Yesterday we had a big walkabout tasting arranged by The Portuguese Trade and Tourism Office.
Adriano Ramos Pinto
Duas Quintas 2004 (Douro) was oaky and boringly modern.
Duas Quintas Reserva 2003 oddly enough was much nicer for me though I haven't been too fond of 2003s. The heat of the vintage was not evident, rather it just seemed fully ripe. It tasted like a Douro red should, without the modernity and oak of the previous. It seemed that this is a stylistic issue between the wine rather than just differences in level and vintage. Am I on the right tracks? Did they really make the DQ as an international style wine and the DQ res as "traditional"?
Quinta do Bom Retiro 20YO Tawny is lovely like always. Sweet, yet elegant and with nice acidity. Very complex.
Casa Cadaval (Ribatejo)
Padre Pedro Branco 2006 is from Fernão Pires and Arinto. It is salty and nutty and delightfully acidic though weighty and fruity. Nice minerals also - nice.
Padre Pedro 2004 is from Aragonês, Trincadeira and Cab S. Juicy and jammy, red toned and sweet. Decent glugger but doesn't have the personality of the white.
Padre Pedro Reserva 2003 is the same red blend as the previous. If one tries hard, some violet/floral character can be found under the lashings of oak. Well made wine in the modern mold, but I actively disliked it.
Pinot Noir 2005 was a strange wine. It is 14,7%abv yet tastes much lower. It is a muscular wine, sweet in fruit, tannic, earthy and dark toned - I liked it quite a bit, but it didn't taste at all like Pinot; it tasted of Portugal.
Herdade de Muge 2004 was jammy and curiously a bit light on the palate.
Trincadeira 2005 was very nice. It was light and herbal and earthy and red toned - apparently it sees 100% new oak, yet I had to ask did he mean 0%!
Since the person from the winery seemed like a jolly nice bloke, I asked why they wanted to use French varieties. I was told that the family is of partly French origin and that they've been growing the varieties for decades, long before they became popular in Portugal. I do wonder if they really bring anything to the blends, however. I would have liked to see only Portuguese varieties, but I tend to get a bit anal about such things.
Quinta do Crasto (Douro)
Crasto Douro 2005 was a nice, personal, earthy, youthfully vibrant red. Nice.
Q do Crasto Douro Reserva 2004 still tastes international to me and I'm still not convinced by it.
Q. do Crasto LBV 2000 is nice for an LBV (usually a style I don't appreciate much): chocolate, some true complexity and full of the dark toned fruit I find in their VP. Unfiltered.
Q. do Crasto VP 2003 is deep and savoury yet sweet and dark. Nice!
Q. Vale D. Maria, etc. with Sandra Tavares
Q. de Chocapalha Reserva 2006 (Regional Estremadura) is a blend of Chardonnay, Arinto and Vital. It is fresh and mineral with sweet fruit, nice acidity and though it apparently sees new oak, it is very well integrated. Nice.
Guru 2005 is IIRC a blend of the same varieties but was an oak mess.
Chocopalha Reserva 2005 is from Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz. It’s in a modern style. Well made but lacks personality and could be – and indeed is – made everywhere.
Pintas Character 2005 (Douro) is a nice, modern styled wine, not too oaky, berried and tannic. Nice enough though not really my style.
Q. do Vale D. Maria 2004 is meaty, earthy, personal with vibrant fruit but savoury in character. Lovely.
CV 2004 was like the above except more tannic, deeper – but stylistically the two are very similar. I think I slightly prefer the Vale D Maria for its extra bit of elegance, but I’d like to taste these two in a less hurried environment again. Lovely.
Q. do Passadouro 2005 was nicely vegetal, fresh yet fruity. Very Portuguese tasting. Nice.
Q. do Passadouro Reserva 2001 was inky and modern and international, a bit soupy, but it did have a nice vegetal note to it and some nice tannins. Not to my taste.
Cortes de Cima (Alentejo)
Chaminé 2005 from Aragonês and Syrah is primary and sweet and rather too soft. I’d prefer a few more edges to my wine. Gluggable.
Cortes de Cima 2004 is from the same blend as above. A bit oaky, nice structure, but doesn’t have a surplus of personality. Frankly, though well made, I thought it a bit boring.
Syrah 2003 was jammy with some interesting darker tones underneath. Interesting but not my style.
Trincadeira 2004 was also jammy but did have more freshness than the Syrah.
Aragonês 2003 was so like the Trincadeira in style that in such a hurried setting I couldn’t find any differenced in them.
Incógnito 2004 is their “better” Syrah. Here we start to get some personality into the wine: it is earthy yet sweet, more a Shiraz than a Syrah but a very good one. It’s not my style, but I’m happy to drink a glass (probably will turn down a second though). I’m sure many will enjoy this wine very much.
Touriga Nacional 2003 is savoury and has a nice floral Touriga character, but still manages to be a bit international in style.
Reserva 2003 was just jam. I’ll pass.
Caves Velhas Bucellas 2005 was nice and grassy, very fresh and acidic yet with plentiful fruit. In fact is was absolutely lovely until the aftertaste which dropped off a cliff.
Poças
Tawny 10YO is pretty nice. It isn’t overly complex, but it does have a nice and lovable personality and seems older than 10YO – which is always nice.
Colheita 1991 was pretty damn nice! It has all the orange notes I hope to smell and taste and has nice acidity and a general savoury character. Very nice and complex.
VP 1996 was correct but unexciting. The finish was a bit short also. I’m happy to drink it though – correct port is correct!
Q. do Portal
Colheita 2003 is dark toned, savoury and earthy yet vibrantly fruity. It doesn’t suffer from the hot year – it is fresh.
Reserva 2003 was jammier than the Colheita ’03 and IIRC sees more oak. Or at least the oak is more evident. I preferred the arguably simpler Colheita since the aromatics were more personal than international.
Grande Reserva 2003 was dark toned and sweet yet savoury, a bit vegetal (always nice!). Tannic and juicy, it is again a nice 2003 which doesn’t show the excessive heat of the summer.
Touriga Nacional 2003 is floral and earthy, very much like the all too few varietal Tourigas I’ve had, but with Portal’s (or the years?) darker tones. It is stylistically like the previous, but has a touch more complexity and personality. Nice.
Moscatel do Douro Reserva 1996 is nice and savoury with true Moscatel character. It is sweet, but not as sweet as port, it is alcoholic but a couple degrees lower than Port. It is very moreish. I love it.
VP 2003 is quite a monster, full of dark toned fruit yet it is also a savoury style – it isn’t all about the fruit and sugar. Vibrant and tannic with fair acidity makes this a Port I would love to get my hands on.
Muros Antigos Alvarinho 2005 was all about sea-breeze and minerals. Lovely acidity and length. Lovely. Apparently sold to Sweden – I’m not sure if I understood that it is all sold to Sweden, or is that the place nearest to me that sells it. I’d like to find out. This is the sort of cheapish wine I could and would drink several cases of in a year.
Symingtonian Stuff
Quinta da Eira Velha VP 1995 was orange flavoured, reminding me more of a Colheita than a VP! It was still enjoyable, though uncomplex.
Warre’s Q. do Cavadinha VP 1995 is on the other hand a very nice Port, sweet yet gentlemanly, very proper but very lovable. Before, I wasn’t too enamoured with Warre’s, but I’ve begun to find that it really does suit my taste very much.
There were a few other producers I tried, but as they tasted more like homemade wines, I thought I won’t bother writing up any TNs. They were bad. If there is true interest, I’ll try to find out the names – as a warning on what to avoid.
Cheers,
-O-
