Douro Valley and Porto trip (Tedo; Niepoort; Portal; Vallado; Graham's; and more)

WINE TALK
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Friday, May 11, 2012

Quinta do Tedo
We left out hotel in the Amarante Municipality at about 9:20 am, after 20 frustrating minutes of trying to get our Garmin to recognize the mess of an address we had for Quinta do Tedo – it never did, so we used the address for the nearby Quinta des Nápoles. Our goal was to be Tedo by 10:00 am, and a 9:20 departure from our hotel meant we should arrive at Tedo only a few minutes thereafter; ummmmm, yeah … we didn’t arrive at Tedo until 10:43 am. Needless to say, navigation from Amarante to Regua is not as straightforward or quick as Google maps would have you believe; of course, Google maps shouldn’t be expected to be clairvoyant of the fact that one may get stuck behind large slow-moving trucks on twisty mountain roads or of the fact that driving a manual is not exactly my forté. Luckily, Tedo is the one stop in Douro for which we did not make an appointment, so we weren’t “late,” so to speak.

Upon arrival, we hustled inside the tasting room with hopes of doing a relatively quick tasting, as we had a noon Niepoort appointment at nearby Quinta de Nápoles. We met with Hugo Fonseca, one of the winemakers at Quinta do Tedo, and he also led us through our tasting. Quinta do Tedo has 14 ha. under vine and only uses their own grapes in the production of their wines. Although I had no way of knowing it at the time, this lineup would prove to be one of the more impressive collection of wines we would taste during our two days in the Douro.

I owe a big thank you to Andy Velebil for suggesting to me that we visit Quinta do Tedo during our short stay in the Douro. [thankyou.gif] It was an immense pleasure to meet Hugo, and enjoy the fruits of his labor in his presence … so much so, that we were 20 minutes late to our next appointment … [oops.gif] [smileyvault-ban.gif]

The wines tasted:

  • 2008 Quinta do Tedo Douro - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –

Juicy red berries and light spice on the Nose. Medium-light bodied with light tannin on the palate. Warm red fruit flavors; slightly green; 14% alc. not noticeable; finish was medium-short and of medium-light intensity. This wine spent 11 months in oak (mostly barrels that were 2 – 3 years old).

Dark violet color. Nose was tight, showing some purple berry aromas and oak. Medium bodied on the palate: tight; tannic; nice acidity; 14% alc. not noticeable; better structure than the regular 2008 Douro bottling. This wine spent 18 months in new oak, and also underwent malo in oak. Hugo recommends drinking this over the next 8 to 10 years.

Dark purple color. Nose was expressive and dark: spicy; soil; meaty; purple berries. Medium bodied on the palate. Wow, what a beautiful wine! Very tannic, but with wonderful acidity; meaty; light oak; purple berries; leather; dark soil; 14% alc. is well-hidden; incredible structure, and wonderfully well-balanced. The “Savedra” in this wine’s name refers to a 3.5 ha sector of Tedo’s property which is highly-regarded, as it produces fruit of exceptional quality. This wine saw 28 months in new French oak (including malo in oak, too). This was, easily, my favorite dry red wine of the tasting.

  • NV Quinta do Tedo Porto Ruby Porto - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –
    – this bottle had been open for two days prior to tasting –

Dark violet color. Nose was minty, with notes of warm black licorice and molasses. Medium-full bodied, and sweet, on the palate: most of the action was on the front palate here; prune flavor dominates; short finish; 20% alc… This wine was aged in old 700 L French oak barrels.

  • NV Quinta do Tedo Porto Finest Ruby Reserve - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –
    – this bottle had been open for 1-2 hours before tasting –

This Ruby Port is a blend of the 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2007 vintages. The Nose on this was very similar to the Nose on the Ruby, but more concentrated. Medium-full bodied on the palate; a more serious wine than the Ruby; 19.5% alc… 75% - 85% aging was done in tanks, the rest in barrels.

  • NV Quinta do Tedo Porto Fine Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –
    – this bottle was opened one day before tasting –

Minty and moderately expressive Nose. Medium-full bodied palate: slightly tawny on the palate, followed by a strong tawny characteristic on the finish, which was of medium-short length and medium-strong intensity; light raisin flavor, as well as mint; 19% alc… This is, unofficially, Tedo’s 8 yr. Tawny, and is a tremendous value at only 14 euro per 750 mL bottle.

  • NV Quinta do Tedo Porto Tawny 10 Year - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –
    – this bottle was opened the day before we tasted it –

Red-orange color of medium-light intensity. Nose was less intense than the Fine Tawny (8 yr), and was pretty inexpressive. Compared to the Fine Tawny, this had a stronger golden raisin flavor; moderately sweet; an off-putting hint of epoxy on the dry finish; 20% alc… This note is for the 2011 bottling of this wine, which is only the second year it has been produced.

Dark ruby-violet color of great depth. Nose was rich, with leather-inflected purple berry aromas. Full bodied on the palate. Dark raisin and purple berry fruits on the tight palate; 20% alc.; Hugo says this wine can age for 8 – 10 years in the bottle. This wine spent one year in stainless steel, followed by 3 years in French oak.

