You will find almost two decades of posts on my website, the last in October 2022, so it is now primarily an archive.  However, I continue to update my ‘Published Elsewhere’ page, where you can find my features on Portugal and Australia.  I also continue to publish a (more or less) monthly newsletter, to which you can subscribe here.   

Some of my published elsewhere features are free to read.  Others require a subscription or purchase (print magazines and books) to view.  The World of Fine Wine has very kindly permitted me to provide downloadable pdfs of long read features previously published by them.

Decanter, for whom I am a regular contributor, is offering readers a 20% discount off an annual or two yearly subscription package for Decanter Premium (the magazine’s online presence). To take advantage of it, simply visit the subscription page here, select your subscription, choose an annual or two yearly subscription package, enter the promo code WD20 then click ‘Apply.’  The 20% discount will be applied to the final cost. After you have entered your promo code, you will need to enter a credit or debit card. Then click ‘Complete Purchase.’ If you have any queries about the subscription or subscription process, the team at Decanter will be happy to help and can be contacted at support@decanter.com.

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The new Madeira Wine Company releases from Blandys and Cossart Gordon include some real gems.  The younger wines were more expressive several days after first opening, whilst the remains of the 1977 Listrão from last year’s releases looked positively tropical.   The bottles may be mini, but the wines pack a punch! What a testament to Madeira wines’ staying power (and the warmer, drier climate of Porto Santo island – the source of the Listrão). 

Here are my notes on my 2022 release highlights; Madeira Wine Company’s portfolio is imported into the UK by Fells.

Cossart Gordon

Cossart Gordon Verdelho 2009 (Madeira)

True to house style, this is drier on the palate thanks to a touch less residual sugar than the Blandys Verdelho 2009 and delicious hazelnut skin and sappy cedar phenolics. Delicately honeyed redcurrant and steely grapefruit acidity sustain a long, linear finish with smoky retro-nasal resonance and a woody timbre.  20% vol, 7.4g/l TA, 0.48g/l VA, 62g/l Residual sugar, 2,000 x 50cl bottles

Cossart Gordon Malmsey 2008 (Madeira)

Sweet apple tarte tatin, caramelised orange and fennel seed-edged crème catalana to nose and palate.  Juicy, rolling acidity balances the sweetness and sweeps the spicy flavours along. Well done. 20% vol, 6.95g/l TA, 0.50g/l VA, 115g/l Residual sugar, 2,000 x 50cl bottles

Blandys

Blandy’s Sercial 2009 (Madeira)

Initially quite delicate with a sweetness to the subtly textural grapefruit-driven palate, with its pretty jasmine and mirin lift.  Going back it is more expressive, revealing spicy cedar and leafy tobacco notes.  The finish is saline with iodine and quinine undertones.  A lick of sweetness balances the palate and, hand in hand with the acidity, brings carry. 20% vol, 7.25g/l TA, 0.50g/l VA, 45g/l Residual sugar, 2,600 x 75cl bottles

Blandy’s Terrantez Meio Doce/Medium Rich 1978 (Madeira)

Pale mahogany with green glints and nose twitching struck match and grapefruity acidity to the nose.  In the mouth this compelling Madeira is all bottled electricity, with a racy, reverberating palate with spicy tobacco/tobacco pouch and aromatised fresh and singed grapefruit zest layers.  The racy backbone of acidity propels the spice and citrus flavours on an ultra-long, distinctly dry, arrow-straight finish.  Fabulous. 21% vol, 9g/l TA, 1.25g/l VA, 90g/l Residual sugar, 204 x half bottles, 1,206 x 75cl bottles, plus a limited number of large format bottles.

Blandys Bual 1972 (Madeira)

Subtle, intriguing on the nose, with sulphur undertones to the cinnamon-edged medlar pear and a touch of tatin caramelisation.  Mouth-watering, spiralling acidity makes for a kaleidoscopic palate of mouth-coating honeyed grapefruit and pear shot through with saffron, cedar, black cardamom and spicy apricot chutney.  Sensual and sensationally long, the flavours just keep motoring – a purring motor. 21% vol, 9.2g/l TA, 1.1g/l VA, 115g/l Residual sugar, 2,600 x 75cl bottles

Blandys Malmsey 2007 (Madeira)

An alluring nose of bread pudding with guava and cinnamon. In the mouth, it comes off rich and mellow rather than sweet, with sustained acidity and savoury rooibos tea, nuts and hazelnut skins.  Long and satisfying, with lovely balance.  20% vol, 7.8g/l TA, 0.50g/l VA, 125g/l Residual sugar, 2,600 x 75cl bottles

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 “We always knew that Sandeman had the wines to make this remarkable Aged Tawny and finally the IVDP approved this new category, and we can bring this unique blend to the world,” said Sottomayor.  The blend was crafted from wines aged between 40–70 years old.  The intention is to release 1,000-1,300 bottles of this limited edition top tier Tawny each year.

Here is my note:

Sandeman 50-Year-Old Tawny Port

A rich but bright tawny hue, with impressive clarity to the nose and palate given the length of time in wood.  Indeed the wood is delicately worn, allowing the silky smooth apricot jelly (think apricot glazed patisserie), medlar/pear, dried redcurrant and orange and fennel seed infused crema catalana flavours to linger and shine.  Lavender, cinnamon and cedar notes bring complexity and lift. Elegantly balanced, the finish is well-controlled, long and precise with a sappy fresh, palate-cleansing quality to the acidity. 125g/l residual sugar, pH 3.2, Total Acidity 5.5g/l, 20% abv.  Bottled under (glass) vinolok.  RRP £330.00; Sandeman is imported into the UK by Liberty Wines.

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Quinta do Noval Vintage Port vertical; photo credit Sarah Ahmed

Not many Port houses could present a vertical of top tier Vintage Ports from 2011 to 2020 featuring every year.  Quinta do Noval can and did.  This superlative tasting provided a terrific insight on the last decade of Douro vintages.

Back-to-back vintages used to be an anathema, but Noval’s thick and fast declarations of consecutive vintages are now hardly novel.  Although they’re not ‘serial offenders’ like Noval, other top houses have gone back-to-back and even back-to-back-to-back this last decade.

Noval does go out on a limb, latterly in 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Upon launching Noval Vintage Port 2012, Noval’s Managing Director Christian Seely outlined the approach thus: “Quinta do Noval has always marched to the beat of its own drum. Our approach is very clear: when we are convinced that we have a wine of sufficient quality to merit a declaration as Quinta do Noval, we do so. 2012 is an outstanding example of this”.

