Additional information
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Casal Mendes – Vinho Verde, Minho, Portugal
£9.95
Classic white produced from indigenous Portuguese varities in the northern Vinho Verde region.
Delicate citrus aromas lead onto a soft, rounded and slightly off dry palate with a light spritz. It combines apple and floral characters with soft tropical notes and fresh acidity on the finish.
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Croft – Vintage Port, 2011
The heady scents and opulent ripe fruit which define the Croft Vintage Port style are supported by a mesh of taut, muscular tannins. These, together with impressive depth of flavour, make the 2011 one of the most structured and powerful of recent Croft vintages.
Deep purple black colour. The complex seductive nose has the archetypal Croft opulence but displays impressive depth, background and reserves of aroma. A rich, powerful fruitiness provides the backdrop for heady scents of blossom and rock rose. Luscious ripe berry fruit flavour surges though the palate. The wine’s velvety texture is underpinned by taut, muscular, perfectly integrated tannins which provide stamina with an attractive firmness and vigour to the finish. More virile and structured than some recent Vintages from this classic house, the 2011 nevertheless displays all the rich ripe fruitiness and exotic scented character associated with the Croft house style.
97 Points Wine Spectator
“Effusively juicy, rich and concentrated, showing plenty of snap to the crisp and well-spiced flavors of wild berry, dark currant and plum tart. Orange-infused chocolate notes linger on the exotic, mocha-filled finish. Best from 2020 through 2045.” Kim Marcus, September 2013
95 Points James Suckling
“Beautiful aromas of violets and blueberries with hints of blue slate. Full body, medium sweet with chewy tannins and a long, long finish. A leafy, stemmy, nutty undertone to this with hints of shaved milk chocolate. Very refined and beautiful.” May 2013.
95 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2011 Croft is initially taciturn on the nose, even after allowing it 20 minutes in my glass. A light swirling immediately awakens the aromatics to offer blackberry, Seville orange marmalade, blueberries and dried fig – complex and quite compelling. There is real mineralité within this bouquet that, returning after 30 minutes, offers alluring ocean spray scents rolling in off the ocean. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety-smooth opening that belies the fine, structured tannins underneath. It clams up a little towards the finish, shuts the lid tight and consequently there is the sensation of less persistency here compared to the Taylor’s or Fonseca. But Croft has a knack of filling out with bottle age and becomes both gentle and generous with the passing years.” Neal Martin, Eroberparker.com,
Notes on Viticultural Year and Harvest
The winter preceding the 2011 harvest was cold and wet. The weather station at Croft’s Quinta da Roêda registered 496 mm of rainfall between 1st November and 31st March compared to a 30-year average of 358mm. The rain proved very beneficial, replenishing depleted ground water reserves and allowing a balanced ripening of the grapes during the hot dry summer which followed. Budburst occurred at the normal time towards the end of the third week of March and wet and relatively warm conditions in April encouraged vigorous growth. From early May conditions turned generally dry and remained so for most of the summer.
Only 12 mm of rain fell at Roêda in the months of May, June and July compared to a 30-year average of 105 mm. In spite of the arid conditions the vines were able to draw water from the ground reserves providing ideal conditions for balanced ripening of the grapes. The hot dry weather in August was broken at the ideal moment by two spells of rainfall, on 21st August and 1st September, which rounded off the ripening season and produced a balanced and evenly mature crop.
Picking began at Quinta da Roêda on 10th September in excellent harvesting conditions. Fermentation times were long, allowing for complete and even extraction, and the musts in the quinta’s lagares showed exceptionally intense colour and aroma.
Esporão Branco Reserva DOC Alentejo 2018
Intense aromas of ripe tangerine and apricot with subtle notes of toast and smoke from barrel fermentation. Complex, creamy, well balanced palate showing full fruit flavours and mineral notes with a long and fresh finish.
Quinta da Alorna – Sauvignon Blanc, Tejo, 2019
Ripe notes of pineapple, blood orange and guava intertwine with herbal notes of asparagus and freshly mown grass. Dry, fresh and crisp on the palate with good persistence. An excellent aperitif or pair with goats’ cheese salad. Enjoy over the next couple years.
Quinta da Alorna – Tinto, Tejo, 2017
A blend of Tinta Roriz, Castelão, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet create a medium-bodied, rich and lingering wine with smooth tannins which envelope ripe black fruit. Enjoy with sausages and cheeses. Enjoy over the next couple of years.
Ramos Pinto – Late Bottled Vintage Port, Unfiltered, 2014
LBV Unfiltered comes from one single year and one single harvest. Whereas its richer cousin, the Vintage, is bottled in the second year, this wine is bottled in the fourth year. Smoother than the Vintage, more developed and easier to drink. It is a powerful, defiant, full-bodied and harmonious wine. It is a wine familiar with the flavours of chocolate and cheese. After the bottle is opened it remains at its best for a further 15 to 30 days, if properly stored. It is a wine that is not filtered and can therefore either be drunk immediately or be left forgotten in a cellar, developing further complexity.
93 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
“The tannins are rather drying and aggressive on first pour, even if the big fruit is also front-and-center. It is certainly a very different vision of LBV Port than a lot of people will be accustomed to, but it does begin to come around with extended aeration (and a couple of days in the fridge). Fragrant and laced with strong fruit flavors, this ultimately showed beautifully. It really needs some more time in the cellar, but it is approachable if you give it some aeration.”
