Pinteivera 2009

[richard b.]

A UK merchant recently had an offer on Pinteivera 2009, a Portuguese wine made by Chapoutier. This was apparently described by Robert Parker as "undeniably the single greatest red Portuguese wine I have ever tasted"

There seems to be very little information about this wine so I'm wondering whether anyone has tasted it or knows anything about it?

Thanks

[Andy Velebil]

This was apparently described by Robert Parker as "undeniably the single greatest red Portuguese wine I have ever tasted"

Thanks

That would have me worried as the guy rarely drinks Port, let alone dry wines from Portugal. Otherwise, it could have been the new guy, David S., over there who reviewed it.

Opps, just found this...For the record, this is Parker's review of the 2009, which he gave a score of 90-92 for the 2010 Touriga Nacional. The only Pinteivera wine to appear in The Wine Adovcate's database mind you.

These Chapoutier wines are sometimes reviewed by my colleagues David Schildknect in his Languedoc-Roussillon report and Lisa Perrotti-Brown in her reviews of Australian wines, so I will just list the wines, my score, and the region from which they emerge. They are of very high quality and deserve readers’ attention. Hopefully my prose has convinced more than a handful of readers to try these remarkable wines from one of the most fascinating and compelling personalities in the entire wine world, and one dedicated to the highest quality.

Since this is the only wine to appear in their ENTIRE database I would be worried about that claim, which appears to be false. Of course it would be nice to of him to put a tasting note in and not just a score

Richard,
But who cares if it claims to be the single greatest wine or not. Why don't you get a bottle and try it yourself and post a review of it here. If it's good, grab more, if it's not so good, then you're only out the cost of one bottle.

[richard b.]

The quote is correct even though there isn't an official tasting note in the database.

If you have a look at the 2009 Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc tasting notes, there are a number of Chapoutier wines he writes about (Feb 2011 notes)

It's clearly a new wine but I thought given this accolade, there would be more information out there, whether people agreed with it or not.

I bought a couple of cases - at £95 per case it seemed worth a punt

[Andy Velebil]

The quote is correct even though there isn't an official tasting note in the database.

If you have a look at the 2009 Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc tasting notes, there are a number of Chapoutier wines he writes about (Feb 2011 notes)

It's clearly a new wine but I thought given this accolade, there would be more information out there, whether people agreed with it or not.

I bought a couple of cases - at £95 per case it seemed worth a punt

I'll take Parker to task...if it's the single greatest Portuguese wine he's had, why is there no tasting note or mention of it (other than that one line) on his site?

Again, RP doesn't review Douro wines (Mark Squires does), and to my knowledge he rarely drinks them at all. Heck the guy has NEVER set foot in the Douro. Just saying...

[Andy Velebil]

I bought a couple of cases - at £95 per case it seemed worth a punt

At that price it's worth the punt, if it ain't super great, hopefully it at least makes for a good QPR.

[richard b.]

Sorry I don't know how to quote, but I agree - if it's so good, why not give it a higher profile?

I'm probably not going to get a chance to taste this for a while so I was trying to find out more about it.
I suppose I was surprised that there wasn't more information or tasting notes considering it's a Chapoutier wine.

Anyway, at the price paid, quality would have to be fairly poor to result in a bad QPR.
Fingers crossed...

[Andy Velebil]

but I agree - if it's so good, why not give it a higher profile?

You may have answered your own question there....cause just maybe it isn't as good.

I'm probably not going to get a chance to taste this for a while so I was trying to find out more about it.
I suppose I was surprised that there wasn't more information or tasting notes considering it's a Chapoutier wine.

You bought two cases, why the wait in tasting it? If I bought a wine with no reviews, I'd be sure to have at least one or two right away to see if it's even worth cellaring.

As for the lack of info, this group is pretty on top of things, especially if a Douro wine was highly rated or has a lot of buzz behind it. The lack there of can be, though not necessarily, an indicator. The other thing is the low price of this wine (assuming a case you refer to is 12 bottles, but even if it's a 6 bottle case, that's still less than 16 Pounds/bottle). While there are some killer good prices on Douro wines, that low of price generally has some degree of bearing on it's quality for a Douro red.

[Glenn E.]

FWIW, Parker's claim is a tautology. If he's only ever tasted one Portuguese wine, then OF COURSE that one wine is the single greatest Portuguese wine he's ever tasted.

[richard b.]

I bought 2 cases online, in bond and so I expect it will be several weeks before I can take delivery of this wine.
As a total novice, I doubt I'll post a tasting note once I do try it as I'm not sure my descriptive skills are up to the job yet.

Because this group is pretty on top of things, I tried here first and I appreciate your responses here.

Who knows, maybe I've stumbled across the next big thing

[Eric Menchen]

As a total novice, I doubt I'll post a tasting note once I do try it as I'm not sure my descriptive skills are up to the job ...

I'm sure that when posted, your note will be the best on FTLOP about this wine.

[Andy Velebil]

As a total novice, I doubt I'll post a tasting note once I do try it as I'm not sure my descriptive skills are up to the job ...

I'm sure that when posted, your note will be the best on FTLOP about this wine.

Yeap!

And don't worry even a basic tasting note is very much appreciated and most welcome. So when you do try it please let us know. Cause if you did find the next great thing I need to get some quick lol.