Dark violet color of great depth. Nose was very tight – difficult to discern much of anything here. It took all of approximately half a second for this wine’s beautiful structure to become readily apparent to me: massive tannin; incredible acidity; lovely blackberry fruit, which is very concentrated without being syrupy; this wine requires a significant amount of cellar time. Love it.

  • 2007 Quinta do Tedo Porto Savedre Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – tasted a single pour non-blind at winery tasting room over approx. 5 minutes –
    – bottle was opened two days before tasting –

Unlike the closed Nose of the 2009 Vintage Port, this wine had an expressive, broad blackberry aroma as well as a black licorice note. Full bodied on the palate: mildly sweet; full flavor; incredible tannin; very nice wine; requires a lot of cellar time. Grapes for this wine came from the premier 3.5 ha sector of Tedo’s property.

Orange-pink color. Nose was light, and faintly floral. Full bodied on the palate: mildly sweet; not much flavor – just “sweet”; didn’t like this very much.

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Niepoort (@ Quinta de Nápoles)

Once we realized we were going to be late for our noon appointment here, I called Carlos Rapaso, one of the Niepoort winemakers, and the person with whom we were to have our appointment, to apologize for our tardiness — he said not to worry, and intimated that we weren’t even close to being as late as a large group of Italian tourists who hadn’t even called despite running more than two hours late for their appointment.

Upon arrival at Quinta de Nápoles (owned by Niepoort since 1987) we found Carlos in his office. He led us to the neighboring building where he showed us a small spiral staircase cellar holding a small handful of wine goodies. On my way up the stairs out of the cellar, I spied some Austrian wine as well as some early 1990’s Goldkap German Rieslings — I commented that somebody here clearly has very good taste in wine! I was surprised that Carlos seemed surprised by my interest in the Germans; Carlos said something to the effect that, seeing as how we like Riesling, he’d open something special for us at lunch. In retrospect, I suppose shouldn’t have been meta-surprised, as I doubt many guests comment on the German wines sitting at the very top of the cellar, let alone express much enthusiasm about them. Anyways …

Carlos then led us downstairs to the winery and barrel rooms for some barrel samples. Niepoort is family-owned, and is currently on its 5th generation. Niepoort owns 60 ha. of vineyards, which is spread between two properties. As for winemaking: Niepoort seems to adopt a relatively hands-off approach to their winemaking, as they eschew the use of pumps (instead opting for gravity flow), do not use sulphur, and only do native ferments. 30% of the barrels are new each year. On to the barrels …


Three 2011 Redoma Branco Barrels (regular and Reserva):

Nearly colorless in the glass. This wine has a fragrant Nose of spice, orange, and flowers. Medium bodied on the palate: very nice zippy acidity; light oak; no batonagé or racking; lovely orange flavor; from yellow schist soil; between 12.5% and 13.5% alc… This barrel is probably bound for the 2011 regular Redoma Branco.

This wine is pretty much the same as the preceding sample, except the grapes that made this wine were grown on blue schist, rather than yellow schist. The Nose on this has a stronger mineral presence than the Nose on the yellow schist barrel sample. Medium-light bodied on the palate: incredible acidity — quite steely; very metallic mineral; this wine’s presence reminds me of an Alsatian dry Riesling, even if it doesn’t taste like one. This barrel is likely destined for the 2011 Redoma Reserva white. I preferred this barrel over the yellow schist barrel.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

– barrel sample #2 –
– tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Finally, to close the Redoma white trio, we tried this wine, which is from granitic soil. This wine has a light yellow color, and has a warm Nose that came across as quite leesy and perhaps somewhat oaky. Good acidity on the palate; strong metallic mineral note; light flavor with light intensity, but a long finish; orange blossom note comes through on the finish. Carlos said this wine was showing less mineral than it normally does, and suspected that it was in an odd place right now; he sais this barrel is likely destined for the 2011 Redoma Reserva white, even though it wasn’t really showing much Reserva character today.



3 Component Parts for 2010 Batuta:

  • 2010 Niepoort Douro Batuta - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
    3 Component Parts for 2010 Batuta:
    – barrel sample #1–
    – tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

This barrel contains wine made from grapes sourced from a yellow schist plot with an average vine age of 80 years. The Nose on this wine was absolutely stunning, showing pure notes of juicy black cherry, cured pork, and an herby meatiness. Palate, however, was a huge let-down from the Nose, as it was practically all oak at this point in time. Love the Nose on this wine, though. This wine will eventually be blended into the 2010 Batuta.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

– barrel sample #2 –
– tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Intense red berry Nose — not as complex or intriguing as the Nose on the yellow schist base, but this barrel nonetheless has something new to add to the Nose, and even moreso on the palate. On the palate, this wine was quite showy, with lots of red fruits and fantastic acidity. The grapes for the wine in this barrel came from a blue schist vineyard plot. This barrel contains wine that will ultimately be included in the 2010 Batuta bottling.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

– barrel sample #3 –
– tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

This was the third, and final, barrel we tasted that contains wine intended for Niepoort’s 2010 Batuta bottling. This barrel contains wine made from grapes that were sourced from a vineyard in the Covas do Douro parish. The grapes come from vines with an average age of 130 years. Dark violet color of great depth. This wine brought to mind a rich Cornas, with its peppery garrigué Nose. The similarity continued onto the palate: peppery; quite tannic; good acidity; rich, but not gloppy, fruit. I can’t wait to taste the final blend of this wine, as its component parts offer much to be excited about.