Focused on the cream of the crop, releases can be tiny to ensure that the Ports have the requisite quality, but l think it’s fair to say  – and Seely would say it’s the point – the relative quality of each vintage shows.  It certainly made for a fascinating insight into the 2011-2020 Douro vintages.

Having written up each of the Ports on release, I’ve given you the link to my initial post (with Noval’s vintage reports) alongside this year’s note, giving you have a window on their evolution.

N.B. I was ill and unable to attend the scheduled event on 20^th July, so I tasted the Ports on 21 July, a day after they had been opened. For Ports of this calibre it was no bad thing – they were open and expressive.  A real delight.  The only downside was that two vintages had been consumed on 20^{th –} the much vaunted 2011 vintage of Quinta do Noval and the 2013.

Here are my notes, kicking off with the youngest – the previously untasted 2020 Noval Vintage Ports.  Here is Noval’s 2020 Vintage Report:

2020 was a hot and dry year, with a prolonged ripening period throughout the summer that led to an early harvest, as the grapes became fully ripe by early September. The resulting wines are extremely rich and powerful, voluminous, sensual, with great density. Tannic structure is immense, but with remarkable finesse. The Quinta do Noval Vintage is an unusually powerful and rich style for Quinta do Noval, but nevertheless retains the purity and freshness of Pinhão valley fruit that are typical of Noval wines. As usual, we made a strict selection of the best lots of wine from different parcels throughout the estate, with this year three different lots of wine from the Pinhão Valley and one from the Roncão valley making up the blend. Harvest was very short, from 1st to 22nd September, which is most unusual for Noval where normally the diversity of varieties, exposures and altitudes results in picking times ranging over a longer period. In 2020 the time to choose the right moment to pick each parcel was very short and the capacity of our three different lagar wineries was used to the full. The resulting wines are pure and aromatic, with remarkable density. We chose to allow slightly higher residual sugars than usual this year, and the result is a harmony and richness that is quite particular to this wonderful year at Quinta do Noval.

In response to my query about higher residual sugars in 2020, Seely replied: “The wines seemed so exuberant and ripe that we just felt a higher level of residual sugar was appropriate this year. And the resulting wine seems to confirm that this was a good idea!”

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2020

An exceptionally deep, uniform purple hue hinting at the latent power.  Bergamot and white blossom hints to the nose, with lashings of liquorice to the hyper-intense, pure core of blackcurrant and cassis fruit. You can smell the spirit but it does not jar in the least on the palate, such is its concentration of fruit. Supple tannins going through firm up, bringing sinew to the finish, with its spicy liquorice resonance.  Brooding but, with fresh acidity and supple tannins, drinkable now if young Ports are your bag. But it would be a waste. Lots of potential. 19.5% Residual sugar 115g/l, Ph 3.68, TA 5.3g/l

Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2020

Glass and doubtless tooth staining hue – the mark of 2020.  A good black mark.  The 2020 Nacional has a terrific vivacity to that colour – a touch more red than the regular Noval, which catches the eye on the swirl.  True to form, it is altogether more restrained in the mouth – mineral and sinewy, yet with a floating quality.  Lingering graphite/lead shot and lashings of liquorice are buoyed by an ever-present undercurrent of juicy, fresh blackcurrant and raspberry fruit.  Reeling the fruit back in on the finish, fine lasso tannins have terrific finesse.  Gorgeous.  19.5% Residual sugar 113g/l, Ph 3.66, TA 5.3g/l

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2019

A velvety crimson hue, with parma violets, brush wood, 100% raw cacao – a sense of relative dryness and texture – with melded velvety chocolate tannins being part of the warp and weft.  They bring a savoury dimension to the fleshy plum, raspberry and blackberry  fruit.  Spicy esteva lift and sweet parma violets linger on the robust finish. 19.5% Residual sugar 100g/l, Ph 3.63, TA 5.5g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2019

Striking garrigue notes to the nose with sage, orange blossom, liquorice spice, menthol esteva and hot metal notes, which follow through in the mouth.  You feel the spirit in this robust Port. The tannins are present, but not aggressive.  Rich and chocolately –  dense – the fruit has a certain brulée character.  Layers of spice and balancing acidity leaven the whole and, with ripe but present tannins, this compelling Vintage Port holds you in its grip all the way through to the gunmetal finish. 19.5% Residual sugar 100g/l, Ph 3.61, TA 5.4g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2018

Elegant and spicy, the 2018 tap dances (we’re talking Fred Astaire) across the palate, distinguishing itself from the denser 2019 and 2020.  It is markedly mineral, with a hot graphite/metal character and hints of cocoa.  Broom and esteva notes bring a menthol, spicy edge to the palate.  There are hints of bergamot and violet florals too.  Grainy, dynamic tannins and fresh acidity provide ample structure.  The finish is long, poised and balanced.  Very good.  19.5% Residual sugar 100g/l, Ph 3.58, TA 4.8g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2017

Bright, velvety looking crimson with delicious detail – spice, minerals, bush and flowers to the nose.  A veritable shower of spices follows through on the palate with cinnamon, cassia bark, cardamom and even exotic hints of crystallised ginger. Trademark lingering liquorice and esteva brings an attractive spicy savoury vegetal character to the palate.  Firm hard pan minerals protrude, providing a chassis of mineral tannin with a hint of lead shot.  Glorious in its structure, power and detail.  19.5% Residual sugar 99g/l, Ph 3.51, TA 4.92g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage 2017

Relatively inscrutable at first, with the fruit firmly on the backfoot.  Opening up, it shyly affords glimpses of hot stone, esteva, bergamot, black pepper and grassy (peppery?) olive oil, with warm spirit and powder-coating tannins on the finish.  Going back, it feels more apiece with the ‘regular’ 2017 Noval, still with tension – a sense of ripe but corseted fruit – but with exotic stem ginger, orange blossom, white flowers and liquorice.  The hot stone/hot metal – gunmetal – character is pronounced on the finish, with its fine, mouth-coating cocoa and iron-filing tannins.   Young; impressive, with plenty of time on its side.  19.5% Residual sugar 99g/l, Ph 3.51, TA 4.68g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2016

