TN: Douro Boys Cuvée 2005

[Frederick Blais]

I did not take any notes but it was tasted on 2 days and such a wine gets immortalized in your memory, so here is a short description.

Drank with food after a few wines at Quinta do Passadouro. The colour is still very deep, almost purplish. The wine was not decanted as we did not intend to finish it on the first night. After opening, the wine was displaying a generous nose of ripe black berries, toasted oak and after an hour, floral notes started to emerge. The palate is velvety on the entry, deep and concentrated mid-palate, tannins are of an exceptional quality, extremely balanced for its concentration and the alcohol content declared at 14,5%. The finish is very long, mostly on dark cherries and licorice, some toasted notes are still showing.

On the 2nd day, the wine was showing some oxidation, but also gained finesse and was more floral. Still it is a beast. We can clearly identify a lot of influence from Crasto and Vale do Meao wines in this blend of the 5 Douro boys Quinta. Try to think of Meao and vinha da Ponte with a touch of elegance.

It is hard to rate such a wine. Because it was not tasted blind and you have so much expectation for one of the most mythic wine of the Douro out there. Knowing what it is, it is extremely good, the balance, complexity and the youth it is displaying is exceptional, the only down side could be that we do not have a feel of the 5 producers. Is it the best Douro wine out there, I'm not sure... but you get shivers when you taste this! And please be patient, this is looking to be aging at a glacial pace!

I'll try to open my other 2 bottles in 10 and 20 years.

[Andy Velebil]

Thanks for taking one for the team on this rare wine