Douro
Niepoort LBV 2003
After a week off from drinking, I thought I’d ease myself back into tasting with a bottle of port and some blue cheese on Sunday afternoon. The cheese is Valdeon, made in the Picos de Europa areas of Léon and Asturias from mostly cows milk, with a little bit of goat for tang. It’s fairly punchy, but still quite creamy. It goes well with the quince paste and port, so I’m a happy chap.
One thing I’ve noticed around town is how much the price of these imported cheeses vary a lot. I buy most of my Spanish stuff from Casa Iberica (25 Johnston Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9419 4420) and just about everything is half the price of the ‘gourmet’ stores around Melbourne (i.e. Valdeon is $38/kilo at Casa Iberica and $70 from the Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder cheese club).
Very dark in the glass with aromas of clove, pepper, nutmeg, dark cherry and plum with a bit of shisty rock. Dense and intense in the mouth, a mix of sweet and savoury that I pick up in a lot of Niepoort’s wines. The palate shows more dark cherry, rosella and plum with Dr. Pepper, christmas cake spices and a touch of chinoto on the finish. I think this may need some chill out time in the cellar (it’s not filtered, so it will improve) to show its best. 88+ Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $48 (750ml) Closure: Conventional Cork
Quinta D.Vale Maria Vintage Port 2005
Vintage Port is one of my favourite wine styles, but I don’t always want to wait 15 years for them to really show their stuff. I drank this over a week and was very impressed with how drinkable this wine is now and how much the wine improved dramatically each night. You can definitely drink this now and get huge enjoyment out of it.
Browsing through their website I noticed that they don’t make a lot of this wine, just 9,400 bottles of the 03 were made. I think I will need a six pack for the cellar, hopefully there is enough to go around.
A smooth, exotic nose of plum, dark cherry, star anise, rosella, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg with a hint of spirit in the background. The palate is open with Class A, Export Quality tannins the provide a luxurious mouth feel. Some mild sweetness and some acid to back it all up. Warm blackcurrant, plum and cherry fruit with cola and more star anise. Very minerally. The finish is very generous and leaves the taste of Christmas cake spices and plum pudding in the mouth. This is very enjoyable now, and had me reaching for a second glass every time. Drink over the next 2 years, then cellar for 10 after that. 93 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $115 Closure: Conventional Cork
Niepoort Ruby Port
Ruby Port is considered to be the lowest level of the Port tree, but there are some good ones out there. Its called ruby port because it is usually stored in a way that prevents oxygen contact, and therefore keeps its colour better than a tawny port which is aged in oak. The result is generally a very sweet wine that has very dark, almost black, colour and plenty of fruit character.
However, the the chaps at Niepoort have decided to use very large wooden vats for their ruby port. So this wine gets a bit of oxygen contact, but still retains a very deep red colour. It stays in the vats for about 3 years, then into bottle and then its off around the world.
Its starts of with a nose of spirity blackberry and dark cherry and adds some Christmas cake spices and nuts. In the mouth it’s smooth and quite long with a hit of quality spirit. Loads of dark cherry on the palate with some blackberry and blackcurrant, more spices and a touch of minerals. Plenty to like hear, and very cheap for what it is. 88 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $30 Closure: Conventional Cork
Quinta Vale D. Maria LBV 2003
It feels like winter has come early in Melbourne this year, the mornings are bellow 5 degrees and the nights are cold. Not that its a bad thing, its perfect port weather.
This LBV is made from Tinta Amarela, Rufete, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, and Sousão. The fruit is crushed by trodding in the traditional lagares. Then into old woodern vats for 4 years until it’s bottled. This wine is not filtered and will have a bit of a crust. So decant if that bothers you. This gets a bit better if you leave it open for a few days too.
Lovely nose of walnut and clove with some plum and cherry pie, notes of fine spirit. Smooth with some grippy tannins in the mouth, restrained sweetness, good integration of fruit and spirit and a very long finish. The palate is all class: sweet plums and blackberry, pepper and cinnamon, liquorice and chinotto. A good way to kick off the port drinking season without blowing the budget. 91 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $36 (375ml) Closure: Conventional Cork
Quinta do Noval Maria Mansa 2005
I spent saturday diving in and out of air condition spaces, hopefully we'll get some relief later this week. I dropped over to a mate's place for long overdue catchup on Saturday night. Thankfully he has air con, so it was quite comfortable to sit back with a couple of reds. I have a stack of good wines on the way (Mostly 05s: Clos Mogador, Numanthia, Flor de Pingus, with Roda 04s being released soon too), but I won't get the them until after Easter I think, its just too hot. Anyway this went down well.