Crimson, with haunting florals and red fruits and spice to nose and palate.  Concave, swooping, with its exceptionally refined tannins, the delivery is elegant, sublime even, with exquisite harmony and balance from tip to toe.  Structurally, this poised Vintage Port may not have a hair out of place, but it’s very much Noval in flavour, with spicy and mineral detail to the red and black berry and plum fruit, which has a vinous restraint.  Really fine, with liquorice and fragrant star anise to the poised finish.  Totally floats my boat!  19.5% Residual sugar 82g/l, Ph 3.58, TA 4.19g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2016

Oh my 2016 again, with its enticing vinosity – that sense of whole bunch lift and spice with a touch of chinato herbs.  The Nacional is more restrained.  The fruit cleaves closer to the ripe but grainy, plentiful graphite tannins that seemingly melt in the mouth on the finish, with its lingering bergamot, chinato herbs and hot stone minerality.  Another wow in terms of sheer refinement and finesse.  19.5% Residual sugar 85g/l, Ph 3.5, TA 4.96g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2015

Velvety and smooth – a hallmark of this vintage – with melted dark chocolate and black pepper and white blossom lift to the blackberry and plum fruit. Ripe and well integrated, the robust tannins  do not impose on the flow or plush texture but, pushing through, they make for a spicy dry (in flavour) profile to the finish, which reveals tea leaf and graphite, mineral resonance.  A fun contrast with 2016.  19.5% Residual sugar 94g/l, Ph 3.63, TA 4.4g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2014

Quite lifted, lively and fresh, with spicy, menthol esteva, mulchy tobacco pouch and mineral notes and a touch of lead shot.  Whilst it does not have the depth of other Ports in the line up in this vintage, it is expressive and layered, with lacy tannins and fruit and animating acidity, none of which elements dominate, making for a balanced, broachable Port with interest.  Intriguing lighter year.  19.5% Residual sugar 101g/l, Ph 3.63, TA 4.35g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2012

A lighter year and, although spicy with parma violets, it fell a little flat, lacking the animation or layer of 2014.  The seams – tannins – show on the finish.  Perhaps this bottle?  19.5% Residual sugar 89g/l, Ph 3.78, TA 4.6g/l

Click here for my launch note & Noval’s vintage report

Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage 2011

Initially surly, this Nacional has decades in hand.  It reveals a wild esteva edge to the concentrated black fruits.  Ripe and powerful – vigorously traditional – with a touch of warming spirit (sloe gin) this hot day.  Impressive, with well integrated tannins and plenty of structure and depth for the long haul.  19% Residual sugar 95g/l, Ph 3.67, TA 4.66g/l

Click here for my launch note on the Nacional (and the ‘regular’ Noval) & Noval’s vintage report

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Boom, boom – holiday magnums to share – not the ice lolly variety!

August has been a torrid month weather-wise and in the metaphorical sense for one reason and another, so these vinous tonics went down particularly well (as did the spectacular magnum of Druida 2015 from Nuno Miro d’O).  Pure-fruited, detailed and juicy, Ochota Barrels Price of Silence Gamay 2021 and Bekkers Syrah 2020 represent the best of Australian contemporary reds.  

I bought the magnum of Ochota Barrels (and a magnum of Ochota Barrels The Slint Chardonnay) in a fund raising appeal for Ukraine.  It seemed a fitting double-barrelled tribute to Taras Ochota, who died in 2020; he was a warm, generous soul.  As you will have gathered, the 2021 vintage is the first made exclusively by Taras’ wife Amber and the couple’s long-term assistant winemaker, Louis Schoefield.  It’s a beauty.

To the south of Adelaide Hills, Toby and Emma Bekkers continue their upwards trajectory.  In 2020, the latest Grenache release is rich yet contained – “on a rail” as Emma would say.  With a fair wind – great flow – of billowing never landing fleshy fruit, the smooth, elegant Syrah/Grenache is my favourite vintage to date.  But the Syrah stole my heart.

Ochota Barrels Price of Silence Gamay 2021 (Adelaide Hills)

Beaujolais’ classic variety (Gamay) and winemaking technique (carbonic maceration) is turbo-charged when combined with Ochota Barrel’s stamp of pure, vivacious fruit.  This Gamay soars and sings.  With levity, freshness and bite, it’s firmly in the smashable ‘glou glou’ mold, yet has surprising concentration and intensity to its jangle of pomegranate, redcurrant and sour red cherry fruit.  A tantalising tickle of herbs brings lift and savoury balance.  Trust me, you’ll make light work of a magnum, so make sure you buy two standard 75cl bottles!  Drink lightly chilled.  Grapes are sourced from an established vineyard in the Woodside sub-region where Taras and Amber Ochota grafted three clones of Gamay onto Chardonnay in 2013.  Handpicked at the end of March, they were fermented wild with a mix of extended maceration carbonic, destemmed and whole bunch ferments, then pressed to seasoned French barriques and puncheons.  With no additions besides minimal so2, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.  12.3%  £37.25 (75cl) at Natty Boy Wines  

Bekkers Syrah 2020 (McLaren Vale)

A terrific trio from Bekkers in the low yielding 2020 vintage; photo credit Sarah Ahmed

A vivid aubergine skin hue with enticing whole bunch aromatics, crushed Szechuan black pepper and spicy cumin with a distinct citrus accent (the cumin).  The aromatics deliciously follow through on an animated palate bringing attack, bite, texture and length to the plum and blackberry fruit.  Savoury black olive/tapenade flavours bring umami richness and depth.  With its smoky espresso accent, the oak is subtle.  The on/off interplay of tannin and juice makes for a long, satisfying finish. This is a gorgeous Syrah, with ripe but motile sleek ‘n sinuous fruit. Wow.  Atlas Wines bring in small allocations.  I hope they import the 2020 but, given it was South Australia’s smallest for some time (a dry year on a dry year), we’ll be lucky!  This 10th vintage is a blend of four vineyards parcels from Clarendon (2 parcels, 53%) and Seaview (2 parcels), rising from 102m to 329m.  The grapes were harvested on 5th, 9th and 19th March following a much cooler than average January and February and mild harvest conditions.  The wine was fermented with an average of 21% whole bunches, the balance being whole berry.  Pressed to oak after 20 days, it aged in 500l French oak puncheons (55% new) until bottling unfiltered in December 2021.  14.2% alcohol. RRP AUS$120.00

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The latest releases from Sogrape’s winemaker-led Série Ímpar label

Série Ímpar translates as odd series.  Odd in the sense of individual or unusual.  It’s not unusual for an artisanal producer to make only a few thousand bottles.  All credit to Sogrape, Portugal’s biggest wine producer, for its limited edition winemaker-led out-of-the-box label. 

