TN: 2007 Kopke Vinho Branco Douro

[Andy Velebil]

2007 Kopke Vinho Branco Douro

After a being a bit under the weather lately it was time to crack a bottle of this and see how she was coming along since I last had it. Pulled the corked and set it aside for about an hour as I went for a nice walk in the woods to get my thirst up. The great thing about this wine is the solid acidity with just a touch of glycerin in the background to give it some depth. Lots of citrus fruit and green apple zing in the mouth, then that touch of glycerin I mentioned pops in just at the right time to keep it in perfect balance. This is what many white wines strive to be, but rarely acheive. A moderately long finish that slowly fades away really makes one well rounded white wine. This is a winner for sure and hard to believe it retails at less than $12-15 IIRC. Anyone who says there isn't good Douro white wines is sure missing some nice things.
91 points
06/15/09

[Roy Hersh]

I totally agree with you Andy. I have enjoyed 10 of my 12 bottles of this and may have to re-up before the middle of July. Crazy. Now the real decision is to wait and see if I like my bottle of 2008 even better. Maybe a side-by-side is in order, before pulling the trigger. I assume you prefer this to the 2007 Crasto?

I'll reserve my comment on that until after you respond.

[Andy Velebil]

I just opened a bottle of this last night for my brother and his fiance that are down visiting, they did enjoy it. I recently had the 2008 version, and while I didn't get the chance to spend a lot of time with it, I think I slightly prefer the '07 version. But I'd love to put the two vintages side by side for an actual comparison before I fully decide.

As to the Crasto, yes now that I've had both on many occasions I do prefer the Kopke. While the Crasto is a solid QPR it can be a bit light on the palate for me. The Kopke has more glycerin and body to it with a nice spicy finish that appeals to me more. I'd drink both no questions asked, but just prefer the Kopke a bit more.

[Roy Hersh]

I can understand your thoughts exactly. It is stylistic preference of course. I bet you also like Chardonnay much more than Sauvignon Blanc. Although I enjoy both, they each have their own "time" and especially food with which to be paired.

Now back to the Kopke vs. Crasto. Same thing can be said for those two. I would serve the Crasto with more delicate dishes, as it is lighter as you say, but has possibly a tad more acidity and is certainly tamer in its citrusy appeal. It is great for crustaceans and mollusks. Whereas the Kopke has more density and is more suave and would pair better with an Alfredo sauce, beurre blance or heartier seafood or poultry dishes. I typically score the Kopke a few points higher than the Crasto. Have yet to try the 2008 version. Maybe we'll try 'em both next weekend.

[Andy Velebil]

I do like Chard's, but I am very picky about them. I don't like over oaked, butter bombs for chards. Which isn't exactly easy to find all the time now days and why I don't drink a lot of them. I actually tend to prefer the more crisp Sauv Blanc's most of the time. Of course it does depend on what I'm eating too.

On a hotter day I prefer the Crasto well chilled. It's lighter style is more to my suit in that regards. I tend to think of it as a picnic white. It shows well from the moment you pop the cork and is refreshing.

I see the Kopke as a slightly more formal white to be consumed indoors after about an hour of decanting. At least for me, it starts hitting it's stride about that amount of time after opening. Don't read to much into the formal part, as a good Aubert Chard will still best it no problem, but hopefully you understand my analogy.

[Roy Hersh]

Yes, very clearly, as I have enjoyed a vertical of Aubert's Chards in Miami last year. Like Kongsaard and maybe Marcassin, these are producers that I am happy to try when someone else opens a bottle, but I don't buy 'em. Actually I buy almost no domestic Chard beyond Hanzell and even that has pretty much stopped at the $60/bottle range. Just too many fine Chablis and white Burgs to enjoy between there and $100 per bottle. Oh, add Kistler to that list of I don't care ... but if you want to open one ... :hello:

[Eric Menchen]

I just opened one of these last night and am now wondering if I should have bought more. I know little about white, and generally avoid Chardonnay altogether. But I do know my wife and I very much enjoyed this. It was crisp and refreshing for a warm summer evening, but had enough body to go with our marinated (medium strong Asian flavors) grilled chicken and a tomato and caramelized onion galette (with a bit of gorgonzola, but not so much to give a strong blue flavor).

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

There's good news, no Chardonnay in this wine and fortunately the vast majority of Portuguese white wines in general. They have their own native grape types, and Chard is almost never seen in the Douro, albeit other regions do occasionally bottle it.