Snappy Surprise
– barrel sample –
– tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Folks, a white sparkler is in the pipeline at Niepoort! Can’t wait to try this when it’s bottled. Incredible acidity. Very good.

A Couple White Barrel Samples:

  • 2008 Niepoort Porto White Port - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
    – barrel sample –
    – tasted non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Expressive, spicy Nose. Medium bodied on the palate. Tawny, but still a bit fresh; spicy; orange Curacao peel; long finish of light intensity. This wine will spend a minimum of 7 years in barrel, in an oxidative environment.

Sweet and expressive Nose. Palate was sweet, with lots of apricot fruit, and a clear tawny character. Full bodied. Very good.



A Fantastic 2009:

This is a single vineyard (Vinha da Pisca) Vintage Port, and this particular vineyard is farmed organically. Bottled three years after harvest, which means it spends one more year in oak than the regular Vintage Port. This wine has an incredibly dark purple color of great depth. Nose was rich, spicy, and a bit waxy (like a wax bean); very expressive Nose. Full bodied on the palate. Holy smokes, this wine is some kind of wonderful! Spicy; rich; tannic; tons of acidity; raspberry liqueur; finish is very long, and of strong intensity. This is an OMFG wine.



Lunch:
Niepoort, in an abundance of generosity, not only received Ashley and I for a private tasting with one of their winemakers, but also fed us an extraordinary lunch. We had a wonderful pumpkin soup, a fresh tomato/cucumber/onion/greens salad, a pasta/beans dish, and a cod main. All this was followed by a platter of nuts, various jams/marmalades, bread, and Queijo da Serra, a ridiculously delectable gooey cow’s milk cheese — the cheese was so insane!

And, just to make lunch more ridiculous, wine was served. Lots of wine. Lots of good wine! I didn’t take contemporaneous notes during lunch, but will provide a few bits and pieces from my memory, as well as some data from Niepoort’s website:

  • 2010 Niepoort Douro Coche Branco - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
    – popped and poured –
    – tasted a couple pours non-blind at the winery, over approx 45 minutes –
    – T.A.: 5.08; alc.: 13.51; pH: 3.31; ave. vine age: over 80 yrs. –

This white wine is a “reserve Reserva,” so to speak, as it’s a rare bottling that is a step up from Niepoort’s Redoma Reserva bottling. Unlike the Redoma whites, this did go through malo. This has nice acidity, but lacks the mineral precision of the Redoma Reserva. Oak is more noticeable here than on the Redoma Reserva, as well. Overall, this gives a softer, slightly richer impression than the Redoma Reserva — this reminded me a bit of a white Burg. with medium concentration of fruit. 1,900 bottles produced. This is the first vintage of this wine.

Lovely wine. Very nice acidity and precision. Please see my 5/12/2012 note for a more detailed look at this wine.

Carlos served this wine blind. I immediately said it didn’t strike me as being a Portuguese wine; Carlos said we should focus on French varieties with our guesses — that’s where my accuracy stopped. This was quite smooth, with very fine tannins that were barely a touch drying. Nice strawberry aroma and flavor, and moderate concentration of fruit. A strong floral note on the Nose, too. I was all over the map with my guesses on this — if I recall correctly, I ran through about a third of the Rhone red varieties, before essentially giving up — my final guess was Gamay. It took Ashley all of two guesses to peg it as Pinot Noir — well done! I thought this wine was good, but nothing special, as far as Pinot Noir goes. Now, what does make this special is the fact that the grapes for this wine were grown in Douro!. In 1999, Dirk Niepoort decided to plant one hectare of Pinot Noir on the north-facing slope at the top of Quinta de Nápoles. Aged in used French oak for 12 months. This is the second vintage for this wine. 1,738 bottles produced.

  • 2008 Niepoort Douro Batuta - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
    – popped and poured –
    – tasted a couple pours non-blind at the winery, over approx 45 minutes –

I enjoyed this; very Douro, but on the lighter/elegant side thereof. Red fruits and dried herbs on the palate. Fresh, which seems to be typical of the 2008 Douro vintage. Nice balance.

Very rich, complex, and smooth. Sinfully good for a 10 yr. Tawny. The best 10 yr. Tawny we tasted over the course of our three days in Portugal. Although the color reveals this as a 10 yr., in a black glass I could be convinced this is a very nice 20 yr. or 30 yr…

Clearly shows some age, but still has a very pretty light red hue to it. Wonderfully smooth and complex on the palate. Not being a Port expert, I made a bit of a fool of myself when I guessed this to be a 1984 Vintage Port (1984 was not a declared vintage for Port), but, with that – ahem – minor detail aside, I guess I wasn’t that far off. One of the most memorable wines of the trip. A real treat.