Highly individual and powerfully structured, yet with incisive acidity and relatively low alcohol, the latest Série Ímpar releases from Bairrada and Portalegre impressed.  A little bird told me Sogrape are dabbling in Colares, so watch this space….

Here are my notes:

Série Ímpar Sercialinho 2019 (DOC Bairrada)

Luís Pato has pioneered this variety, which is only found in Bairrada.  And only then in tiny amounts (Luís has just planted more and, last year released an excellent new top tier cuvee called Quinta do Ribeirinho Sercialinho Bairrada DOC 2020).   This wine, first made in 2018, hails from Quinta de Pedralvites, which is located just 25 kilometres from the Atlantic coast.  Owned by Sogrape, the estate has 2.5 hectare plot of Sercialinho on clay and limestone soils; the late-ripening grape’s acidity impressed António Braga, who made both vintages (he has since moved on).  The grapes were hand harvested into small 20 kilogram boxes, gently pressed and fermented in one 1,000 litre new French oak barrel and three used 500l French oak barrels, where it aged for 12 months following a short period of post-fermentation bâtonnage.  To preserving this wine’s fresh acidity (7g/l Total Acidity), it did not undergo malolactic fermentation.  Only 4,523 bottles produced.

This vintage follows on from the very first Série Ímpar release, although I’m told there is no guarantee it will be made every year.  Those wines that make the cut for the label must get the nod from the winemaking team, each of whom work in a different region.  Yellow gold, initially with a touch of petroleum to the nose, this Sercialinho hit reverse gear as it opened up over three days, becoming purer and purer, tauter and tauter.   Positively mineral and pellucid. A terrific, firm backbone of limey acidity drives the palate, which has an edge of tart nectarine skin and textures of peach fuzz.   This wine’s stony minerality and intriguing iodine tang became more pronounced and distinctive.  The whiff of petroleum which had me wondering if this bottle had random oxidation disappeared.  I’m convinced this wine has great ageing potential.  12.5% £214 for a case of 3 bottles at The Fine Wine Company.

Série Ímpar Retorto Portalegre White 2018 (DOC Alentejo)

Since 2018, Luís Cabral de Almeida has been juggling two estates in this sizeable region.  Herdade do Peso in Vidigueira is the company’s original estate.  In 2018, the company acquired Quinta do Centro, fellow writer Richard Mayson’s Portalegre estate at the opposite end of Alentejo.  Given that this wine is sourced from a small parcel of old field blend bush vines at 640m, I suspect it is not from Quinta do Centro (where, as I recall, Mayson did not make a white wine).  The grapes were harvested early for freshness and the wine was fermented and aged for 17 months in 225l and 500l French oak barrels. Part of the batch underwent malolactic fermentation.

Straw yellow, the sophisticated oak is beautifully deployed to bring structure and poise to the palate.  Dry and mineral in profile, it put me in mind of a particularly muscular example of oaked Sancerre with its hints of bay leaf, blackcurrant bud and elderflower.  But there’s a Mediterranean quality too in the waxy texture, round but firm quince fruit, ripe lemony acidity and lemon thyme.  It is an imposing wine with plenty of depth and layer.  The oak does not impinge on the intrinsic character of the terroir or varietal mix, which includes Arinto, Roupeiro, Bical, Fernão Pires and Tamarez.  12.5%  I don’t believe that this wine is imported into the UK by Liberty Wines (the Sogrape owned importer), but it is listed at £54.26 at Portugal Vineyards (with shipping from Portugal calculated at checkout).

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v

Venerating age is all the rage with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of this last week.  And in Oporto where three new categories were authorised by the IVDP last July: 50-year-old Tawny and White Port and Very Very Old Tawny Port for wines exceeding 80 years old.  Here I review a flurry of new releases from Taylor’s and Kopke alongside some relative babies from Wine & Soul & C. da Silva (Dalva).

The oldies

Taylor’s Platinum Jubilee Very Very Old Tawny Port

Fit for a Queen, this exceptionally refined Very Very Old Tawny Port commemorates the Platinum Jubilee of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.  I had two bites at this exquisite cherry – on 15th March at Mentzendorff’s trade tasting, then a test tube sample which I tasted on 11th May.  It was very consistent and so very very Taylor’s in its precision.  Quite an achievement given its age.  And quite the contrast with Taylor’s Golden Age 50-Year-Old Tawny Port, which I tasted alongside it on 15th March.  With a firm walnutty spine and rich woody timbre, Taylor’s Platinum Jubilee Very Very Old Tawny Port is beautifully controlled – seamless – on the palate, with cedar-edged subtly grainy dried pear (lovely perfume) and fig.  Sweet and harmonious, perfectly balanced acidity and that nutty spine make for a lingering finish – intense and retro-nasal. Fabulous, this limited edition of 2,000 bottles comes in a beech wooden box.  RRP £350 per bottle 

Taylor’s Golden Age 50-Year-Old Very Old Tawny Port

I’m afraid I simply cannot agree that 50 is ‘Very Old.’  But I’d happily let bygones be bygones for another taste of this mellow fellow.  Whilst the Platinum Jubilee Very Very Old Tawny is ever so finely honed and elegant, Taylor’s Golden Age 50-Year-Old Tawny Port is a hug in a glass (perhaps because it was sourced from the eastern reaches of the Douro Valley?)  Rich, round and nutty with dried apricots and a caramelised crème brulée character (actually, crème Catalana given its orange peel accents), it is warm, generous and moreish.  Guaranteed to bring a smile to the face. £220/bottle at Millesima.

Kopke 50-Year-Old Very Old White Port (cask sample)

This maiden release is an absolute triumph.  No surprise I must say given Kopke’s depth of resource of wood-aged Port wine and talent in the shape of Carlos Alves and his team.  In his own words, the Head Winemaker seeks out wines “with an extremely fine and delicate aroma component, where the aromatic component combines with the opulence that these wines express in the mouth due to the years of ageing that concentrated all the elements of the wine, but always keeping in mind the incredible freshness that defines the profile of old Kopke Ports.”  I was only sorry that the companion cask sample bottle of 50-Year-Old Very Old Tawny Port was corked.  On the other hand, I immensely enjoyed my cask sample bottle of Kopke 50 Years Old White Port over a couple of weeks.  It is an amber hue but paler, more translucent than the Tawny (as one would expect).  Goodness, it is still so fresh, yet harmonious with svelte barley sugar, dried fig and beguiling lifted notes of toasted almonds, cedar and sweet mandarin.  Opening up, richer roasted almond notes build, but never at the expense of freshness or detail (tobacco and cafe creme cigar).  In fact I was reminded of one of Dirk Niepoort’s turns of phrase about acidity sweeping clean like a broom on the finish.   Extremely fine, with delicate aroma and opulence, Alves ticks every box here.  20% abv, pH 3.39, Total Acidity 5.48 g/l, Residual sugar 127g/l.  Kopke is imported into the UK by Hayward Bros. Wines 

The babies

Sandra Tavares with toneis at Wine & Soul’s Quinta da Manoella Lodge; photo credit Sarah Ahmed.

