Douro
Quinta do Crasto ‘Crasto’ 2007
After a couple of weeks of demolishing kitchens, sanding and polishing floorboards, fitting a new kitchen and a few other things, I’m back tasting again. So to kick things off I’ve got this entry level wine from the Douro valley in Portugal. Many of you will know that Dominic Morris is involved in the operations here and he has made a very tasty and highly drinkable wine from the excellent 2007 vintage.
Vallado 2007
The 2005 edition of this wine was, and still is, one of my favourite wines from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It had everything, balances, tons of flavour, only 13.5% alcohol, and seemingly higher than normal acid for red wine from the Douro. You could say it was atypical, but I think it gives us a look at what is possible. I skipped the 2006, I thought it showed to many green characters, but Jamie Goode has just written it up and gave it 90. Now this 2007 is more typical of the what is becoming the classic Douro red: around 14.5 % alc, warm fruit, and the acid takes a back seat…
Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage 2004
I’ve been a bit all over the shop the last couple of weeks and things have been very quiet on the new release front. I’ve just got back from a conference on the Gold Coast (AusCERT, an IT Security thing, boring for the most part) just in time for it to bucket down and flood the place. I did however get a good meal in at The Rice Paddy, a Vietnamese joint on the main strip of Surfers that delivers with some top class duck. Most of the importers all seem to be landing all of their new stuff over the next couple of weeks, so there should be plenty to look at.
Altano 2003
This is a fairly cheap and very cheerful wine from the Symington group, who you might know as the makers of ports like Dows, Smith Woodhouse and Warres. A blend of Tinta Roriz (60%) and Touriga Franca (40%) from the hot 2003 vintage. As far as I can find out, there is no oak treatment here, and to be honest I don’t miss it at all.
Niepoort ‘Redoma’ Brancho 2007
Niepoort make some amazing red table wines, as well as some mind blowing ports, but I think it’s these Douro white wines that really show Dirk Niepoort’s skills and that the Douro isn’t a region just for the production of fortified wines. Its made from a a blend of Rabigato, Codega, Donzelinho, Viosinho and Arinto from 40 year old vines up on the top of part of the Douro valley. The thing that really sucks me in with this wine is its calm, subtle and fresh nature. You could almost swear it was a village white burgundy going by the texture, length and mouthfeel.
meandro do vale meao 2006
As I mentioned the other week, this is the little brother to Quinta do Vale Meao. This one is a blend of 40% Touriga National, 30% Tinta Roriz, 20% Tinta Barroca, 10% Tinta Amarela. Now 2006 wasn’t the best vintage in the Douro, but this is a seriously good wine that is a great introduction to what Douro table wine is all about.
Quinta do Vale Meão 2005
I’ve been thinking about my favourite wines of the year over the past couple of weeks, and this features towards the top of the list. Considering that many of these top end portugese wines have only been available in Australia for 12 months or so, they have gained huge popularity and a loyal following with wine drinkers around Australia. This wine is at the top of the heap for me.
Quinta do Noval Masterclass
A last minute invitation got me into a Quinta do Noval Masterclass a couple of weeks. A great opportunity to have a look at just about all of the current releases and a few back vintages, including a couple of vintages of the revered Nacional Vintage Port.
Van Zellers Douro 2005
This is a project from Christiano van Zellar of Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, a field blend red wine from the Douro that uses grapes from outside Quinta. Thats about all I know, a quick bit of work on google didn’t really show up much except for a couple of good scores from TWA and WS for the 2004.
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.
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