A fairly straight forward, but quality Douro red, aromas of plum, mulberry and cherry with pepper and clove. Warm and inviting in the mouth, a bit rustic with big, soft tannins and a lick of acid on the finish. The palate is more toward the plum end of things, but also shows cherry and mulberry with some earth and clove. Very enjoyable, it would do well with a good lamb dish. 88 Pts.
Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $33 Closure: Conventional Cork
Cedro do Noval 2004
If you've ever had even a passing interest in Port, you will have heard of Quinta do Noval. This most be one of the most iconic Port houses going and they are now making table wine in the Douro. They have come a bit later to the game than many, but the wines are bloody good. This is the second wine and its a winner, friendly, plenty of Douro character and it doesn't break the bank. Well packaged too.
The nose starts off with something that I'm calling schisty: soot, hot rocks and earth along with some clove, sweet plum, cherry and pepper. Well balanced and smooth with supple tannins and loads of minerals on the finish. There is some great savoury fruit on the palate plums, cherries and rosella mixed in with some chocolate, pepper and minerals. Its a bit meaty, but very stylish. As is usual for Portuguese wines, acid is more of a supporting player, but here it plays its part well. An excellent addition to the growing range of Douro reds available in Australia. 91 Pts.
Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $44 Closure: Conventional Cork
Quinta do Vallado 2005
I had a bottle of this wine back in September, at the time I loved the nose but thought the palate was a bit flat. This time around I had the wine in a blind line-up of 3 bottles to see if anything had changed. This is my note and score from the tasting.
Deep red with a purple tint. Aromas of burnt rocks, coffee, violets and plums, pepper and spice. Sars and rosella fruit(hibiscus flower). Sweet, ripe fruit with plenty of pepper. Plum and cherry, chistmas cake spices. Light, fluffy tannins, a lick of good acid. Quite tight and focused, a bit pez on the finish. 91 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork
Other Vintages: 2005
Quinta do Crasto ‘Crasto’ 2006
Another quick note. I've stolen GW's good work with the "Other Vintages" tag until I come up with something better. So you can get all the info on the wine from the my first write up.
2006 is looking quite good for the Douro so far, the 2005s are undoubtedly excellent however. A whole raft are now available or on their way in the next month or so.
Dark purple/red in colour, this one bolts out of the blocks with plum, mulberry and blueberry with pepper and meaty notes. Lots of plush, comfy tannins and a touch of acid. Juby fruit: plum, red currents and blueberry with a bit of cola and earthy, charry spice. Far too easy to drink and enjoy. 89 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $28 Closure: Conventional Cork
Other vintages: 2005
Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001
So what is an Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) port I hear you ask? Well basically, its a vintage port that is left in the barrel past the normal 2.5 years. Historically, it was left if barrel because an order had been cancelled or there was a lack of demand for that vintage. They usually stay in barrel for 4 to 6 years and can be filtered or unfiltered. I know this one is unfiltered, but if there is no mention of filtration on the bottle usually the cork is the give away. If it has a normal wine style cork, it is usually unfiltered. If it comes with a stopper type cork, its filtered.
Dark red and purple in the glass with intense aromas of clove, mulberry, white pepper, raisins, plums and dates. Well textured in the mouth with a sweet/savoury thing going on. Just the right level of sweetness and very good length. Bursting with Christmas cake, plum, and mulberry on the palate. This is great value, I don't think you'll find better for the money. 90 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $26 (375ml) Closure: Conventional Cork
Quinta do Vallado 2005
Quinta do Vallado was a grower for the big port houses for many years, but had branched out to produce its own table wines and ports. A big rejunivation project over the past 10 or so years has seen loads of new plantings and a new winery built on the site.
This wine is a field blend of Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and National with a dollop of Sousao. I'm calling most of these wine from the Douro simply: Douro field blends. It saves typing. Most of the wine is fermented in stainless steel, with 20% in 1 to 2 year old French oak.
A great douro nose of Sarsaparilla, clove, violets, earth, old fireplace and blackberry. Savoury and textured in the mouth, well balanced and easy to drink. After that great nose the palate is a bit lacking, not bad just flat. A bit of sars, smoke, pepper, red cherry and plums. If the palate lived up to the nose, this would scoring something in the low 90s, but its worth a look regardless. 88 Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork
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