Wine & Soul Manoella 10-Years-Old White Port

Wine & Soul Manoella 10-Years-Old White Port; photo credit Sarah Ahmed

Sandra Tavares and Jorge Serôdio Borges always wanted to make Port.  They kicked off ambitiously (as is their way) with Pintas Vintage Port, then 5G Very Old Tawny and the ‘port’folio has steadily grown to encompass a Ruby Port, Tawnies and White Ports from Quinta da Manoella (the slightly higher, cooler vineyard).  Wine & Soul Manoella is a blend of Dry White Ports sourced from old field blend vines planted to Viosinho, Rabigato, Códega do Larinho and Gouveio among others. The Port was fermented in granite lagares with foot treading and matured in seasoned old 630l pipas for around 10 years at Quinta da Manoella Lodge (pictured).  I have one word for this White Port – ‘delicious’!  The dynamic duo’s goal is ‘balanced wines between concentration, complexity and elegance” and this 10-Year-Old White Port has uncommon intensity and purity to its gently nutty, caramelised orange and dried apricot fruits.  And like well executed caramelised oranges, the fruit is luscious and sweet but fresh to the core, with a clean finish.  The pedigree of the vineyard and winemaking shines.   19.5% abv, pH 3.41, 109g/l residual sugar.  Wine & Soul’s UK importer is Corney & Barrow.  BTW do check out Wine & Soul’s website, which is chock-full of information and engaging video snippets.

Wine & Soul Pintas Vintage Port 2019

I always look forward to tasting this old friend; since 2003 its fruit power and muscle has brilliantly showcased its eponymous roots (Pintas vineyard, like Manoella, in Vale de Menidz, Pinhão Valley).  The 2019 vintage is an ultra-deep, bright purple hue.  Although the fruit is tightly wound on day one much like Niepoort Vintage Port 2019 it is immensely expressive aromatically, with blackcurrant/cassis, orange blossom, pronounced esteva and bergamot, with iodine undertones.  The latter, I suspect, connected to the abundant shower of mineral iron filing tannins on the palate.  On day two, the fruit – ripe and luscious cassis and black berry and cherry – fleshes out the palate.  This is a velvety sensual Pintas; fine but plentiful, the tannins bode well for ageing.  20% abv

C. da Silva Dalva Colheita Tawny Port 2001

This special release from another house known for its wood-aged Ports marked the 20th anniversary of the Alto Douro wine region’s inclusion in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.  Just like the Douro DOC red wines from this year, this is a well-structured, spicy Tawny – still with youthful vigor and ruddy hue.  Spicy, touch smoky lift to the otherwise firm nose.  In the mouth, it reveals flavours of redcurrant jam and plum and almond frangipane tart.  With controlled lick of toffee apple sweetness and a clean cut of acidity, the palate is well-focused.  The touch salty roast hazelnut/praline finish brings sweet and savoury depth to the palate.  Twenty years young, with time on its side just 3,000 bottles are being released.  20% abv,  residual sugar 133g/l, Total Acidity 6.2 g/l, pH 3.4; RRP  €57.50

C. da Silva Dalva Pure Vintage Port 2019

‘Pure’ because this is an organically certified Vintage Port sourced from a single Douro Superior vineyard located at 400m.   As one would expect from a Single Quinta Vintage Port this deep crimson example is relatively accessible – plummy with soft berry and cherry fruit, smooth tannins and lashings of spicy liquorice from nose to tail.  Pine resin and esteva riffs bring nuance and lift to the open knit palate.  It is a limited edition of 3,500 bottles; Dalva’s ‘Pure’ range also features organic Tawny and White Ports.  Predominantly a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousão; 20% abv, 96g/l residual sugar, Total Acidity 4.7g/l, pH 3.59.  Dalva is imported into the UK by Matthew Clark; RRP €65 

The post Of age & beauty – spectacular 50 Year Old & Very Old Ports & some babies… appeared first on The Wine Detective.

Caracol dos Profetas Vinho do P. Santo 2021 & lapas at Restaurante Torres, Porto Santo (highly recommended); photo credit Sarah Ahmed

I am just back from hectic but highly productive travels to Bairrada to celebrate International Baga Day (21st May), Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago and Pico in the Azores.  Right off the bat, let me share two exciting new finds I cannot keep to myself.  Both bring a broad smile to my face.

Caracol.  Never heard of it?  Neither had I until last week.  It is the other grape from Porto Santo being interrogated by  António Maçanita and Nuno Faria whose Listrão (one of two) made the cut for my March Wines of the Month.  I am amazed how swiftly the duo have polished this diamond in the rough, although I guess I should know better.  Maçanita has serious form in the Azores, where I just tasted Azores Wine Company’s phenomenal 2020 releases.  The Tinta Negra he is making with Faria on Madeira island is also something to behold.  These boys are on fire!

Niepoort’s pioneering track record is second to none.   A succession of first releases from Quinta do Baixo has impressed.  Niepoort Quinta de Baixo Baiju 2011 (August Wine of the Month 2013), then Niepoort Poeirinho 2012, which I raved about the following year.  I’m not sure if the latest release – Lote D – derives from a ‘Dirk barrel’ (chalked with a curly hair tag), but a sample from one such barrel came to mind when I tasted Lote D.  Perhaps I have sampled from the previous releases (Lote D was also released in 2014 and 2015, but the 2017 marks my first taste of this label).

