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Wine Focus for January: Portugal

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Bob Parsons Alberta

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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Jan 27, 2011 10:48 am

Latest thought on the Douro from Sarah Ahmed...>

http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/blog/ ... ge-review/
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Tim York » Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:03 pm

Bairrada Encontro Bical (white grape variety) 2009 - Quinta Do Encontro - Alc. 12.5% - (€7) was a wine with a lot of original personality unlike anything North of the Pyrenees or in NW Spain. Colour was pale. The nose was aromatic with a lot grape and oriental spice. The palate was light/medium bodied with strong aromatics, lively acidity, refreshing fruit (again a lot of grape), spice and good backbone; very nice 15.5/20++ and another Portuguese representing fine QPR.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Roy Hersh » Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:26 pm

Bob,

I have consumed over 30 bottles of the 2007 Quinta do Crasto Branco and it is really excellent. I think I like it more than the 2008 but just a smidge. As to your tasting of the 2005 Portal, glad you enjoyed that one. I had the 2006 a few weeks ago and although it is not nearly as good of a vintage overall, across the Douro at least ... the 2006 was good enough that I went back, grabbed two more cases and a six pack of magnums. I think I likee.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Roy Hersh » Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:29 pm

Over the past week, I enjoyed 1927 D'Oliveiras Bastardo, Vintage Madeira. Sadly, 1927 which was one of only a handful of vintages in which Bastardo was ever released ... '27 was the very last time before the grape went virtually extinct on the island. There's been a few vines planted in the past few years so someday there might be a resurgence, but I doubt I'll be around to see that reach fruition.

The wine itself was the best of four bottles I've opened. Sadly my last. 94 points
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Jan 27, 2011 9:26 pm

Roy Hersh wrote:Bob,

I have consumed over 30 bottles of the 2007 Quinta do Crasto Branco and it is really excellent. I think I like it more than the 2008 but just a smidge. As to your tasting of the 2005 Portal, glad you enjoyed that one. I had the 2006 a few weeks ago and although it is not nearly as good of a vintage overall, across the Douro at least ... the 2006 was good enough that I went back, grabbed two more cases and a six pack of magnums. I think I likee.


I think I have to agree about the `07 Crasto, Roy. Cannot find any TN in the joint here!
This `08 is rather austere, isn`t it?
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Tim York » Fri Jan 28, 2011 4:15 pm

Douro Conde de Sabugal 2006 – Encostas do Douro – Alc.13.5% - (€16), made from Touriga-Nacional, Tinta-Roriz and Touriga-Franca.
Up to now I was congratulating myself on the quality and QPR of the random purchases I had made of Portuguese wines this month. This one (the most expensive) broke the spell; rarely have I had such a disagreeable wine.

Aromas on the nose were a highly scented and synthetic seeming combination of sweet red fruit and musky odours of the sort used to mask something unpleasant; I have mentioned boiled sweet aromas on some of the previous Portuguese; well this one was a caricature of bad boiled sweets of the sort I vaguely remember from wartime rationing. The quite full bodied palate was spoiled by the same aromas, particularly the highly perfumed after-taste. We consumed only about a quarter of the bottle and the rest went down the sink as Germaine didn’t want to contaminate her cooking with it. This smacks of gross manipulation by the winemakers; I cannot believe that these noble grape varieties in Douro terroir would give this result without a lot of assistance; 9/20 :evil: .
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Robert Reynolds » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:52 pm

As luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago I stopped by a local store and bought a rose from Douro: Quinta Do Portal Rose 2007, 13.5% ABV, $13.99. Touriga Nacional 50%, Tinta Roriz 30%, Tinta Barroca 10%, and Touriga Franca 10%. Three nights ago it was quite tasty with steamed chicken breast and a brown/wild rice mixture. Dry, with the dominant taste being cherries. It was not quite tart, not quite astringent at opening, and an hour later mellowed and became more aromatic (I'm still not real good at tasting notes, sorry). Gail and I both liked it well enough that I went back earlier this evening and bought the last 6 bottles the store had. I've had 100% TN before, but not the other grapes.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:03 pm

You have a wine there from one of Portugals finest wineries! Congrats, wish I could find it here but otherwise the whole range is available.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Joe Moryl » Sat Jan 29, 2011 12:37 pm

Tim,
I'm glad you are finding some good QPR wines from Portugal - sorry to hear about the Sabugal. Perhaps we are lucky, but that is one we don't get. Did you know that is a product of Dao Sul, which also owns the Quinta do Encontro? Their low end wines are generally great QPR, speaking of the region from which they come and at least well made. I looked up the '06 Sabugal on Revista de Vinhos and they liked it a lot more than you did - 15.5/20. What surprised me is the price - it is apparently a 5 euro wine in Portugal, so I'm not sure what is going on in Belgium!

BTW, if you liked the Bical from Encontro, you might check out a couple other whites from Bairrada. The '07 Garrafeira from Quinta das Bageiras is a Bical and Maria Gomes blend aged in large neutral oak and is superb. IIRC, it ran about 12 euros in Portugal. The Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas Branco is worth checking out too; I think that one is actually a VR Beiras.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Tim York » Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:29 pm

Joe Moryl wrote:Tim,
I looked up the '06 Sabugal on Revista de Vinhos and they liked it a lot more than you did - 15.5/20. What surprised me is the price - it is apparently a 5 euro wine in Portugal, so I'm not sure what is going on in Belgium!



Hi Joe,

Tastes differ.... I'm sure that the winemakers would not have gone to the trouble of producing this confected effect if they didn't expect there to be a lot of admirers out there.

