TN: 2007 Quinta do Vesuvio Douro

[Andy Velebil]

I opened this yesterday and slowly enjoyed several glasses over the course of an afternoon and evening, just to see how it would evolve over 8 hours. I kept half of it for today, as I feel that's important to get a sense of any wines true potential.

Deeply extracted color and as such I expected a rich jammy nose, I couldn't have been more wrong. While there was plenty of cassis and spices, and later on day 2 some bacon, it was far from being jammy. The first sip of this I said to myself "This is quite fresh." Not your average modern Douro wine, this has elegance written all over it. The first sip was a bit lean but the more air it got, the more it put on. There was a good amount of tannins which were very well tempered by cherries, saddle leather, tar, and some roasted coffee beans. A bit of youthful oak is noticeable but not overdone. By day 2 the cherries got a bit richer, but by no means was it jammy or "modern", and it was even dustier. One of the things I loved the most about this wine was the finish. Not the monster in-your-face kind, but I was again struck by the freshness of it and by the grip. It never seemed to end and it just hung there with wisps of cherries and leather. A wine that should easily last 15 years or more. Matter of fact, I think this will continue to get better as it ages and those with patience will be greatly rewarded. This was the first release of this wine and the Symingtons did a marvelous job. If you love Douro wines this is one you need to seek out.
94-95+ Points