Porto Santo, Porto Sando? Sand glorious sand – António Maçanita and Nuno Faria; photo credit Sarah Ahmed

Gee, that name is a mouthful.  So is the wine.  Not exactly rich, but round with intense ripe lemony acidity and mango close-to-the-stone.  Yet at the same time, it is immensely mineral.  Did you ever put sand in your mouth when you were a child?  During kayaking misadventures I have bitten sand (fortunately not dust) and this wine evokes memories of sand, sea and shells on nose and palate.  Which of course places it 100% in Porto Santo – a small island with plentiful beach sand – limestone-derived mind, not silica.  Fresh and lingering with a piquant ‘spicy’ (perhaps more salty), earthy/sandy finish.  Brilliant with another taste of the sea – local lapas (limpets).  Just 4,000 bottles produced.  12.5%

Niepoort Lote D 2017 (Bairrada DOC)

Sourced from a 1.8ha 100-year-old plus parcel of Baga on a deeply calcareous south-facing slope at Quinta de Baixo in Cantanhede, itself in Bairrada’s south.   In a dry, hot, low yielding and early year Lote D 2017 has a powerful, perfumed nose,  all spice and chalky smoke with intense notes of wild shrub and violets which follow through on the palate.  A clean cut of acidity – saline, laser beam – brings precision and length to the firm red cherry, berry and pomegranate fruit.  The tannins, pithy, chamois-like, are present (savourily so) but yielding.  Tremendous staying power, yet oh so drinkable on first pour.  When I go back to my glass, the tannins are building.  This will age for a long, long time.  A brilliant wine.  Very much itself. After 4-5 weeks fermenting in stainless steel, it finished fermenting in a large 2,500l wooden barrel where it completed the malolactic fermentation and aged for 21 months. It was bottled (2,350 bottles) unfiltered.   12.5%

The post June Wines of the Month: fresh & freshly launched Caracol & Baga appeared first on The Wine Detective.

Blue sky thinking – FESTA by Bar Douro founder Max Graham & me in the Douro; photo credit Bar Douro

You can take the man out of Portugal, but you can’t take Portugal out of the man.  And so it is for Max Graham.  His desire to recreate a slice of the country where he was raised in London saw the entrepreneur found Bar Douro wine bars, now FESTA by Bar Douro – an ambitious ‘meet the maker’ festival of wine at Tobacco Dock on 24th & 25th June. And SO much more.

Tickets can be purchased here for three separate sessions – Friday 24th June 5-9pm and Saturday 25^th June 12-4pm and 5-9pm, costing £35 per session. This will include a take home FESTA branded Riedel wine glass, the extraordinary as it is extensive ‘meet the maker’ tasting of over 250 wines and access to the food court, mercado and music sets.  Subscribers to The Wine Detective benefit from a £5 discount on a limited allocation of advance tickets – first come first served!

Enquiries about the trade and press preview on Friday 24^th June (11am-4pm) can be made here.

A cultural statement

I am the Wine Director and could not be prouder of the ‘meet the maker’ line-up of 54 producers.  FESTA by Bar Douro not only features the UK’s most comprehensive gathering of cutting-edge artisanal, boutique and pioneering producers to date, it will also showcase every Portuguese region bar one (Lafoes).

This is in no small part down to the fact that FESTA is an independent initiative based on Max’s and my passion for Portuguese wine.  Just as Max gave me a free hand to select the producers for Bar Douro Wine Club, he gave me a free hand to select the producers and direct the themed panel discussions and tastings.  No holds barred.

Responding in kind, the producers will themselves be showing an eye-popping range of wines, bringing an authentic taste of Portugal’s dynamic wine scene to London.  Regular readers will recognise many of the attending producers and wines being shown.  This is your chance to taste my Wines of the Month and meet many of the stellar players and rising stars who have excited me over the years.  And brand new finds!

The human terroir – the makers – will put the wine in cultural context, as will a food court which, thanks to Max’s connections and strong sense of community, features London’s leading Portuguese restaurants and chefs, ‘Mercado’ (a Portuguese market), traditional and contemporary live music and a DJ, Portuguese of course!

Meet our makers

“FESTA is bringing the most exciting selection of Portuguese winemakers to the UK that I’ve seen so far.” (Simon Woolf, co-author, Foot Trodden, Portugal and The Wines That Time Forgot)

“Why am I looking forward to FESTA? I would be completely insane if I didn’t! It is unbelievable how many well-known winegrowers will be there in person.” (Carine Patricio, Portugal Sommelier of the Year 2020)

 

FESTA by Bar Douro pop up & online shop

Discovery Box 3 – Quinta das Marias Crudus 2018 & Bar Douro Wine Club Zine

It would be crazy simply to show such an outstanding selection of Portuguese wine.  FESTA by Bar Douro’s pop up shop and online store will list wines from every attending producer, so you can order wines for home delivery in the UK.  I shall also be curating a selection of take home FESTA wine boxes to purchase on the day.

Let me also put in a word for Bar Douro Wine Club.  Curated by me, the quarterly mixed case of six with accompanying zine tracks my ‘The Wine Detective’ adventures in real time.

The current Discovery Box 8 features two new finds from recent visits: Soalheiro Ag.hora Loureiro 2020 (Minho VR), discovered at Herdade do Rocim Amphora Wine Day in November and Quinta do Arcossó Bastardo 2018 from my Trás-os-Montes visit this March.  It will be shown at FESTA’s pop up shop, where you can subscribe to Bar Douro Wine Club and keep discovering and learning about cutting edge and under the radar wines from Portugal.

The food court & mercado

Echoing Bar Douro’s regular guest chef events, FESTA by Bar Douro will offer special menus and dishes from leading players on London’s Portuguese food scene. In addition to Bar Douro’s ‘petisco’ (small plate) dishes, Leandro Carreira of The Sea The Sea will recreate dishes from his new book, Portugal – The Cookbook, Volta do Mar will explore Portugal’s culinary connections with South America, Africa and Asia, whilst Bar Douro’s street food pop up Roulote will focus firmly on Portugal’s famous Bifana pork sandwich.

The Mercado will showcase national products and local delicacies including pasteis de nata, olive oils, charcuteries and cheeses, as well as boutique drinks brands such as Mavem Aguardente, Licor Beirão and Botica Ginjinha. There will be a Super Bock bar – as well as a craft gin and tonic bar which will also serve ‘P & T’ – White Port & Tonic. 

Wine & song

Much like the wines, the music will draw on tradition and reflect contemporary trends.  Live Portuguese guitar and piano recitals will keep us company during the tastings.

Between 9pm-11pm on Friday and Saturday evenings (after the wine tasting), the tempo changes.  Lara Martins and João Menezes’ Trio play live on Friday evening, exploring different styles and genres of Portuguese Music- “Da saudade e outras nostalgias.”

