The wines of Quinta do Judeu

Quinta do Judeu, Estrada da Firveda, Lugar do Corgo, 5050-200 Peso da Régua, Portugal Tel: +351 254 312 276
E-mail: andremp@quintadojudeu.com Website: www.quintadojudeu.com

I'm adding to my earlier review of the 2003 (below), notes on the 2004 releases from this Douro newcomer. Based in Peso da Régua in the Baixo Corgo, they are neighbours to Vallado, and seem to be going in a decent direction. As well as the Quinta's vineyards, they also have 18 hectares in the Cima Corgo, near Pinhão. The Quinta is owned by the Carvalho family, who own the holding company responsible for the largest crane rental operation in South America, which indicates that this producer may be adequately capitalized.

Quinta do Judeu 2004 Douro, Portugal
Deep colour. Dusty, spicy extracted nose with sweet ripe red fruits. Primary palate with sweet bright fruit, some richness and fresh acidity, together with spicy dusty structure. It’s fresh and fruit driven, but quite extracted. It’s a bit hard to know where this quite primary wine is going. Almost Italian in style with a nice spiciness, and a good concentration of sweet fruit. Very good+ 89/100

Quinta do Judeu ‘Manuel de Talho’ 2004 Douro, Portugal
Bright berry fruit nose with a fresh, spicy character. The palate shows bright fruit bolstered by subtly medicinal spiciness and good acidity. It’s fresh, but a tiny bit rustic. Perhaps there’s a bit of Brettanomyces here? Who knows? Still, it’s enjoyable and highly food compatible. Very good+ 86/100

wines tasted June 2006

Earlier report:
Just one wine to review from this new Douro producer. They seem to be sort of on the right lines: a solid first effort, but it’s quite a hard one to call: how will this develop?

Quinta do Judeu 2003 Douro
A new Douro table wine, this is a blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. Vivid red colour. Good concentration. The nose is marked by vanilla spice and a hint of roast coffee from the oak. The palate shows vibrant red fruits with lots of freshness and good concentration, but currently this is a little dominated by the new French oak, which may well integrate better over time. It’s a nice, modern-styled wine, made without any rusticity, and it will be interesting to revisit this in five years time to see whether it has developed well. Very good+ 88/100