The other explanation is that the writer on Revista de Vinhos, which I visited when trying to find out more about this wine, belongs to the "objective" school of wine criticism of which Rogov is an advocate here. This means that scores are attributed, regardless of the reviewer's own taste, in relation to whether the wine is a well made example of a style which appeals to a segment of consumers. I think that this approach is only valid if the TN is sufficiently explicit to allow the reader to aim off to take account of his own tastes. My ability to decipher Portuguese is only approximate but the TN on the Revista site seems to be describing a different wine.

That may also account for the strange disparity between the Portuguese and Belgian prices. €7-8 would be normal here for a wine priced at €5 in Portugal, Italy or Spain ex cellar. The rest of this Brussels shop's range seemed to be very reasonably priced. I must say that this experience shakes my confidence in this wine merchant when I was hoping to have discovered a new source of Portuguese wine after the retirement of another importer, who used to show his range regularly at Rob, a Brussels gastronomic temple.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:41 pm

Joe, Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas Branco...now you are talking!!

I agree with you when you say Tim has found some nice wines in Brussels. I think he spent a lot of time researching this month.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:42 pm

I was rather hesitant in opening this wine but I have one more bottle so lets see how it is developing!

WTN: `05 Quinta do Infantado, Douro.

Good price around $24 Cdn. 13% alc, opened and decanted for 2 hrs. Well-established house (1815) and recognised for the port it produces. Blend of T Nacional, Franca and Roriz.
Foot-trodden lagars, the `01 vintage was the first table wine produced here. Close by Crasto, has a rather medieval look about the place!

Color. Huge, intense purple red, opaque in the center.

Nose. Cherry, plum, raisins, spice, oak, raspberry. Hint of chocolate, "closed up port-like tone to me" from across the table. Agree.

Palate. Initial thought is needs time, dry, tannic. Big dark fruits here, unyielding structure at this time, not a lot of ripeness at all. Not at all "international" as I commented a year ago. This has upscale potential for sure, will see how it all developes overnight. Did serve slightly chilled.


****** 24 hrs, finish has softened a little. More cherry, more at room temp this time around. Needs lotsa time though.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:24 am

Here is a round-up of Douro tasting notes from Sarah Ahmed.....>

http://www.thewinedetective.co.uk/blog/ ... ighlights/
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Joe Moryl » Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:11 pm

WTN: 2008 Veedha, Douro Tinto, Sogevinus Fine Wines:

Wanting to post a TN for a Douro wine before the January Wine Focus ran out, I scratched my head, pondering if I should open one of the Douro wines in my cabinet that isn't likely to be ready. Then I came across this cheapie and decided it probably wasn't made for the long haul, so let's give it a try. This is a Douro wine made from Tourigas Nacional and Franca plus Tinta Roriz by the Sogevinus Group. You may be familiar with them if you follow port, as they produce Barros, Calem, Burmester and Kopke brands (none big in the US) and have some nice quintas in the Douro. Oddly, while they produce table wines under these names in Portugal, this one might be an export-only bottling, since it doesn't appear on their website.

Darkly red with some magenta hints. Nose is reticent: berries, some light wood (supposedly made in 2nd and 3rd year French oak). Fairly polished on the palate, with raspberry and elderberry flavors, and hints of cocoa, smoked meat and coal stove. Tannins are there, but quite smooth and ripe - very drinkable for a young Douro with a bit of stuffing. Clearly Douro but just modern enough to make this something to drink while waiting for your harder wines to come around. Has enough structure to maybe keep for a few years too. A very nice wine for $10 - maybe not quite up to the 90 pts. awarded by Wine Spectator, but again, great QPR.

Thanks to everyone who bothered to seek out a Portuguese bottle or three for this month. And boo to those who didn't try!
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:54 am

Tim York wrote:Barraida Vinha do Putto Tinto 2008 - Manuel dos Santos Campolargo - Alc.14% - (€7), made from Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining. A valuable silver vase of ours was knocked off its pedestal by a friends' dog and the visit to a silver smith for a repair estimate took us close to a Portuguese specialist. This was one of my purchases.

Colour was deep with purple foam. The nose was well developed with notes of sweet raspberry, black currant and anise; there was a slightly boiled sweet effect but good sweets. The palate was sweetly fruity and vigorous with lively acidity and medium/full bodied with bitter liquorice notes of the finish. A slight honest rusticity did not spoil a thoroughly good quaff; 15.5/20 QPR.


Carlos Campolargo was in town last night Tim so I helped out at DeVines. A very nice portfolio of wines and your Putto was delicious. Carlos was a great host, says he enjoyed your neck of the woods. He is off to Montreal so told him to look out for some white Musar!!!

I enjoyed all the wines but these two stood out......>

`08 Campolargo Contra a Corrente Tinto, Bairrada.

Plum nose, cassis on palate, medium-bodied, some pepper. $22 Cdn.

`05 Rol de Coisas Antigas, Bairrada.

WOTN, $32. 7 Varieties, wild berry nose, quite harmonious, good tannins, drinks well with roasted pork loin. "`05 was a great vintage", Carlos.

Annabelle, co-owner, pulled out (from her cellar) an `05 Termeao Passaro Vermelho.
Thought still quite young, 90% T Nacional with a little CS.
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Re: Wine Focus for January: Portugal.

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:23 am

From the Archives.

Carlos C was back in town last night. Great guy, he remembered me from his last trip, that is a very good memory eh. His wines are exceptional but rather pricey, the `09 Cercial white is a lovely wine.
Tonite, he was co-hosting a roast suckling pig dinner at a local restaurant. I had other committment but on return home opened my last `04 Crasto Old Vines. At its peak, will post TN soon.
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