On Saturday evening, the beat goes on with Lisbon-born Rita Maia, DJ and broadcaster at Gilles Peterson Worldwide FM.  Drawing from her show Migrant Sounds, Rita will play a live set of dance music from showcasing African music from Portuguese speaking countries – Angola, Mocambique, Guine Bissau, Sao Tome, Cape Verde as well as Brazil and Portugal.

‘Red carpet’ tastings, 24th & 25th June

Tickets (18/session) have already been selling ‘blind’ as it were but, with this heads up on the line-up, I recommend you jump in there and snap up an add on ticket before they sell out.    Just click on the session you wish to attend and you will see the add on ticket option for red carpet tastings.

Fine & Rare Red Carpet Tasting, 7pm, Friday 24th June (add on ticket £75)

Based on my Top 10 Portuguese Fine Wines of 2021 feature for Decanter (and a fair few The Wine Detective Wines of the Month) I’m thrilled and feel privileged to be showing these super rare wines from attending FESTA producers:

• Azores Wine Company, Vinha dos Utras Criação Velha 1os 2019  (DOC Pico)
• Wine & Soul, Guru NM (DOC Douro)
• Ramilo Ramisco Rose 2020 (VR Lisboa)
• Herdade do Rocim Vinha Micaela Tinto Vidigueira 2018 (DOC Alentejo)
• Dona Maria Wines Júlio B. Bastos Alicante Bouschet 2015 (DOC Alentejo)
• Luis Pato Quinta do Ribeirinho Baga Pé Franco 2015 (DOC Bairrada)
• Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda 2011 (Douro DOC)

Esoteric Fortified Tasting, 1pm, Saturday 25th June (add on ticket £65)

Going firmly off the beaten track, with only one (top tier Tawny) Port in the mix, we shall refresh the parts Portugal’s best known fortifieds do not, going to her other archipelago (the Azores, not Madeira), having Moscatel and Baga head-to-heads and enjoying a rare taste of the rarest (red) of them all, Carcavelos.

• Filipa & William Baga Espirito de Baga Licoroso 2017 (DOC Bairrada)
• Quinta das Bageiras Baga Licoroso 2007 (DOC Bairrada)
• Villa Oeiras Vinho Generoso Tinto Colheita 2009 (DOC Carcavelos)
• Co-operativa Vitivinicola da Ilha de Pico 10 Year Old Licoroso (DOC Pico)
• Niepoort Moscatel do Douro 2000 (DOC Moscatel do Douro)
• Horacio Simoes Excellent Moscatel Roxo NV (DOC Moscatel Roxo de Setubal)
• Churchill’s 30-Year-Old Tawny Port

Portugal’s Best Kept Secrets Tasting, 6pm, Saturday 25th June (add on ticket £55)

Quinta do Ameal vertical tasting 2003 to 2019; photo credit Sarah Ahmed

I remember being dumbstruck by my first vertical tastings of top flight Vinho Verde – these are ‘in the know’ wines for the cellar. Thrillingly, FESTA’s top notch Alvarinho and Loureiro specialists have dug into precious museum stock to share a mature wine alongside their current release.  Here’s the line up:

• Aphros Loureiro 2012 & 2021
• Quinta do Ameal Loureiro 2011 & 2020
• Anselmo Mendes Contacto Alvarinho 2021 & 2011
• Quinta de Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas Alvarinho 2020 & 2010

Trade & press session, 24th June

FESTA kicks off with an exclusive preview of the tasting, food court and mercado for the wine press and trade during the daytime on Friday, 23rd June (enquire here to register).  Moderated by leading opinion formers, four panel discussions and tastings will share insights from Portugal’s acclaimed producers, movers and shakers on cutting edge topics.  They are:

Does Portugal have a glass ceiling? Exploring Portuguese fine wine: 10-11am

Herdade do Rocim Jupiter Code 01 2015 – Portugal’s most expensive wine launch

Panel: Luís Pato, Pedro Ribeiro (Herdade do Rocim), Luís Cerdeira (Soalheiro), Sandra Tavares da Silva (Wine & Soul) & Raymond Reynolds.  Moderator: Richard Siddle, publisher/co-founder of www.The-Buyer.net.

Last year, Herdade do Rocim launched Jupiter Code 01 2015, Portugal’s first £1,000/bottle wine.  A bold move, not least given it was a ‘talha’ (amphora-made) wine.  Jupiter’s maker, Pedro Rocim will explore Portugal’s dynamic fine wine scene alongside prestigious fellow winemakers Luís Pato, Luís Cerdeira and Sandra Tavares da Silva, also Raymond Reynolds, the pioneering Portuguese specialist and purveyor of fine wine to the UK’s premier restaurants and wine retailers.

Back to the future – Portugal’s renaissance regions, varieties & techniques: 11.30-12.30pm

Medieval methods – André Gomes Pereira of Quinta do Montalto with a wicker basket – the original lo-fi filter

Panel: André Gomes Pereira (Quinta do Montalto), Nuno Ramilo (Ramilo), Ricardo Santos (XXVI Talhas), Mateus Nicolau de Almeida & Alexandre Lisboa (Villa Oeiras).  Moderator: Simon Woolf, co-author of ‘Foot Trodden, Portugal and the Wines that Time Forgot,’ New York Times Wine Book of the Year 2021

• Quinta do Montalto Medieval de Ourem 2021 DOC Encostas d’Aire
• Ramilo Malvasia de Colares 2019 DOC Colares
• XXVI Talhas Palhete do Tareco 2021 DOC Vinho de Talha, Alentejo
• Mateus Nicolau de Almeida Curral Teles Alfa 2018 DOC Douro
• Villa Oeiras 7 Anos Carcavelos DOC Carcavelos

A rare opportunity to explore (and taste) aspects of Portugal’s unique wine heritage now undergoing a thrilling renaissance, including Colares’ un-grafted vineyards, Alentejo’s talha wines and the monastic traditions of Medieval de Ourem DOC.

Vines & wines without make up – Portugal’s vignerons & visionaries: 1-2pm

Filipa Pato at her biodynamic dynamisation station

Panel: Filipa Pato, Vasco Croft (Aphros), João Roquette (Esporão), Sara Dionísio (Casa de Mouraz) & João Barroso (Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Manager).  Moderator: Carine Patricio, Best Sommelier of Portugal 2020.

Portugal’s champions and pioneers of sustainability will explore developments and the direction of travel for the country’s growing organic, biodynamic and sustainable wine scene.