This was the treat Carlos alluded-to earlier, when I noticed the German Goldkaps sitting near the top of the spiral cellar. Off-dry, and made in the Kabinett style. I thought this was very good – clearly better than an average German Kabinett Riesling. Good concentration of fruit; decent acidity. Fun way to end our tasting!

Now, off to Crasto …

3

Holy crap. What a couple of visits. And great notes. I’m sure our Spanish winery stops will be nothing like this…

4

Great notes.
Niepoort has been experimenting with Riesling and Pinot for some years now. Dirk Niepoort is a big fan of Red Burgundy and German Riesling. Grown at relatively high altitude. Guess you missed Dirk. He was probably with Roy in Seattle at the time!

5

Brian,

Great notes for Tedo. Hugo and Jorge are doing a lot of good things there and are super nice people. The dry wines are getting better, but then again, most of them are pretty inexpensive. Their lower and mid range Ports typically out perform others in their respective class. As for the 2007 Sevedra VP. This was hands down on the short list of my top VP’s for 2007. I took some serious Port lovers and good friends from the UK there last year and one of them fell in love with it. It ended up being the only Port he bought the entire time we were there. That’s saying a lot from him, as he has a very discerning palate.

6

Niepoort…what’s not to love about Dirk’s amazing wines and Ports. Their Moscatel rocks! I’ve had some older ones and younger ones, including barrel samples and it’s amazing how good they are.

Please don’t ever mention Coche ever again. It will be our little Douro “White Burg” secret. Amazing this went through Malo, as it’s almost impossible to tell unless told. This was the first vintage of it, and who knows if it will ever be repeated.

As for the Bioma VP (formerly called Pisca in 2007), this VP absolutely rocks and when you learn how it was made (stored in 550 liter old oak casks for almost a full 3 years) you really get to see how some really old VP’s got to be so great. As most Port was shipped in bulk and the current laws of when to bottle only came about post WWII. So most was stored in old oak casks longer than what is bottled today, hence why Dirk started experimenting with this some years ago.

IIRC the back story on the 1982 LBV was this was actually a VP that was declassified and label as LBV. So it really shines above most older LBV’s. A fun treat that few people get to try.

Dirk is a huge Burg fan so glad you got to try some of his “Projectos” wines. [welldone.gif]

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Jim, Eric, and Andy,
Thank you for the kind words.

Andy,
Like you (and your friend), I loved the '07 Savedra VP from Tedo — I ordered 3 bottles from them. [grin.gif] As for Niepoort, do you prefer the Coche to the Redoma Reserva? Carlos asked me this question, point blank, and it was a tough call for me — ultimately, I said I think I’d prefer the Coche with food and the Redoma Reserva on its own. As for the '09 Bioma — holy freaking smokes!!! I cannot wait for that to be released. But for the '94 Quinta do Vesuvio VP we tasted at Graham’s, the '09 Bioma was my favorite VP of our trip. Absolutely fantastic juice! Thank you, again, for the Tedo tip. And, although Raul was not around at Graham’s on the day we visited, I’m nonetheless pretty sure Ashley and I received some special treatment there, too. Thank you. [cheers.gif]

8

Good stuff Brian-some day I’ll get to the Douro and Dao.

9

Brian,

Glad to see you had such wonderful treatment in the Douro and had such a good time. Tedo and Niepoort are both great places to visit. Very nice TN’s.

While I like Dirk’s Coche quite a bit, stylistically, I prefer the Redoma Branco Reserva. That is arguably the best white wine in all of Portugal, imo.

I look forward to reading the rest of your report.

10

You’ll get no argument from me on this one! (at least, insofar as my limited experience with the wines will allow).

Thanks for the kind words, Roy. I presently have the rest of my Day 1 and Day 2 notes typed-up — I just need to get the notes in CT before transferring them over here — I am aiming to get that done in the next few hours. Thank you for following this thread, Roy. [cheers.gif]

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If you need some company, give me a call … I already want to go back! [cheers.gif]

12

Quinta do Crasto

Quinta do Crasto is not very far from Quinta de Nápoles — probably under 10 km — with only one problem: I’m not a bird. Quinta de Nápoles is on the south side of the Douro river, whereas Quinta do Crasto is on the north. The Douro river is not exactly checkered with bridges, so one often must drive many miles to reach the nearest bridge; such was the case for us when going from Quinta de Nápoles to Quinta do Crasto. Additionally, Douro roads tend to have many kinks, as they line steep valley hillsides — as a bonus, railguards are as rare as hen’s teeth — doesn’t exactly make for expedient travel. As such, it took us approximately forty five minutes to get to Crasto, but Wow, what a beautiful forty five minutes! By this time in the afternoon, the haze that hung over the valley earlier in the day had burned off, and the sun illuminated the gorgeous vineyard-coated valley hillsides. It was a drive I’d be happy to take anytime.

The driving instructions for the very last portion of our journey to Crasto were, “Go to the top of the hill, keep going, and then – when you think you shouldn’t go up anymore, when you’re at that spot – keep going. Those instructions were helpful, as, left to my own devices, I never would have passed the wine shop parking lot in favor of the steep and skinny dirt road to the mountainside of the quinta; as it was, this was exactly the route required to find the intended car park.

