For The Love Of Port

TN: `05 Quinta do Portal Reserva, Douro.

Probably the biggest wine from Portugal that I have tasted in a long time. First came across this vintage at a Wines of Portugal event and I was immediately impressed.

$32 Cdn, 14.5% alc, opened and decanted for one hour. 70% T Nacional, 20% T Roriz 10% T Franca. New Fr. oak for 9 months and it still shows! No sediment noted.

The color was a dark ruby purple and on the nose I found blackcurrant, berries, minerals and some port-like tones. "Cedar and pepper" from across the table.

Very much old-world style on the palate, very little ripe fruit here either. Tannins in background, great earthy context here, some chocolate with the chunky flavors. Quite tight initially...berries, cherry, "not too puckery". Quite dry with some port character, kept some for day three where it showed more ripe (ish) blackcurrant, raisins, softer finish.

Two bottles in the cellar, no rush to drink up.

I've had some beautiful older Portal bottlings in the past few months, from the 2000 and 2001 vintages which were excellent both. These have the ability to age nicely and more recent versions (e.g. 2006) of the Reserva show that there has been a greater move towards "longevity" with bigger riper tannins based on the crushing/fermentation dynamics used to vinify the wines than in the earlier years of their Reserva program.''

I'm pleased to have seen the continued progress of Quinta do Portal both in their Ports and Douro wine program, since I first introduced them to the USA a decade ago, before they had an importer here. From their talented winemaker, Paulo Coutinho to the owner Pedro Branco, a young man with tremendous vision, great real estate and a wealth of options at his disposal, (allowing him to innovate) imo, this is one of the most dynamic organizations in the entire Douro. There's a reason we keep bringing our guests to visit Portal, year to year -- their new developments are exciting to see and taste.