2.30-3.30pm: ‘Portugal’s old vines, field blends & comeback grapes.’

Frederico Machado & Ricardo Alves (Arribas Wine Company, Tras-os-Montes); photo credit Sarah Ahmed

Panel: Frederico Machado (Arribas Wine Company),     João Tavares de Pina (Quinta da Boavista), Susana Esteban, António Maçanita (Azores Wine Company/ Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e dos Villões) & Luís Leocadio (Titan of Douro).  Moderator: Sarah Ahmed

• Arribas Wine Company Saroto Red 2020 VR Transmontano
• Quinta da Boavista Terras de Tavares 2019 DOC Dão
• Susana Esteban Tira o Véu 2019 DOC Portalegre, Alentejo
• Azores Wine Company Vinha Centenaria 2019 DOC Pico
• António Maçanita & Nuno Faria Listrão dos Profetas 2020 DOC Madeirense
• Titan of Douro Fragmentado White Blend II DOC Douro

This session will showcase among Portugal’s oldest vines and most idiosyncratic native grape varieties.  The tasting flight will include wines sourced from un-grafted, field blend and polycultural vineyards on the mainland and rare as hen’s teeth examples from the islands of Pico in the Azores and Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago.

If you are wine trade and press and would like to attend a panel discussion, please request a place when you complete the enquiry form to register on the FESTA website.

The post London’s landmark Portuguese wine festival: FESTA by Bar Douro, 24th & 25th June appeared first on The Wine Detective.

Original Baga Friends Filipa Pato, Luis Pato, William Wouters, Dirk Niepoort, Mário Sérgio Nuno, François Chasans, Paulo Sousa

Has there been a better excuse than this Saturday to dust down a bottle of Baga, the Bairrada region’s iconic single varietal red?  It marks the launch of International Baga Day – a Baga Friends’ initiative to celebrate their 10th anniversary, additionally the official inauguration of new Baga Friends, Luis Patrão and Eduarda Dias of Vadio.

Baga is such a unique grape because of its plasticity

Yet as Patrão would be the first to tell you, contemporary Baga is a far cry from the stereo-typical austere, tannic wines of yore.  For him, “Baga is such a unique grape because of its plasticity – we can make a very elegant, sharp and delicate sparkling wine, a fresh and juicy young red, and a bold structured wine that can age for a long time. Not too many grapes in the world can do the same.”  A couple of Baga Friends – Filipa Pato & William Wouters and Quinta das Bágeiras – even make fortified Baga.

New Baga Friends, Eduarda Dias and Luis Patrão of Vadio

All seven Baga Friends are opening their doors this Friday and Saturday to receive visitors, before assembling for a celebratory International Baga Day dinner at Rei dos Leitões.  The restaurant is a local institution and, for those not into the local Baga go-to – suckling pig – the fish dishes are terrific (not to mention the wine list).

The new line-up of Baga Friends is:

• Luis Pato – Luis Pato Wines
• Dirk Niepoort – Quinta de Baixo / Niepoort
• Filipa Pato – Filipa Pato & William Wouters
• François Chasans – Quinta da Vacariça
• Mário Sérgio Nuno – Quinta das Bágeiras
• Paulo Sousa – Sidónio de Sousa Wines
• Luís Patrão e Eduarda Dias – Vadio Wines

I’m looking forward to catching up with Baga Friends this week.  If you would like to taste wines from five of the Baga Friends next month, Luis Pato, Niepoort, Filipa Pato & William Wouters, Quinta das Bágeiras and Vadio will be at FESTA, a deep dive festival of Portuguese wine and food culture by Bar Douro at Tobacco Dock on 24th & 25th June.

You can find out more about it/book tickets here, including for a ‘Red Carpet’ Esoteric Fortified Tasting at 1pm on Saturday 25th May featuring rare 2007 and 2017 fortified Bagas from Quinta das Bágeiras and Filipa Pato & William Wouters  (full disclosure – I’m FESTA’s Wine Director).

If you would like to know more about Baga in Bairrada, click here to read my feature for The World of Fine Wine and here for my Bairrada Regional Profile for Decanter.

Here are three Baga-tastic recommendations for International Baga Day, all of which will be shown by their makers at FESTA:

Luis Pato Vinha Pan 2017 (Bairrada DOC)

Pato with verticals of Vinha Pan & Vinha Barrosa

Vinha Pan was planted by Pato himself in 1980.  In an unusually dry, hot year the 2017 is delicious already, with anise-edged red berry and currant fruits, fleshier plum and ripe but present fine tannins.  Long and spicy, with cedar and liquorice to the finish.  Broachable but will age well – just check out this post for my notes on an extensive vertical tasting with Pato (the 1996 Pan in magnum was a joy)!  Luis’ flagship Quinta do Ribeirinho Baga Pé Franco 2015  – one of my Decanter 2021 Top 10 Portuguese Fine Wines of 2021 will be shown at FESTA’s ‘Red Carpet’ Fine & Rare tasting at 7pm on 24th June.

Quinta das Bágeiras Garrafeira 2017 (Bairrada DOC)

Mário Sérgio Nuno – Quinta das Bágeiras – amongst the old vines

This terrific vintage of Bágeiras’ most classic Baga is brilliantly structured, ever so chalky, smoky and mineral with terrific concentration to the violet-edged al dente black and red cherry fruit.  It is sourced from very old 90+-year-old vines.  The grapes fermented with 100% whole bunches and, following manual punch downs, the wine finished fermenting in old wooden toneis (big barrels), where it aged for 18 months.  I loved the parry of fruit-sluiced tannin and acidity.  It makes for arresting tension and length on the palate.  Takes your breath away this one.  13.5%

Vadio Grande Tinto 2015 (Bairrada DOC)

Baga under the magnifying glass at Vadio

This was the first of a run of very good to outstanding vintages for Baga, 2015 being in the outstanding category.  Vadio’s top wine is only released in top years and with bottle age.  Sourced from just one vineyard (an aged one), the aim of Grande is “to show the best expression of a vineyard in one year,”  said Patrão when I visited Vadio in 2017.  Consistent with 2012 (a more accessible vintage), the 2015 shows off the vineyard character well with a savoury ruffle of pine needle and incipient mushroom to its red fruit.  Round and ripe, concentrated, through the mid-palate, a vein of fresh acidity  – lovely freshness from tip to toe – buoys the fruit going through.  Long with lovely purity and intensity of fruit at the core.

The post International Baga Day: 21st May appeared first on The Wine Detective.