We were greeted by Andreia, who also conducted our tasting, for which we were accompanied by a young American couple from Seattle. We had our tasting while sitting outside, looking eastward over the beautiful Douro river. During the later portion of our tasting, Andreia brought out some cheeses (included the heaven-sent Queijo da Serra) and bread, which we all enjoyed without any reverence for time. I know we enjoyed our time at Crasto because we spent three hours there — and we only tasted 5 wines! Really, I have no idea how that happened.

I was thrilled that I secured a tasting appointment at Crasto, as I have immensely enjoyed their dry red wines in the past and I was looking forward to tasting the new releases. After tasting the wines, I’m afraid it appears that Crasto’s wines have a more modern bent than they did merely a few vintages ago; this disappointed me, as I believe such an approach masks the delicate intricacies that make dry red wines from the Douro unique from other wines. Hopefully, time in the cellar will help the Douro push to the forefront, but I’m not entirely convinced that it will. To be clear, the wines here were not bad, they just weren’t what I was hoping for. C’est la vie. Still had a great time here!

The Wines:
2011 Quinta do Crasto Douro Crasto - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 20 minutes –
– blend of: Gouveio, Roupeiro, and Rabigato –

NOSE: strong green pear aroma with lots of mineral, too; expressive; fresh.

BODY: light green-yellow color; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: very minerally; light tropical fruit (papaya and passionfruit); finish is light and of short length; 12.5% alc. is not noticeable; a wonderful wine to drink by the poolside on a hot summer day. Not complex or profound, very good for what it is. As with all of their wines, Crasto used only their own grapes in the production of this wine.

2010 Quinta do Crasto Douro Crasto - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 20 minutes –
– blend of: Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca, and Touriga Nacional –

NOSE: rich blackberry; ripe; smells modern.

BODY: violet color of great depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: chocolate; purple fruits; good acidity; light tannin; hint of leather; juicy; 13.5% alc.; polished, and quite approachable now. Of the reds we tasted, this one came across as the “most Douro” to me. Fermented in stainless steel.

2010 Quinta do Crasto Douro Superior - Portugal, Douro, Cima Corgo, Douro (5/11/2012)
– opened 3 – 4 hours before tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 20 minutes –

NOSE: very rich; dark red and purple fruits; modern.

BODY: violet color of great depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: modern; some oak, especially on the finish; loganberry fruit; slightly bitter; fine, dry tannins. Tastes like it could be from any number of places in the world.

2009 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines - Portugal, Douro (5/11/2012)
– tasted a couple pours non-blind at the winery over approx. 30 minutes –

NOSE: very oaky; dill pickle; warm, purple fruits.

BODY: violet color of great depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: slightly bitter; oaky; tight; juicy red/purple fruits; seems to lack vivacity; 14.5% alc… The grapes for this wine are sourced from a 40 ha. plot with an average vine age of 70 years. Was aged in 2nd use barrels – 70% French oak, 30% American oak. Needs time.

2006 Quinta do Crasto Porto Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/11/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 20 minutes –

NOSE: sweet; slightly minty; hints of vanilla and anise.

BODY: black-garnet-violet color of great depth; full bodied.

TASTE: sweet; tobacco; raisins; substantial tannin; needs more acidity; finish is short and of moderate intensity; good-not-great.

It was a long drive back to our hotel from Crasto – a good 75+ minutes – but we had an incredible day of experiences to talk about, as well as the beautiful Douro Valley to take in, as we made the journey. We arrived at our hotel at 9:47 pm, a mere 77 minutes late for our 8:30 dinner reservations at the Michelin one star in our hotel. (Hey, how the heck are we supposed to know how long tasting appointments and driving will take!?!). If the hotel and restaurant were irritated by our tardiness, they did not give any indication that such was the case. The hotel said the restaurant would still have us that evening, if we wanted, so we figured – What the heck, we gotta eat somewhere, might as well just do it. So, at about 9:55 pm, we sat down for a very nice (but brief) meal. We ordered a bottle of dry white from Ferreira, and I thought it paired beautifully with my smoked cured ham starter and squid main. We were quite worn out by this time in the evening, so we didn’t linger quite as long as we might have otherwise. I think we were both asleep before the stroke of midnight.

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Saturday, May 12


Quinta do Portal
We approached Saturday in a somewhat more sane manner than we did Friday. Our first appointment was at Quinta do Portal for noon lunch, with a tasting beforehand. Perhaps because it was the weekend – or perhaps because we simply had better luck – traffic was not nearly as bad on Saturday as it was on Friday. We left our hotel around 9:45 am, and arrived at Quinta do Portal somewhere around 11:00 am. We were taken on a brief tour of the property when we arrived, and had our tasting immediately after.

Quinta do Portal is comprised of 5 estates, with a total of 100 ha under vine. Despite these large holdings, Portal still buys 40% of the grapes it uses in the production of its wines.

The Wines Tasted:
2010 Quinta do Portal Douro Colheita Branco - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for three days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –
– 50% Viosinho, 20% Moscatel, 15% Gouveio, 5% Malvasia Fina –

Light yellow color. Nose was floral with lightly tropical fruit aromas. Light to medium-light bodied on the palate. Fruity with lots of mineral; light orange zing; 12.5% alc. not noticeable; only saw stainless steel; very nice.

