth, served a bit too cold.

Adriano White Reserva (7 years average age)
More oxidative elements, lees and caramel elements. Supple mellow, rich and textured, bold warm, layered complex and delicious.

Adriano Tawny 6 years old
Interesting nutty meaty complexity. Wonderfully subtle, but still fresh, mellow soft and silky, lovely approachable yet complex texture, nutty coffee.

RP10 Quinta de Ervamoira
Quite rummy in character, but also very nutty and creamy. Quite subtle savoury elements, Sitting in the middle too much, not enough complexity.

RP20 Quinta do Bom Retiro
Nice smoky warm spice and dried fruit notes. Exceptionally well balanced, oxidative, textural, mouth-filling, focused, long and haunting. Perfect balance between sweetness and mature savoury notes of walnuts and toffee.

RP30
Complex closed tar and molasses notes, smoky toasty, pretty intense and warm, showing some complex nuttiness but I think it could do with more age to set it apart.

Some of the new labels from Ramos Pinto

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July 14, 2012 · 12:07 am

Fonseca – 13/07/2012

Bin 27 (Reserve Ruby)
Slightly oxidative toasty notes, slightly smoky dark currants. Lovely and viscous, warm and slightly spicy, fresh vibrant fruits, smooth and straight but mellow and slightly woody. Youthful and fresh.

Terra Prima (organic viticulture)
Very slightly earthier and spicier, certainly more ‘porty’, a little smokier. Softer and more red wine-like on the palate, ripe and intense, showing less of the sweetness, more integrated spice elements, softer and more a cuisine wine.

LBV 2007
Brighter on the nose, much more aromatic, earthier and less dark fruits, more in a dried raspberry and cranberry realm. Fuller and richer in it’s fruit and sweetness, although showing more of the alcohol in a rum kind of way. Much punchier and hotter in it’s texture and structure. Finishes a little short, undercooked somehow, not balanced.

10 year old Tawny
Wonderfully caramelised and toasty, burnt orange and cinnamon. Wonderfully soft and light, still quite fresh, persistent concentrated, not too sweet, nice balance and great acidity. A little savoury celery on the back.

20 year old Tawny
Much lighter in colour. Sweeter and smoother like whiskey. Bright intense but much more refined and considerd. Showing the wood in a very confident way. Powerful and explosive almost, yet subtle and complex. Still with a nice slightly savoury fresh finish.

40 year old Tawny
Insanely subtle and complex but much smokier and caskier. Nutmeg, cinnamon, warm spice and cherry stalks. Voluptous opulent silky and long, integrated wood and sweetness, almost like crème brulee. Exquisitely balanced and pure, yet with layers of complexity.

Quinta do Panascal VP 2008
More grapey and young, mostly fruit on the nose but you see the potential for ageing. Fuller and more robust, very sweet profile, intense and ripe fruits. Very hot and young, mostly seeing the fruit which will age gracefully.

VP 2009
Much toastier and smokier on the nose, fruit is more subdued and yet to open. Big on the front, and on the middle, but clean on the back. Much more oak influence, will take a while to lose this and soften out. Much more structure, fruit subdued for now. Needs time.

Some of the Fonseca wines from the tasting

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July 14, 2012 · 12:04 am

Quinta da Pellada – 12/07/2012

Alvaro Castro Branco Reserva 2010 Dao D.O.P.
Nice and clean, mineralic citrus green fruit notes, hints of tropical spice. Light clean and pure, some very slight richness of viscosity. Full broad but quite short on the palate, initially warm but finishing cleanly. Balanced crisp and fresh, nice easy drinking.

Quinta de Saes Encruzado Reserva 2010
More delicate subtle aromas, not obvious at first, opening up with some melon and green apple fruit, some very subtle honey notes as well. A little richer and rounder, less flinty in it’s minerality, softer sweeter fruit profile, riper and more subdued, warmer. A little bit more character.

Quinta da Pellada Primus 2009 (encruzado, malvasia, cercial, bical, torrontes, etc.)
Quite a serious bold nose, somewhat mellow and rich, more robust yet more complex, slightly salty seashell notes. Compact, complex, tight and needing quite a while in bottle to open up. Rich and ripe, toasty and crunchy texture, more tropical profile but very dry and slightly herbaceous. Serious wine.

Alvaro Castro Tinto 2009 (tinta roriz, alfrocheiro, touriga nacional)
Slightly candied spice, black fruits, liquorice, raspberries. Very light and fresh, vibrant fruit and clean tannins, pleasant balanced and approachable, less concentration more freshness and acids. Lot’s of flavour in a tight package.

