1995 Caves São João Arinto Quinta do Poço do Lobo - Portugal, Beiras, Vinho Regional Beiras (4/5/2018)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over three hours –
– 100% Arinto –
NOSE: hint of oxidation and flor; not unlike a blanco from LdH; baked carrot; machine grease; hint of aged gouda or romano cheese; baked/caramelized hard cheese on bread; med+ expressiveness.
BODY: golden maize color; medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; dry; tangy; lots of mineral; 12% alc. not noticeable; hint of something floral; citric, but no real citrus flavor; considering other similar wines in the market for cheaper, bad QPR @ $35 (but keep reading); at about the 2 hour mark: now some intensifying woodsy/perfumey notes; at 2.5 hour mark: getting even better; an apple note is now showing; have now changed my mind on this being a bad QPR; not a great deal, but no longer do I think it’s a bad deal, either. Done in the mineral-laden, flor-inflected, slightly oxidative, skin contact style, but it’s not exactly any one of those. Distinctive. I liked it a lot. I could probably move one point in either direction with my score, below.
50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)
This an interesting wine. Shared Brad K’s bottle with a couple of Bersekers a few months back. I think you captured the ‘taste’ quite well. The wine is a bit of a chameleon if you sit with it over time. Not sure I want to drink it often, but it’s a fun wine to drop into a blind tasting format.
A point-point here,
a point-point there,
Here a point there a point everywhere a point-point…
Waiting to try my sole bottle of this, and the 95 is the current release for the extra point!
That’s nuts this is the current release. You have any idea re: further ageability for this wine, Markus?
I’ve had a lot of bottles of this, and I think it’s generally been excellent. I completely agree that it reminds me of a LdH white. Lovely wine, and I would call it good QPR.
No clue. I just picked up a bottle of this around the new year and am waiting for a good food choice to go along with it. Nice to see your note on it, as it gives me ideas.
I’ve been drinking these over the past two and a half years, one of my best bang for the bucks wines over that period, though it’s certainly a weird one. I think it will go several more years, but no reason to hold. In my experience, it does best between cellar and room temp - too cold kills the aromatics and complexity. Love it. Down to my last bottle of 8 I bought after first trying it from a restaurant list.
If you ever get a chance to visit the cellars, it’s a warren of riches. Bin after bin, thousands of bottles and magnums from 90’s, 80’s, 70’s, 60’s, and earlier. Apparently one generation didn’t like selling their wines and just hoarded them. Just a fascinating place.
Lots of fun to see everyone’s comments here — thank you! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers")
Just goes to show (me, once again) that you (I) never know which TNs will garner interest, and which will sink like rocks.
…
as for food pairings: I could see this working nicely with a seafood-centric tasting menu. Or, perhaps charcuterie. I think I’d treat this most like Fino sherry, for food pairing purposes. But – again – this is its own thing, so to speak; I actually think this is more versatile than a Fino.
1995 Caves São João Arinto Quinta do Poço do Lobo - Portugal, Beiras, Vinho Regional Beiras (1/26/2019)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind for approx. 1.5 hours –
NOSE: dddddamn! Explosive bouquet of mixed apples; manzanilla-esque; slightly oxidized; light petrol.
BODY: medium-light bodied; slightly bronzed color.
TASTE: a touch sherry-like; medium+ acidity; juicy apples; excellent!