2008 Quinta do Portal Douro Tinto Reserva - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for two days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –
– 45% Tinta Roriz, 40% Touriga Nacional, 15% Touriga Franca –

Violet-garnet color. Nose was spicy with rich red fruits. On the palate, this was spicy – stems? – and somewhat lean/green; hint of leather; tannic; needs more acidity; 14% alc.; long finish of medium-light intensity.

2007 Quinta do Portal Douro Grande Reserva - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for two days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –
– 60% Touriga Nacional, 10% Touriga Franca, 30% Tinta Roriz –

Violet color of great depth. Expressive Nose was meaty, dark-fruited, and spicy. Medium-full bodied on the palate, with gentle drying tannins and good acidity; purple berry flavor has good concentration; finish is of medium length and medium-light intensity; 14% alc… This wine saw 14 months in oak.

2009 Quinta do Portal Tinta Roriz - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for three days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –
– 100% Tinta Roriz –

Violet color of great depth. Spicy, red berry Nose. Medium bodied on the palate. Flavors of light red berry, and light oak; light concentration of fruit; slight tannin is drying; 14% alc… I was excited to try this, but was kind of disappointed by it.

2009 Quinta do Portal Touriga Nacional Douro - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for three days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Lovely expressive Nose on this wine: floral – fresh lilies; orange oil; smells typically Douro to me. Medium-full bodied. Rich blackberry fruit with lots of oak on the palate; alc. is not noticeable; good structure; needs time.

NV Quinta do Portal Porto Fine Ruby - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– bottle was open for three days at time of tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Magenta-tinged violet color of medium-deep depth. Smells very sweet – almost sickly. Full bodied on the palate. Very sweet; very fruity; too sweet for me; short on acid and tannin; accessible wine, but not for me. This spent four years in barrel.

NV Quinta do Portal Porto 20 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Medium dark tan-amber color. Moderately expressive Nose; a bit fruity. Smooth, sweet palate with flavors of golden raisins, apricots, and dates; dry pecans and a hint of epoxy (or V/A?) on the finish, which is of medium length and moderate intensity; fruitier than the 40 yr.; 20% alc… Would have really liked this, but for the epoxy note.

NV Quinta do Portal Porto 40 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Lighter tan-amber color than the 20 yr… Nose is expressive, with a Moroccan chicken spice blend character. Full bodied, and smooth on the palate; medium-strong to strong tawny flavor; thankfully, devoid of the off-putting bit of epoxy flavor that was present on the 20 yr.; 20% alc… I liked this a lot.

2004 Quinta do Portal Moscatel Reserva - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery over approx. 5 minutes –

Deep, golden-orange color. Pleasant, moderately expressive Nose of orange and elderflower. Full bodied on the palate: spicy; kumquat; short finish of light intensity; 18% alc…



Lunch
At the recommendation of Steve Slatcher, my wife and I arranged to have our Saturday lunch at Quinta Portal. It was fantastic! Thank you very much, Steve, for this valuable recommendation.

The wines served with lunch:
2009 Quinta do Portal Douro Colheita Branco - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a couple pours non-blind over approx. thirty minutes –

NOSE: Smells like a winery during crush – fresh wine and oak; lightly tropical; moderately expressive.

BODY: light green-yellow color of medium-light depth; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: nice tropical character; a bit fat; juicy; slight oxidated or wooly mineral character on the finish; a good warm-weather quaffer.

2008 Portal – Douro Reserva
{Same wine as during tasting; see note, above}

2005 Quinta do Portal Porto Late Bottled Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a single pour, non-blind over approx. 30 minutes –

NOSE: intense blackberry liqueur; not complex.

BODY: black-purple color of great depth; full bodied.

TASTE: sweet; prune; gentle dry tannin; lacking acidity; alc. noticeable; not complex.

The food flavors and presentation were top-notch here. Even more impressive, the chef is only 21 years old! I would highly recommend anyone visiting make a booking for lunch at Quinta do Portal.

Next, we were off to our final Douro Valley tasting appointment: Quinta do Vallado. We had ample time to get there — in fact, we had so much time we were going to be 90 minutes early. As it was, we were not even close to that early.

14

I really liked the Coche, but if I had to pick one I would have to go with the Redoma Reserva. It has at least some track record behind it of aging well so far. Though even Dirk’s lower end whites, such as the Tiara and regular Redoma Branco, can age pretty darn well.

My pleasure and I’m glad you enjoyed the visits. I look forward to reading the rest of the adventure.

15

And to think the first time that chef cooked for me there he was about 17 years old and was making some crazy good food. That guy has some amazing cooking talents.

LOL, No one ever believes me about how long it really takes to get around in the Douro. There is no such thing as a quick ride anywhere in the Douro!

16

Hi Brian,

I am glad that you had a chance to get the recommendation from Steve. He and his wife loved our meal and enjoyed the wines at Portal. Have a look at my FOR THE LOVE OF PORT facebook page and you will see not only a cool picture of the main players from Portal (including Chef Milton), but also a photo I took last month of Steve Slatcher kissing his wife, under the esteva bush. You’ll be amused.

