Tag Archives: Portugal

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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July 13, 2012 · 11:53 pm

Quinta Mendes Pereira – 11/07/2012

Branco Encruzado 2010
Bolder and more expressive nose not of fruit but lees contact and malolactic, slightly tropical creamy fruit. Bolder fuller heavier fruit, quite viscous and rich. More powerful broader riper profile, more in the pineapple region, certainly full but balanced with the alcohol.

Rose 2010 (touriga nacional)
Too bright and very fruity sweet, almost candied. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Volatile and looks cheap, hot, really bad. Not sure what happened with this one.

Tinto 2006
Nice bottle aged notes, some granitic volcanic notes. Slightly wild, but old-world interest, settled down in bottle, showing some savoury notes, really good drinking, particularly with food, unique and impossible to copy. Fantastic old-vine terroir wine.

Touriga Nacional Reserva 2005
Some interesting liquorice red and black fruit aromas, some earthiness and jubey notes. Nice bold full fruit, a bit of tang which adds to the interest. Good acidity, still looking very fresh. A more interesting expression of touriga nacional.

Reserva 2007 (touriga nacional tinta roriz)
Intense focused full yet tight and good grip. A much better treated wine, more gentle and less ripe, better balance and less influence of winery. Pure terroir wine, but perhaps just slightly lacking in fruit.

A Celtic tomb at Quinta Mendes Pereira

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July 13, 2012 · 11:49 pm

Quinta das Marias – 11/07/2012

Encruzado 2010 (tank fermented)
Nice crisp slightly herbaceous nose with some interesting grass elements and some flint. Quite textural and warm, full but focused and long. Fresh vibrant and more in the mouthfeel than the flavours. Sense of place, just a little forward at the moment, will develop nicely.

Encruzado Barrica 2010 (barrel fermented)
Leesy cheesy fruit nose, lime rind and some yellow apple. Warmer broader fuller and rich textural note. Good balance, some nice texture and ripeness, a little creamy sweet element. Oak well integrated but sense it is dulling the fruit somewhat.

Alfrocheiro 2010 (tank ferment, 11 months 3-year old barriques)
Ruby red fruits, cherries pomegranates plums. Fresh light soft mellow, quite crisp and showing the warmth at the moment, nice clean finish, a little sweetness from the fruit and old oak oxidation. Very good wine, good drinking with some nice character, a little young for the time being.

Lote 2010 (blended red wine)
A little darker but still good clarity. Denser fuller bolder fruit and tannins, more bang for buck, won’t last long in the bottle. Good acids, oak barely playing a part. Dark fruits doing a good job, nice concentration.

Cuvee TT Reserva 2010 (touriga nacional, tinta roriz)
Soft mellow subtle dark fruit nose, some earthy minerality. Wonderfully complex, but also very full and bold in fruit. Smooth and opulent but also showing some sweet spices and earthy texture. Showing more of the terroir in this wine. Exuberant and showing some oak sweetness, needs more time in bottle.

Touriga Nacional Reserva 2010
Quite dark and purple in colour. Intense rose and violet dark fruits, dark deep earth, a little funk going on. Full powerful hot and fruit intense, oak-strong and tannin exuberant. A little smashed, too extractive. Not hot or heavy, but a little aggressive in the tannins.

Touriga Nacional 2007
More mature subtle mushroom balsamic notes. Softer cleaner lifted fruit, brighter and fresher, certainly more mellow, frankly an older version of the 2010. Still hot and over-macerated, not going to improve on unbalanced wine. Opening up though, getting better.

Highlight of the tasting at Quinta das Marias

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July 13, 2012 · 11:47 pm

Fonte de Goncalvinho – 11/07/2012

Rose 2010 (touriga nacional, tinta roriz)
Nice rosey red fruit nose, kind of plummy and strawberry. Light clean fresh very dry, fairly simple fruit, easy drinking but lacking in character. Some nice tannins, but not really offering much more than that.

Colheita 2009
Nice dark fruits with some subtle spice elements, a little bit of meaty earthy old world, but generally all about the dark fruits. Juicy soft broad fruit sweet, generous approachable. Good quality, very delicate hints of menthol on the back, easy drinking with character. Not sure if I’m seeing the terroir yet.

Tinta Roriz 2010
Quite subtle earthy red fruits, some fungal herbal elements, fairly bright with very dry spice notes. Nice balance and depth, quite complex, some late juicy sweetness, nice savoury on the front with great acidity and persistent tannins throughout.

Inconnu (incognito) 2010 (blend of varieties)
Bolder denser dark fruits, fuller savoury brambly Christmas pudding notes. Full fruit, much darker and sweeter in character, you don’t need to know what it is to know it is good full flavoured, medium-bodied red wine. Wonderful concentration and expression, looking quite young but I can see it being very popular with a wide range of consumers.

Touriga Nacional 2010 (tank sample)
Much darker purple colour. Bright purple fruit nose, plummy cassis blackcurrant, very intense. Soft mellow and full, not heavy but fairly warm. Looking a little astringent at the moment and perhaps a little acidic as it hasn’t completed MLF. Certainly has density and concentration, but somehow missing the fruit. Needs some time after bottling.

The best wine of the tasting from Foncalvinho

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July 13, 2012 · 11:44 pm

Barao de Nelas – 11/07/2012

Alfrocheira 2007
Noticeable oak influence, warm vintage reaction showing sweet ripe banana skin, jammy fruits on the nose, dark cherries and plums. Juicy full warm fruits, softens on the back nicely, ripe and somewhat extractive. Full flavour, classic Portuguese red(?)

Reserva Touriga Nacional/Tinta Roriz 2007
More meaty and stalky on the nose, closed fruit. Wonderful palate, excellent focus and drive, exquisite balance, great character and a sense of terroir. Complex and long, drinkable yet contemplative.

Touriga Nacional 2007
Most certainly dark brooding and masculine, very earthy and flinty, showing some granitic and gunpowder notes. Gentle generous fruity full rich. Denser tannins but lighter profile, focus and drive and integration of oak. Serious wine, bold yet subtle.

Reserva 2008
Brighter ruby colour. Rosey floral notes, a little flat on the palate, needs some more time to open up in the bottle. Nice concentration, wonderful acids, purity focus and longevity.

The best wine of the tasting from Barao de Nelas

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July 13, 2012 · 11:34 pm

Quinta da Fata – 11/07/2012

Encruzado 2010
Clean mineralic salty citric acid nose. Nice texture and balance, oxidised. Looking very flat on the back of the palate, not sure what is happening. Crisp fresh but somehow out of balance considering alcohol of 13.5%.

Classico 2008 (classic four varieties)
Really vibrant forest spice, clovey herby, dark berries. Excellent concentration and balanced fruit, good depth of tannins and nice structure. Strong expression without being heavy, but not mellow, robust. Red wine of the day.

Reserva 2009 (mainly touriga nacional)
Wild flower, clove, forest fruits, slightly menthol. Pure dense softer and more fruit sweet, certainly seeing the difference between vintage. Ripe but focused and not heavy, hot or too fruit-sweet. Elegance and respect in a robust vintage.

Touriga Nacional Reserva 2009
Something quite extraordinary, and I finally see the potential for mono-varietal touriga nacional. Perfect balance again, totally unique terroir character, showing the forest and wild pine, Christmas. Very special wine, would like to see more vintages and more age.

The guesthouse of Quinta da Fata

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