Gold Medal Decanter World Wine Awards
“Gold Medal World Wine Awards 2014 – Gold Medal & Regional Trophy – Vibrant and full of rich fruit, this is still youthful in colour and shows both ripeness and pleasing restraint on the nose. Spice notes, violet, lavender and deep, dark fruit flavours have lovely freshness, and firm, ripe tannins give good grip. Nicely defined with plenty of complexity to keep it going.” June 2014
Grapes varieties: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca.
Food pairing: Cheese soufflé, Partridge with glazed shallots and artichokes, Game, Cheeses, Chocolate and red fruits desserts.
Ramos Pinto. History.
Founded in 1880 by brothers Adriano and Antonio, this Port house has always had a pioneering spirit. In the early 20th century it became noted for its innovative and enterprising commercial strategies including the distinctive art nouveau advertising campaign.
Among Port producers, Ramos Pinto enjoys the distinction of holding the largest proportion of vineyards in relation to its production, giving them a high degree of control over viticultural methods at harvest time. The House tends 187 hectares (460 acres) of prime vineyards in the Alto Corgo and Douro Superior areas of the famed Douro region, the mountainous valleys formed by the Douro River and its tributaries.
All situated in the areas of the Cima-Corgo and the Douro Superior, the four quintas or estates that make up Ramos Pinto’s holdings are:
Quinta do Bom Retiro: in Pinhão, planted exclusively with red varieties.
Quinta da Urtiga: adjacent to Bom Retiro.
Quinta da Ervamoira: in the far upper Douro, by the Côa river near the Spanish border. Here the grapes grow in dry semi-desert conditions.
Quinta dos Bons Ares: a cooler site with some of the highest vineyards in the Douro. Both red and white varieties ripen here with great natural acidity and fresh flavours.
The award-winning 10, 20 and 30 year old Tawnies are produced at Quinta da Ervamoira and Bom Retiro respectively.
Herdade do Esporão – Quatro Castas, Alentejo, 2014/17
Deep colour and intense. Aroma scented with berries, ensnared in subtle spicy notes.Solid and dense palate with creamy texture, highlighting the ripe fruit wrapped in fine tannins give it structure and a long and elegant finish.
90 Points Wine Enthusiast.
“Still young and showing fresh fruitiness, this wine needs time to calm down and broaden out. Made of four classic varieties in the Esporão vineyard, it’s dense, stalky and still full of tannins. Give this wine until 2016.”
Fonseca – Vintage Port, 2007
94 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2007 Fonseca Vintage Port is opaque purple-colored with a high-class perfume of lavender, Asian spices, pencil lead, incense, and an amalgam of black fruits. On the palate it is voluminous with layered, succulent fruit, outstanding density, and excellent integration of tannin, acidity, and alcohol. The long finish and the wine’s impeccable balance suggest a lengthy evolution and a drinking window extending out to 2045.” (2/2010)
96 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“A limpid purple garnet core. The nose is quintessential Fonseca, like a riotous party reaching its crescendo in the glass. Macerated black cherries, eau-de-vie, damson, fig and a touch of Seville orange. Then what is fascinating is that the uproar dies down with aeration, becomes more focused…as if the host has asked everyone to quieten down. The palate is powerful and spicy on the entry, sweet ripe black berried fruits, a touch of spice, fig and apricot, lovely cohesion and weight building towards a deeply joyous finish that lacquers the mouth in port-like reverie. Perhaps more approachable than the 2000 or the 2003 at this stage, this is a marvellous Fonseca.” Neal Martin May 2009 – Score 96
94 Points Wine Spectator
“A subtle yet powerful young Vintage Port, with freshly sliced plum, citrus and mulberry on the nose. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with a solid core of powerful tannins and a long, balanced finish. So tight and reserved. Muscularly structured. Best after 2017.” (5/2010)
Fonseca has belonged to the first rank of Vintage Port producers since the mid-nineteenth century. Fonseca Vintage Ports are noted for their luscious fruitiness which develops great opulence and complexity with age. Wines born of inspired winemaking and a thorough understanding of viticulture and terroir, they appeal, perhaps more than any other house’s Vintage Ports, to the enthusiast and connoisseur.Vintage Ports represent the finest produce of a single exceptional year. Unlike Ports which age in wood, Vintage Ports will continue to age and improve in bottle for decades, their character bearing the imprint of both vineyard and wine maker.A constant thread that runs through the history of Fonseca is the family’s close involvement with the making of the firm’s Vintage Ports. Throughout the 20th century, the making of Fonseca Vintage Ports was overseen by only four family members, Frank, Dorothy, Bruce and David Guimaraens and this has helped to make Fonseca one of the most stylistically consistent of Vintage Port producers.The firm’s Vintage Ports are drawn from its own quintas or estates: Cruzeiro and Santo António in the Pinhão Valley, which have contributed to the firm’s Vintage Port blend for 100 years, as well the Távora Valley property of Panascal. Fonseca is unique among Port houses in making three different types of Vintage Port.
Fonseca Vintage Ports are released only when a year produces outstanding wines with long term ageing potential. These classic Vintage Ports are a blend of wines from Cruzeiro, Santo António and Panascal. Cruzeiro contributes concentrated black fruit flavours and firm tannic ‘grip’. Panascal adds an opulent luscious fruitiness and a dense velvety texture. Finally, Santo António brings complexity and vibrancy with its fine scented character and fresh acidity.
Although they can be enjoyed when young, Fonseca Vintage Ports will continue to improve in bottle for many decades. They have the stamina and aromatic potential to last for over a hundred years. Attracting the highest scores and auction prices, they are favoured not only by fine wine enthusiasts but also by collectors and investors.
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