As to Crasto, their wines do tend to seem awkwardly oaky early on, some vintages more than others. They especially need a long decant when young, and having had about seven or eight bottles of the regular Douro and Reserva from 2009 during the past year, I’d say a good four hours would be about right and even the Superior does better with 90 mins or so. Anyway, once the Qta do Crasto wines have a chance to mellow out a few years down the road, the oak tends to figure out a way to really integrate quite nicely. But it takes two to three years for it to be more accessible and a half decade to really shine, as the upper end juice (Reserva and up) will be able to age for 10-15+ years, depending on which wine and vintage, some will easily make 2 decades. My first purchase of their wine on release was the 1996 Touriga Nacional which really aged nicely, but more recent vintages are significantly more cellar worthy. You are right that what seemed like such a short distance across the river, is a major task. Maps don’t do it justice.

When we began doing our tours in 2005, (Andy did his first one of six with us, in 2006) guests were amazed at how things took so long to get to, even when they appeared to be so darn close on the map. Driving in Douro is not for the meek, especially when wine touring, as you found out. Congrats on simply surviving! The big meals help though. It looks like Portal rolled out the red carpet for you and I am glad to see they poured a lot of their nice wines. If you can find a bottle of their 1999 Vintage Port, it is killer, especially given the QPR. They are imported into the USA and their prices are typically quite reasonable.

I am looking forward to your report on Vallado and Graham’s when your time permits. I leave for Portugal again in two weeks and it seems like we were there yesterday, although it has now been a full month ago. You never forget your first time though, and I bet you and Ashley have some remarkable photos and memories from this visit. The Douro is one of the greatest undiscovered wine regions on the planet and the people, food and wine are equal to the natural beauty of the entire area. I started going there in 1994 and this year, I’ll spend more than a month there in total. Home away from home!

Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed report and such fine TN’s. I’ll be checking back to read about your remaining adventures!

17

Thanks for chiming-in, Roy. I always enjoy your wealth of information about dry Douro wines. Now that this trip has really sparked an interest in me for Vintage Ports, I’ll now be enjoying your wealth of information on that topic, too! [grin.gif].

The pics on the FTLOP Facebook page are really cool — makes me miss the Douro even more than already do!

Thank you for the extra info. on Crasto. I’m glad to hear their wines absorb the oak with a few years in the cellar. I’ve been impressed with past vintages of their Douro Crasto bottling, as well as the '04 and '05 Old Vines — none of those past wines presented nearly the amount of oak as the ones I tasted last week. I still have a bottle each of their '04 and '05 Old Vines sitting in off-site back in L.A… I’d like to give them both at least 10 years from vintage before I even begin considering opening them.

Unless the Mosel is still considered “undiscovered” (I don’t consider it as such), I think the Douro is the greatest “undiscovered” wine region of the world. I’ve said it many times, and I will continue to say it 'till I’m blue in the face: I think the best dry Douro wines deserve to stand next to the best wines the rest of the world has to offer. I truly hope these Douro wines will be discovered by the wine-consuming public – even if it’s only the wine geeks; but, until that happens, I will gladly continue to buy great wine at great prices. [cheers.gif] At nearly every stop in the Douro, I was amazed at the low prices being asked for these wines — they seem criminally low; and, imo, there’s great value to be had at the super-low end, too – especially with the dry whites.

18

Saturday, May 12

Quinta do Vallado
Ahhhh, this is a fitting time for me to speak on the cryptic nature of Portuguese addresses, and the shortcomings of GPS navigation devices. One would think, with the obvious old age of most Douro roads, that high-quality navigation devices (such as our Garmin) would have said roads in their database. Likewise, one would think said devices would also have the Quintas – especially the more well-known ones (such as Vallado) – in their “Points of Interest” database. Well, as it turns out, if one thinks as such, one would be wrong. To be fair, our Garmin actually did have Quinta do Vallado in its “Points of Interest” database, so we simply entered that as our final destination, and off we were from Portal. After approximately a thirty minute drive, we arrived … at a blank hillside. No Vallado here, or anywhere in sight for that matter.

We called Vallado to inform them of our current predicament, and we were kind of able to communicate to each other. I was kind of able to tell them I was near the river and they were kind of able to tell me how to get to their location. So, we set-off again … in the wrong direction. Eventually, a hint of common sense kicked-in and I knew we must head back west to reach Regua, where Quinta do Vallado is located; I didn’t know where in Regua it was, but I knew it was in Regua somewhere, and I’d be damned if I didn’t ultimately find it. Once we made our way to Regua, the directions given to us by Vallado started to make sense. It became obvious to us that, when giving us the directions, they thought we were on the south side of the river and west of their location; in reality, we were on the north side of the river and east of their location. Oh well … we were now confident we were on the right track, and this confidence was confirmed when we started to see signs indicating the way to Vallado.

Eventually, we rounded a hillside hairpin and saw Vallado looming over us on the opposite side of the hill. We eventually found our way to Vallado, and parked … nowhere near where we should have. It took us a good ten minutes to find the visitor center — we had driven right by it when we pulled in; it’s very well-disguised, and the small gray signs therefore blend in maddeningly well with the blue schist buildings on which they’re mounted.

