Open Mike: Douro table wines.

Jan 18.

Tonight is the night I get the chance finally to taste a Churchills Estates Douro table wine!! Kept under the counter at DeVines the past 3/4 months, it is being tasted tonite at the stores staff party!!! Yum, stay tuned folks!

http://www.churchills-port.com/Estates2003HQ.htm

And tonight is the night when I have my third and last (no bottles left) attempt to open a GOOD mature bottle of Douro from the mid-90s. This time Redoma 1994. Keeping my fingers crossed with a bottle of something else, perhaps Bandol, in reserve.

Well, my idea of tasting that Churchills was scuppered cos there was only one bottle and 22 showed up for the party!!!!The owner wanted 2 bottles of each wine offered which is fair. But `ye all wait till I tell you what we did drink!!

Douro DOC V.Q.P.R.D. “ Redoma” 1994 – Niepoort Vinhos S.A. Porto – Alc. 13.5%.

At last we have it. I gave the bottle the treatment recommended by Dirk Niepoort and decanted two hours before serving through a copper coin. (Finding a copper coin is not now so easy; the Euro cent and recent UK pence pieces contain little copper because of its escalating value. I used an old Belgian 50 centime piece. Pre-1992 UK pence pieces would also fit the bill.) I don’t know how far this treatment helped but the wine was good.

C: Still dense with little bricking.
N: Fruity with an attractive sour note.
P: Quite full, harmonious, elegant and long yet with a hint of attractive wildness. The profile is still quite acidic but it is well balanced here by roundness, depth and “gras” and I could not detect any tell-tale varnish, unlike on the Redoma 95 and Côtto 94. A fine bottle, if not on the same level as a majestic vintage port; 16/20.

I think that Otto is very perceptive in comparing his bottle of Redoma to Nebbiolo. I think that the vocation of the Douro may be to produce wines which mature in a dignified and classy but quite austere and acidic way in sharp contrast to the ingratiating “sweetness” of a lot of upstream Duero and Rioja. (BTW I have had bad VA in a bottle of Condado de Haza.)

Of course, I guess that this style increases the risk of VA accidents, particularly when the wine is bottled unfiltered like this Redoma.

Jancis looks at the Douro.............................http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/winenews050205

Douro DOC (?) – Branco da Gaivosa – 2006(?) – Alves de Sousa

Apologies for the lack of precision. This wine was tasted at the weekly Saturday wine presentation at Rob, the Brussels temple of gastronomy. The presenter was José Carujo, an importer of niche Portuguese wines; I did not examine the label and took no notes.

C: Deepish amber.
N: Exotic white fruit with a touch of grapefruit.
P: Quite rich with a lot of “gras” combined with similar exotic white fruit as on the nose with this time, pineapple coming forward. Good finish with coconut notes emerging (no doubt the product of one-third barrique ageing). I guess that this may acquire interesting complexity with more age like some white Rioja; 15/20 at present.

Here is some information about the wine - http://www.alvesdesousa.com/ . If I seem a little unenthusiastic about it, it is probably due to the fact that it followed and was, IMHO, overshadowed by a deliciously crisp yet full Alvarinho (= Albariño), of which I bought several bottles.

I took the opportunity to quiz Carujo about my small sample of VA experiences with mid-90s red Douro. He seemed genuinely surprised. He recalled a superb Quinta do Côtto 1982, only their second vintage, and has great respect for Niepoort’s Redoma. He agrees that absence of fining and filtering makes bottles more vulnerable to accidents.

WTN: `01 Domini Plus, Fonseca and Van Zeller, Douro.

Only 200x6 bottle cases produced, a blend of usual suspects! Good cork, 14.5% alc, $20 Cdn, opened and decanted for 2 hours.

C. Medium ruby w. some thin bricking on the rim.

N. Restrained aromatics at first, then sweet ripe blackberry, plum and licorice. Later on, violets,mocha, spice.

P. Initial entry is ripe tannins, chocolate, plum, blackberry. Very nice juicy acidity, no sign of decline in the taste here. After 24 hrs, find some tobacco hints and more chocolate. I like the savoury character here too, very nice wine forumites and good price eh.

That sounds a nice one, Bob. Douro seems to perform very well into the middle price range but I have been underwhelmed by the up-market offerings even forgetting the VA accidents. Maybe I should have one more try. There is a Duas Quintas Reserva in the € 40 bracket which should be good, if a bit young. Perhaps I should bite the bullet.

Oh yeah, never seen the Reserva!

Oh yeah, never seen the Reserva!

Duas Quintas portfolio at Belgian agent.

Duas Quintas 05 € 8,40
Duas Quintas white 06 € 9,40
DQ Reserva 03 € 24,95
DQ Reserva Especial 03 € 46,00

The 2003s are still probably a bit young and of course a torrid vinatge.

Had a half bottle of 2005 Quinta do Crasto (regular bottling) yesterday at lunch and it was drinking beautifully. A bit on the sweet side, requiring perhaps a touch more acidity, but good value, and just right for a steak.

Oswaldo, still some `05 on the shelf here. Thanks for update.

Mike asked today about Portugal. Hope this will be of interest?

Marcia and I shared another 375ml of the regular Crasto today at the same restaurant where we had a half bottle of the 2005 in April. This was even better, simple but satisfying cherry, plum and spice with just the right amount of tannins and excellent acid/fruit balance. Good food wine and excellent QPR.

Oswaldo, thanks for the update. I have to post a question on some new wines I have seen from Arg...stay tuned!!

WTN: `06 Castello d`Alba Reserva Branco.

What a terrific white for around $17 Cdn. My third bottle and going back for more.
Blend of Codega do Larinho, Robigato and Viosinho. Has seen some oak so has some creamy tones. The nose reminded me of a sauv blanc, pungent grassyness. Great acidity, off-dry with some tropical fruit flavor, flowery aroma after an hour. Very good with some smoked duck breast, yeah hard to believe eh.
Look out for this one, the unoaked red is handy too I seem to remember.

There have been some excellent new Douro wines showing up in my area, including a great entry level red from Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo.
Just opened another bottle of the Pomares, blend of T Nacional, T France and Tinta Roriz. My earlier note was very enthusiastic....>

WTN: `08 Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo Douro Pomares Vinho Tinto.

Blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz. 13.5% alc, close to $20 Cdn. Opened one hour and decanted to give it some air as I suspect quite a big wine.

Purple black color, big intense centre. Plum and cherry on the nose plus blueberry. Big aromatics here, probably helped along by the T Franca.
Has firm grip, needs one more year I`d say. Excellent structure, chewy tannins, good acidity, fairly dry but ripe fruits. "Hint of chocolate and spice with tobacco" from across the table. Fine points indeed.I like the complexity here and the winemaking, need to buy more and see what developes. Just look at the price eh.

This time not so sure about the chocolate (thank goodness!). Still showing a nice berryish nose but tad more spice. Really well structured on the palate, tannins good, berry fruits, does need some food. Interesting wine, on reflection no real need to decant.