22
leading Portuguese wines
tasted
In
the past Portuguese wines haven't been taken terribly seriously
outside Portugal, but this is now changing. Regular readers of this
site will know that I've taken a special interest in Portugal, and in
particular the Douro and Alentejo, two quite different regions that
are increasingly making some serious wines. Here are tasting notes on
a selection of wines chosen by Tim Atkin as his top 50 Portuguese
wines for 2006.
Alentejo
Herdade
de Mouchão Tonel 3–4 2001 Alentejo
A fantastic wine: expressive, complex and spicy. It has a dark,
intense sweet nose with liqueur-like red fruits. Quite complex and
alluring. The palate shows lovely concentration of sweet, ripe fruit
with lovely spicy complexity and fine-grained tannins. Very
good/excellent 94/100
Malhadinha
Nova ‘Malhadinha’ 2003 Alentejo
Lovely forward nose of complex, ripe, spicy fruit is just
wonderful. The palate is concentrated and structured with lovely
purity of fruit and nice spicy structure. Very good/excellent 93/100
Sogrape Callabriga Alentejo Reserva 2003 Alentejo
Lovely elegant sweet forward fruit on the nose. It’s
liqueur-like, open and supple. The palate is sweet and soft with nice
elegance to the pure forward fruit. It’s a lovely wine. Very
good/excellent 92/100 (UK retail: £14.99)
Dolium
Reserva 2003 Alentejo
(Eborae Vitis e Vinis is the producer). The nose is sweet and
intense with forward dark fruit and some spiciness. Quite modern. The
palate is forward and rich, and is appealing despite the rather heavy
oak imprint. Very good+ 89/100
Herdade
de Grous Reserva 2004 Alentejo
Sweet open ripe nose with a creamy, oaky edge to the ripe red and
black fruits. The palate is concentrated and open with lots of forward
fruit and nice structure. Perhaps a little oaky at present. Very good+
89/100
Herdade
de Perdigão Reserva 2003 Alentejo
Massive blast of sweet vanilla oak on the nose, with a bit of
coconut, too. Lots of ripe, spicy fruit on the palate. Great
concentration but lots of oak. A bit overpowering. Very good+ 86/100
Bairrada
Dão Sul Encontro 1 2003 Bairrada
Amazing packaging, and the wine lives up to it. Quite a perfumed,
ripe, spicy nose with a savoury, roasted edge. The palate is
concentrated and open with elegant, spicy structure underlying the
ripe fruit. Finishes a little tannic. Very good/excellent 91/100
Filipa
Pato LOKAL Calcárip 2003 Bairrada
Nicely packaged. Sweet, forward, ripe spicy nose with a roasted
edge. Good concentration on the palate which is nicely structured and
shows savoury, almost earthy tannins. A structured wine that should
repay ageing. Very good/excellent 90/100
Dão
Quinta da Pellada Carrossel 2003 Dão
One of the best Dão wines I've tried. A varietal Touriga Nacional. Fantastic perfumed, open nose which is beautifully forward and elegant
with some spicy, meaty notes. The palate is nicely balanced, showing
spicy, earthy tannic structure. Quite beautiful. Very good/excellent
94/100
Quinta da Pellada 2003 Dão
Vivid, deep colour. Lovely
dark, spicy, chocolatey nose is quite complex with some meatiness. The
palate is open and elegant with nice spicy structure to the red
fruits. Brilliant stuff. Very good/excellent 93/100
Dão
Sul Quinta de Cabriz FOUR C 2003 Dão
Sweet, ripe red fruits nose is quite full. Nice weight on the palate.
This is a bold, fairly structured wine with a spicy, tannic finish.
Lovely fruit quality. Very good/excellent 92/100
Douro
Chryseia
2003 Douro
Very forward, intense smooth liqueur-like dark fruits on the nose,
with a distinctive blackberry jam character. The palate is ripe and
vivid with some spiciness and a bit of roasted oak in the backgroud.
Nicely structured. A very modern-styled wine, but tasty with it. Very
good/excellent 92/100 (UK retail £30)
Duas
Quintas Reserva Especial 2003 Douro
Nice, dark, complex spicy nose with smooth, elegant fruit. The palate
is concentrated and smooth with fine tannins. A delightfully
expressive wine. Very good/excellent 93/100
Quinta
do Tedo Escada d’Oro 2003 Douro
Sweet, supple dark fruits nose is quite forward. Nice, vivid dark
fruits palate is modern and fruity but not overdone. Nice fruit here,
and really good value for money. Very good/excellent 90/100 (UK retail
£8.99)
Poeira
2003 Douro
A lovely wine with sweet, intense red and black fruits backed up by
firm but elegant structure. There’s a nice purity here and lovely
structure. Balance is the key. Very good/excellent 94/100
Quinta
do Vale Meão 2003 Douro
Supple,
lush and intense, with lovely smooth liqueur-like fruit, hiding some
tannic structure. Really nice in a modern style. Very good/excellent
92/100
Niepoort
Redoma Tinto 2002 Douro
A good effort from a difficult year. Smooth, savoury, ripe nose is
quite elegant. The palate is structured and subtly earthy, with nice
tannins. Very good/excellent 92/100
Estremadura
Quinta
do Monte d’Oiro Aurius 2002 Estremadura
A blend of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz with Syrah and Petit
Verdot. Smooth, supple fruity nose leads to an elegant palate with
nice fruit. Very good/excellent 91/100
Quint do Monte d’Oiro Reserva 2001 Estremadura
96% Syrah, 4% Viognier. Smooth
liqueur-like red fruit nose leads to an open, brightly fruited palate
that has a spicy edge. Quite expressive. Very good/excellent 90/100
Minho
Alvarinho
Soalheiro 2005 Minho
Lovely rich, fresh limey nose with a bit of spiciness. The palate is
fresh and zippy with citrus fruit and herb notes. Nice weight. Very
god/excellent 90/100
Quinta
do Ameal Loureiro 2004 Minho
Really beautifully perfumed nose: it’s herby and a bit grapey. The
palate shows fresh lemony fruit and good acidity. Very good/excellent
90/100
Palmela
Leo
d’Honor 2003 Palmela
Huge concentration of sweet red fruits bolstered by sweet spicy oak. A
big, fruity, forward style. Very fruity. Very good/excellent 90/100
See
also:
The
New Douro series; Dao
series; Alentejo
series
Wines tasted 02/06
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these wines with wine-searcher.com
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