For The Love Of Port

2 x 2009 Burmester Douro Tinto $8 apiece on clearance at Binny's. Originally $15. Anybody try this before?

12 x 2009 Poças Símbolo Douro about a week ago on WTSO ($17 per)

(opened a bottle already and it is drinking wonderfully now)

Had a 20% off coupon at a local retailer, picked up a 2011 Meandro Douro (would have gotten more but it had a max cap of $50 per bottle so had to keep to the cheaper things).

I popped and poured one of the Burmesters last night. This is definitely a value at $8. Great minerality and dark fruits happening here, certainly more happening with this wine than I would expect at this price point. All Chicagoland area board members, head out to your local Binny's to see if any are left.

Been in Denmark buying Douro wines:

12 btls 2008 Vale Meao Douro red
12 btls 2010 Vale Meao Douro red
6 btls 2010 Quinta da Leda Douro red
6 btls 2012 Crasto Vinha da Ponte Douro red
3 btls 2009 Crasto Maria Teresa Douro red
6 btls 2012 Niepoort Redoma Branco Reserva Douro white

Rune EG wrote:Been in Denmark buying Douro wines:

12 btls 2008 Vale Meao Douro red
12 btls 2010 Vale Meao Douro red
6 btls 2010 Quinta da Leda Douro red
6 btls 2012 Crasto Vinha da Ponte Douro red
3 btls 2009 Crasto Maria Teresa Douro red
6 btls 2012 Niepoort Redoma Branco Reserva Douro white

NICE!!

Total Wine is having a 15% off sale on Portuguese and Spanish wines this week, so I got to go shopping. Got an assortment of everything they had, basically.

2012 Quinta do Vale Meao Tinto
2010 Quinta do Vale Meao Douro
2010 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional
2013 Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde
N.V. Broadbent Vinho Verde
2013 Alianca Vinho Verde
2013 Aveleda Vinho Verde
2011 Quinta das Carvalhas Reserva Douro
2011 Quinta das Carvalhas Touriga Nacional
2010 Quinta do Vale Meao Meandro
2011 Quinta do Vale Meao Meandro
2011 Quinta do Vale Meao Meandro magnum

5 bottles of 1999 Quinta Vale d. Maria Douro (never had this wine before so really curious to try it). It was 6 bottles but keep reading....

With all the negative rants about retailers and wineries that tend to happen on various wine boards, thought it would be good to mention a very positive encounter I had.

Won a 6-bottle lot at K&L Wine's auction and was having it transferred to their LA store to pick up. During transit one bottle broke, damaging the other 5 remaining labels, and today I got the email letting me know. They offered to refund all money (cancel the order) or I could keep the remaining 5 bottles and they'd give me credit for the broken bottle and a substantial discount on the remaining 5.

I replied back I'd still take them regardless and they didn't need to give me any discount, as I don't really care about a label being stained. I got a reply email with the credit for the broken bottle and the discount as well. They didn't need to do that but I am very appreciative of it and of their excellent customer service

3 x 2005 Rio Bom (Quinta do Mourao) Colheita Douro

David Spriggs wrote:3 x 2005 Rio Bom (Quinta do Mourao) Colheita Douro

I grabbed 4 of the same.

Been in Denmark and purchased as follows:

12 btls 2012 Vale D Maria Douro red
6 btls 2009 Quinta do Vale Meao (magnums)
6 btls 2012 Niepoort Redoma Reserva Douro white
3 btls 2007 Casa Ferreirinha Reserva Especial Douro red

More 2011 Quinta do Vallado Reserva.

3 quinta das carvalhas tinto douro at 11.28 on sale at Total Wine.

jeff t. wrote:3 quinta das carvalhas tinto douro at 11.28 on sale at Total Wine.

How is it?

6 pack - Cedro do Noval Red 2011 - 16,50 USD bottle

Winemaking:
Cedro do Noval is a blended wine using the noble grape varieties of Douro and Syrah. We planted our first Syrah grapes in 2000. Syrah adapts perfectly to Douro and expresses the characteristics of the soil rather than its specific varietal flavour. All grapes come from the Quinta do Noval vineyard. We use the “remontage” method for wine in stainless steel vats, with temperatures held at 26ºC. All wine is matured in French oak casks for approximately 18 months.
Grape Varieties:
Old Vines
Tasting Notes:
A dense red, with an opulent, spicy aroma, followed by chewy flavors of chocolate, dark plum and French roast. There's firm acidity throughout, and this finishes with dusty, ferrous notes. Best from 2012 through 2015.
Store and Serve Advices:
Serve at 16-18°C.
Food Pairing:
Good during a meal, with a starter or meat.
Reviews and Awards:
. 92 points in Robert Parker;
. 89 points in Wine Spectator Magazine

The annual shipment of Niepoort arrived at their New Zealand importer this week. I was able to get hold of several bottles of the following:

- Redoma Tinto 2011
- Redoma Branco Reserva 2010
- Coche 2013
- Quinta de Baixo Vinhas Velhas Branco 2013 (Bairrada)
- Lagar de Baixo Tinto 2012 (Bairrada)
- Conciso 2012 (Dão)
- Rotulo 2013 (Dão)

Amounts imported were so small that I took the full allocation for New Zealand for some of these wines... (and I didn't order more than 3 bottles of any!)

Ronald Wortel wrote:The annual shipment of Niepoort arrived at their New Zealand importer this week. I was able to get hold of several bottles of the following:

- Redoma Tinto 2011
- Redoma Branco Reserva 2010
- Coche 2013
- Quinta de Baixo Vinhas Velhas Branco 2013 (Bairrada)
- Lagar de Baixo Tinto 2012 (Bairrada)
- Conciso 2012 (Dão)
- Rotulo 2013 (Dão)

Amounts imported were so small that I took the full allocation for New Zealand for some of these wines... (and I didn't order more than 3 bottles of any!)

Nice!

After some efforts for some time, I managed to purchase the following:

6 btls 2011 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Magnum 150 cl
1 btl 2011 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Jeroboam 300 cl
6 btls 2012 Quinta do Crasto Maria Teresa 75 cl

Especially pleased with the big bottles from a very good vintage

Rune EG wrote:After some efforts for some time, I managed to purchase the following:

6 btls 2011 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Magnum 150 cl
1 btl 2011 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Jeroboam 300 cl
6 btls 2012 Quinta do Crasto Maria Teresa 75 cl

Especially pleased with the big bottles from a very good vintage

Not a Douro, but I think a heck of a buy...

2001 Caves Sao Joao Frei Joao Reserva, Bairrada for $17 a bottle. Picked up 6; already had about that many bottles of the same vintage at home. I don't usually see a wide array of vintages for CSJ, and they are usually older... Like that is the current vintage being distributed locally...