Douro newcomer makes an impact

A week or two ago I was chatting to Christian Seely about his new venture in the Douro - Quinta da Romaneira - which he's involved with as one of a number of partners. They took a fairly run down Douro property of a couple of hundred hectares, of which some 75 were planted to vineyard, and revitalized it. The renovation included a luxury hotel, which is due to open this June, as well as the production of some serious wine. He promised to send me a bottle of the first release, the 2004.

Christian was true to his word. Came home this evening to find a bottle waiting, along with a handwritten note. Looks like we need to add another wine to the already impressive roster of top-flight Douro producers.

Quinta da Romaneira 2004 Douro, Portugal
A deep red/purple colour, this Douro red has a classy nose of sweet raspberry and blackberry fruit complemeted by some spicy, tarry complexity and sophisticated oak notes. It's pure, intense and quite exotic. The palate is firmly structured and spicy, but still shows more of this ripe, complex fruit character. The firm tannins suggest that there's some development to come, but it's already a modern, seductive wine with a hint of Douro wildness to it. Great concentration and focus, and reassuringly this isn't just another over-ripe late-picked international red (despite the hefty 14.5% alcohol). Very good/excellent 93/100