Alvaro Castro Tinto Reserva 2008
Deeper darker fruit on the nose, riper and more intense, showing some dark chocolate notes. Mellow full flavours, generous soft and broad tannins, tight acidity through the palate, quite intense at the moment. A little young and too exuberant at the moment.

Quinta da Pellada 2007
Juicier fruit-sweet nose, nice and creamy, mellow dark fruits, plum blackcurrant, serious and brooding yet inviting and approachable. Very intense and warm on the front, bold tannins that fade nicely on the back, fruit slightly overwhelmed at the moment, could do with some more age in the bottle. Very subtle herbal element.

Pape 2008 (blend of two vineyards, baga and touriga nacional)
Robust and powerful on the nose, concentrated seriousness, intensity of ripe dark fruit, some toasty sweet components. Much finer and more elegant, excellent purity and balance, nice combination of fruit and savoury elements. Powerful yet silky expression, very long and complex on the palate, will age beautifully. Stunning wine.

White wines at Quinta de Pellada

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July 14, 2012 · 12:01 am

Quinta de Lemos – 12/07/2012

Encruzado 2011 (tank sample)
Quite tropical leesy citrus nose. Good texture and freshness, focus and drive but very young. Fruit needs to open up a bit more.

Dona Santana 2009 (tank sample)
peppery spicy dark fruit, very clean, nice toasty and foresty. Focus drive and consistency of fruit, slightly maderised fruit sweetness, powerful but fresh and light, dense but drinkable.

Alfrocheiro 2009 (tank sample)
Denser and earthier, more in the red fruit spectrum. Looking a little bit hot for now, brisk but fresh tannins and acid, will look good after a year in the bottle.

Touriga Nacional 2009 (tank sample)
Darker fruit and toast elements on the nose. Feeling hot, hot, hot. Slightly out of balance, tannins and fruit aren’t supporting the structure and heat.

Alfrocheiro 2008
Nice juicy dark red fruit nose, very berry and red apple characters. Very expressive, warm at first but softens very quickly and nicely. Showing nice purity and harmony, good fruit sweetness and roundness, intense tannins and with a few more years should look great.

Jaen 2007
Slightly hot nose, looking slightly porty, quite toasty and earthy, really ripe dark fruits. Very focused and quite tight, fairly gentle tannins and supple fruit, good freshness too. Nose note consistent with palate.

Tinta-Roriz 2008
Floral fruit sweet nose of black cherries, plums and chocolate. Full-flavoured, plenty of fruit and generosity of tannin. Not really jumping out at me though, pretty much a solid wine that would never disappoint.

Touriga-Nacional 2007
Robust full fruit and floral nose, powerful yet subtle. Wonderfully soft and silky texture on the palate, not at all heavy. Warming, full flavoured but not overly fruit-sweet, in fact showing some nice savoury characters. Excellent focus and precision through the palate, exceptional ageing potential. Wonderful stuff.

Dona Santana 2006
Slightly talky tight and toasty red fruits, hints of floral notes. Light and fresh, very vibrant fruit and minimal oak. Ageing well, although quite hot on the back. The breadth and softness of tannins has gone, and it is looking quite linear on the palate. Better with food (although aren’t they all?)

Dona Georgina 2005
Bold and expressive, a lot going on in this one; ripe fruits, toasty new oak, some caramel elements, some earth as well. Wonderfully intense, still showing very young and brisk, but opening up beautifully on the back of the palate. Has the potential to stay for a long time in the bottle. Classic wine.

The Quinta de Lemos range

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July 13, 2012 · 11:58 pm

Casa Aranda – 11/07/2012

Branco 2010 (encruzado blend)
Rich fruit driven texture, full body and fruit-sweet, quite ripe and full of vibrant flavour. Straight-forward no-nonsense.

Encruzado 2010
Tighter more mineralic and flinty, more pure fruit characters. Warm finish, but good integrity and concentration, bold but focused.

Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon Vinho Regional Beiras 2009
Pretty uninspiring typical shiraz cabernet blend. Purely varietal, not hot or heavy, but without character.

Tinto 2008
Bright ripe dark fruits, some minerality, purity and freshness. Nice concentration and spicy peppery notes, light dark fruits, a little creamy toastiness right on the back of the palate.Full-flavoured approachable wine. Good with food, better with friends.

Reserva 2007
Modern dark fruit driven nose, ripsl/hne extractive. Heavy ripe extraction, quite jammy and lacking in focus. Nice intensity but can’t really see the subtlety of fruit.

Touriga Nacional Tinto Roriz 2007
Earthy tarry dark fruits, toasty from oak. Deep dark intense bold jammy fruit, extractive and broad. Fruit sweet and generally uninteresting. But I’m sure many people would love it.

Casa Aranda

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