Portugal
Luis Pato Vinha Pan 2005
I had a look at the 2003s of both these wines last year and was very impressed, but the wines were not being imported at the time. They are now being imported and the 2005s have just arrived, and boy are they good. I’ve seen them at a couple of tastings now, and the crowd reaction seems to be you either love them or can’t stand them. Personally, I’m a big fan of medium bodied wines with plenty of character and that describes these wines to a tee.
Every thing about this wine is medium: medium red in colour and medium bodied. All this mediumness is refreshing after a couple of block busters of late. The nose is a bit funky and earthy with some lovely cherry and raspberry with some bay leaf and pine resin/eucalyptus. Excellent balance and intensity with earthy and minerally raspberry flavours and driving acid. Textured thanks to some fine grained tannins and a very long finish. Drinking great now, but it will improve in the cellar over the long term, the 95 is drinking like a champ at the moment. 93+ Pts.
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $100 Closure: Conventional Cork
Web: www.luispato.com
Other Vintages: 2003
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
The Spanish Aquisition 2005 Premiums Tasting - Portuguese
So after a quick bit of bread and a glass of water, I’m on to the Portuguese table wines, as well as a couple of ports. This is the best showing of Portuguese wines I’ve seen in Australia and the quality here is unmistakable. Every wine here was high quality, showed great personality and I’d love to have all of them in my cellar.
Luis Pato Vinha Pan 2005 - A funky nose (in a good way) with cherry, blueberry and raspberry some bay leaf and pine/eucalyptus notes. Medium bodied with excellent balance but intense raspberry flavours, fine grained tannins and a very long finish. I rate this highly.
Luis Pato Vinha Barrosa 2005 - More spicy and less herby than the Pan, also a more meaty. Showing great raspberry fruit characters in the mouth but still very savoury. The balance here is superb, everything is just right.
Alvaro Castro Pepe 2005 -A great nose of red and blue fruits with a bit of funky barnyard, mocha and a touch of clove and cinnamon. Nice and clean in the mouth with tangy raspberry , a bit of smoke and minerals. Quite grippy.
Quinta do Crasto Reserva 2005 - Quite smoky on the nose with some typical rocky, sooty earth notes over the top of some plum, raspberry and blueberry fruit. Fleshy and spicy in the mouth, plenty of fruit here with big soft fruit tannins.
Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 2005 - Perfumed nose of violets and christmas cake spices, a touch of mint for good measure over some plums, blueberries and cherries. Tannins are quite amazing. Very interesting wine.
Valle D. Maria Douro 2005 - This is a real step up, and that’s saying something in this line up. Mint, clove and quality small goods on the nose with some lovely fruit. Good acid level, some fleshy tannins giving plenty of texture and interest. Quite meaty and juicy. Goes on forever. Excellent stuff.
Meandro de Meao 2005 - Beautiful nose of sweet fruit: cherry, plum and currents with xmas cakes spice. Complex and inviting in the mouth with more of that great fruit and spice with some added liquorice and earthy/mineraly rocks notes.
Meao Douro 2005 - The big daddy of the Portuguese wines at this tasting. The nose is intense and complex: menthol, clove, soot, brambly undergrowth, plum, cherry, blueberry. The palate is All class too, intense and complex but open business. Quality tannins and super balance. Looks like it will live for ever too.
Quinta do Valle D. Maria LBV 2003 - Excellent QPR here, subtle raisin and prune with clove and rosella jam. Very smooth and balanced, good integration of spirit and fruit.
Quinta do Valle D. Maria VP 2005 - This makes those big blockbuster Aussie table wines look even more porty. Elegant and so highly drinkable. The nose offers up ripe fruit (my notes say pomegranate and rosella, but not sure on those) with subtle clove and other spices. Its quite minerally too. Smooth as a baby’s….
Niepoort VP 2005 - This is a step up in complexity and depth from the last one. Intensely flavoured and structured. Its a bit more aggressive in structure, but shows really well right now. One to put in the cellar by the case if you’re a port fan.
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
IFW tasting
I jumped on the train after work yesterday and headed down to Abbotsford for a tasting of wine from all over the place, but most importantly Spain and Portugal. I have been drinking some of their new releases over the week, but I got a chance to look at few others that haven't made it into my tasting pile as yet, plus some stuff that I wouldn't normally see. The Cognac Tesseron gear they're importing is just amazing, I now have taste for another thing I can't afford! Take a look if you get the chance.
I took some notes of course, so here are some quick and dirty notes on the stuff I haven't already written up:
Agapito Rico Carchelo Monastrell 2006: Warm inviting nose of cherry, plum and nutmeg and a bit of barnyard action. A touch of sweetness in the mouth, cherry, Rosella, pepper and clove. Good price too 87 Pts.
Dehesa la Granja 2001: Looking a bit better than my last look. 88 Pts.
Quinta do Noval 2004: This is the top end Douro table wine from Noval, and its a beauty. A tight nose of cherry, plum, clove, shist and some violets. Mouthfilling and very complex on the palate with sarsparilla, clove, plums, mulberry and pepper. I'm going with a 93+ on this tasting but I'm sure it would a bit better with more air.
Quinta do Noval Tawny: Real quality here, raspberries and a bit appley on the nose. I don't drink enough tawny to have a reference point, but I like it.
Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2005: This is looking great, fairly classic VP with plums, dark cherries and rosella jam, spicey pepper, clove and nutmeg. 91 Pts.
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
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