Despite said adventures, we actually managed to make it to our appointment 8 minutes early, where we were greeted by Filipe, Vallado’s marketing director. Our appointment started with a quick tour of the winery and cellars. Quinta do Vallado was established in 1716, and presently has 70 ha. under vine. All grapes are hand-picked, and Vallado uses only gravity flow to move the wine. Table wines see French oak (coopers: Francois Freres; Taransaud; Moreau) (225 L for reds; 550 L for whites) or stainless steel.

The Wines:
2011 Quinta do Vallado Douro - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was opened a few hours before tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –
– blend of: Arinto, Gouveio, Rabigato, and Viosinho –

NOSE: fresh; lychee; expressive.

BODY: nearly colorless; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: tropical, with good minerality; hint of smoke; nice acidity; 12.5% alc. is not noticeable; this did not go through malo, and did not see any oak. Not very complex, but a wonderful warm-weather wine.

2011 Quinta do Vallado Douro Galego - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: expressive; dandelion; orange water; rich fruits; hints of spice.

BODY: nearly colorless; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: tropical; ripe fruit; a touch “green”’ great minerality and wonderful acidity; 13% alc. not noticeable; no malo; only stainless steel. This is the third vintage of this bottling.

2010 Quinta do Vallado Douro - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was opened the day prior to the tasting –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –
– blend of: Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Sousᾶo –

NOSE: moderately expressive; bright raspberry; hints of smoke and flowers.

BODY: violet-tinged ruby color of medium-deep depth; medium bodied

TASTE: spicy; red fruits – red currants and black cherry; violets; gentle tannin; decent acidity; not oaky; light to medium concentration of fruit; this was aged for 14 months: 80% of the wine in stainless, the other 20% in oak; bottled two months ago. Vallado is rightfully excited that this wine will be served at the 2012 Olympics in London.

2009 Quinta do Vallado Douro Sousão - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a couple pours non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: moderately expressive: strawberry; spicy.

BODY: violet color of great depth; medium-full to full bodied.

TASTE: spicy; floral; purple/red fruits; tannins are drying; good acidity; 14.5% alcohol; I enjoyed this unique bottling. Spent 20 months in new French oak.

2010 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional Douro - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– barrel sample –
– tasted a couple pours non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: this wine is redolent of all things that make Touriga Nacional so sublime: strong florals; spicy; meaty; tart red/purple fruit aromas lifted by a hint of citrus; just absolutely gorgeous!

BODY: medium-full bodied.

TASTE: spicy; floral; surprisingly accessible (not too oaky or tannic) right now; hint of oak; juicy – incredible acidity; red fruits; full palate. This is due to be bottled in 2 – 3 weeks. This wine manages to avoid the heavy, dark-fruited monolithic oak-monster nature that plagues many other Touriga Nacional bottlings. This wine represents all that can go right with a Touriga Nacional table wine. Can’t wait to get some of this in our cellar.

2009 Quinta do Vallado Douro Reserva - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: expressive red/purple berry mélange with some florals in the background.

BODY: dark garnet color of medium-deep depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: moderately oaky with strong tannin; has a distinctive medium-dark tobacco flavor; needs more acidity. From vineyards with an average vine age of 80 – 90 years. Needs time.

NV Quinta do Vallado Porto 10 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: expressive, typically tawny Nose of pecan and golden raisins.

BODY: deep tan-orange color with a shade of red at the edges; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: strongly flavored: sweet; toasted/sugared pecans; 19.5 alc. pokes through a bit.

NV Quinta do Vallado Porto 20 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/12/2012)
– tasted a single pour non-blind at the winery –

NOSE: tight; light toasted pecan; golden tobacco.

BODY: tan-orange color of medium depth with no red tint to it; full bodied.

TASTE: elegant presentation of light brown sugar and a soft orange citrus aspect.



We finished our tasting at a somewhat reasonable time, and made our way back to the hotel. Unlike the previous evening, we still had a couple hours of daylight left once we got back to our hotel. We used the opportunity to enjoy the bottle of 2010 Redoma Reserva that Carlos gave us the previous day on our hotel’s balcony overlooking the Douro river. The bottle was gone shortly after sunset … ‘twas nice. [cheers.gif]

2010 Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco Reserva - Portugal, Douro (5/12/2012)
– bottle was opened the day before consumption –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –

NOSE: melon; powdery spice; floral; moderately expressive, and very nice.

BODY: light yellow color; medium bodied.

TASTE: incredibly zippy acidity; lots of mineral and tart tropical fruit; good concentration of fruit; dry; light melon flavor, too; light toast (oak); hint of orange water; drink now – 2016.

B: 50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)

19

We have decided we can’t be in Spain for the next 2 weeks and not at least cross over into Portugal for at least a day… .You make it all sound so inviting (well, the driving part, not so much… but the wines and wineries and the hospitality, yes!).

How hot is it??

20

Jim,

The high today in Pinhão was 65 degrees. They are expecting rain over the next three days.