Fun evening with friends - one of whom is a wonderful cook and served us a lovely Coelho à Caçador. I brought the red and our host provided the other two bottles, in what ended up being an all Douro trilogy.
Quinta do Vallado Prima Branco 2019
100% Moscatel Galego. This had the tell tale nose of Chanel no. 5 and gummy bears which makes the varietal dead obvious in any blind tasting. Balanced acidity, well rounded, pleasing mouthfeel and tasty in a way which demands little or no thought of you. How valuable is that in a wine? The host and I are great friends and in agreement on most things in life. We do clash, however, in that I am not very stimulated by a wine which is too hellbent on seducing me. As a self affirmed hedonist he feels differently. We agreed to disagree, and ultimately I still felt this was more than adequate to sip on while waiting for them to wrap up work in the kitchen and listening to Heifetz play the Beethoven concerto in his 1940 recording with Toscanini.
Conceito Tinto 2015
My contribution to the table, with the confidence that I was bringing a great producer’s wine (Rita Marques) from an outstanding vintage. This was classy from beginning to end: refined, well proportionate, elegant while remaining perfectly true to its hot climate and terroir. Very well integrated, discreet oak toast, tons of menthol at the forefront, cherry compôte, different shades and nuances of herbalness (without the overbearing foreground tones of esteva found in many Douros) and a wonderful spiciness which betrayed cumins, cinnamon and ample white pepper. The black fruit was broad, generous, yet somehow precise rather than opulent. Carried its 14% ABV in a which was never overbearing. For me this is a wine which bridges the distance between lovers of hedonistic, luscious reds and more reserved, austere ones, reaching a happy consensus, and the great disadvantage with 2015 Douro reds like these is that it’ll be tough to summon the willpower to cellar them with such great showing in their youth. Very reasonably priced at 28,50€ given the quality (and WA’s 95 points, for all it’s worth).
Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage Vargellas 2008
It is never ideal to serve Port on a pop and pour basis, but this was a last minute thought from our Port loving host, who bought this at a significant discount given the underrated vintage. Has a pronounced brettyness which faded after a few minutes and became a leathery, nuanced element in a more integrated whole. Still completely youthful and primary, with aniseed, rich ripe plum and mint, a short-medium finish but a far more approachable drink (and an open one) than a great vintage port at a comparable age. Not as earthy and herbal as those can be, and I did crave that complexity and structure, but this was ultimately delicious and offering a great showing given the price tag.
