The
new Douro: part 8
Quinta
do Vale Dona Maria
Lemos
& van Zeller Lda, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, Apartado 12, 5085-000
Pinhão, Portugal Tel: +351-254 732 375 Fax: +351-234 731 591
E-mail:
cvanzeller@mail.telepac.pt
Cristiano van Zeller has a
long history in the Douro. He was manager and co-owner of Quinta do
Noval, but left in 1993. Two years later he purchased the first of his
own vineyard (Quinta de Vale da Mina), and a year later in 1996 he
took control of Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, which had been in his wife
Joana’s family for a long time but had been leased out. This old
quinta consists of 15 hectares of vineyard in the Rio Torto valley
with a south-south east exposure in the Cima Corgo region of the
Douro. It’s a raggedy old vineyard with the odd gap here and there, and a mixed
planting of fabulous old vine varieties (a view from the vineyard is
pictured).
First release was of the
Vale D. Maria table wine was 1996, although Van Zeller had only been
in control of the very latter stages of the growing season. The wine
was good, though, and some made its way to Oddbins in the UK – this
was one of the first new wave Douro table wines I remember trying (a
tasting note is here).
Just 2400 bottles of this ‘experiment’, made from grapes treaded
in lagares was brought on the market, and an LBV which had undergone
elevage at Niepoort was also released. Spurred on by the positive
response, Van Zeller made a 10-year plan for the renovation and repair
of the quinta, and the total vineyard area is projected to reach 20
hectares in the future. Subsequent vintages have all been strong.
The old lagares have been
renovated and all the red wines are foot-trodden and macerated in
lagares before temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel
tanks. Robotic lagares were introduced in 2004. Elevage is almost
exclusively in French oak for 15–24 months. Sandra Tavares (now also
of Pintas and Chocopalha) is winemaker here. Vale D. Maria is emerging
as one of the true stars: the wines are ripe, with lovely elegance and
supple tannins. They’re big, tending a little to new world in style,
but with lots of Douro character. They aren’t 20 year wines, but are
absolutely delicious on release and offer some of the best value of
all the front-ranking Douro reds, at under £15 a bottle.
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria 2001
Ripe,
intense, spicy nose with vivid fruit. Quite pure and expressive. The
palate displays lovely pure, elegant ripe fruit: juicy and rich with
smooth spicy tannins. The structure is really appealing: modern but
elegant. Very good/excellent 94/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria 2002
Slightly
more savoury and elegant than the ripe 2003, with a lovely spicy
intensity to the nose along with red berry and black cherry fruit. The
palate is rich, dense and spicy with a tarry edge. Quite tannic with a
fair bit of spicy oak. Nice definition and good structure. Fantastic
for the vintage. Very good/excellent 93/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria 2003
(cask sample)
Dark colour. Lovely dense, spicy, sweet rich fruit on the nose. Big
but still quite elegant. Some toasty, tarry oak notes. The palate is
very rich and forward, tending towards new world in style, but with
fantastic fruit quality. Very good/excellent 93/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria LBV 1999
Nice
savoury, spicy nose with good definition. The palate is open with some
soft, sweet spicy character. Herby, spicy finish with some tannin.
Tasty. Very good/excellent 90/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria Reserve Port
A blend of 2000 and 2001. Dense, spicy liquoricey nose with sweet
fruit. Sweet bold palate showing good concentration and a nice,
savoury, spicy finish. Good structure here. Very good+ 89/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria Vintage Port 2001
Inky dark red/black colour. Deep brooding nose showing dark fruits
and a firm spiciness. The palate shows sweet, dense, herby fruit. Very
firm and a bit closed at the moment. Powerful, concentrated but
not showy. Very good/excellent 90(+)/100
Quinta
do Vale D. Maria Vintage Port 2002 (cask sample)
Harvested after the rain, 5200 litres made. Dark colour. Amazingly
perfumed nose showing lush ripe blackcurrant fruit. Remarkably fruity.
The palate shows more lush, open fuit with some tannin and lots of
sweetness. There's a savoury kick and a bit of hollowness in the
middle of the palate, but amazingly forward fruit quality. Unusual.
Very good/excellent 90/100
Availability
in the UK: Corney & Barrow, Bibendum, Tanners, Wine Society, Lay
& Wheeler (among others)
see
also: earlier report (June 2002) of Quinta
do Vale D Maria
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