– Códega do Larinho is a relative of Riesling. Using a high proportion of this aromatic variety has helped Dirk Niepoort create his own interpretation of a style more suited to the Mosel in Germany than the Douro.
With a slight change in profile since 2013, Tiara is a dry, crisp, mineral-focused style, and is a fabulously elegant match for any grilled fish or seafood.
This tawny is a blend with an average age of 10 years. Its brick-red, even golden shades transport us to the Orient of spices, piquant and exotic aromas, with all its mysteries. Its body and its richness of flavour transport us to the place where it was created – “Quinta de Ervamoira”.
90 Points Wine Enthusiast “From the farthest reaches of the upper Douro, Quinta da Ervamoira has produced this sun-drenched wine, with great raisin flavors that vie with a fruity red-berry character. Both sweet from the dried fruits and dry from the intense acidity, with a light cocoa aftertaste, it is a balanced wine that can be drunk now.” Roger Voss – October 2015
91 Points Wine Spectator “This Tawny offers a smoky aroma, followed by lithe flavors of salted almond, macaroon and cedar. Notes of red currant and sandalwood emerge on the fresh and refined finish. Drink now.” Kim Marcus – September 30, 2015
90 Points Wine Spectator “A plush style, offering flavors of hazelnut, dried apricot and butterscotch, showing good complexity and length. The long finish is richly spiced and smoky, with vanilla and marzipan notes. Drink now.” Kim Marcus – December 15, 2014
10 Year-old Tawny, Quinta de Ervamoira
This tawny is a blend with an average age of 10 years. We are now entering the complex world of an aged tawny.
Its brick-red, even golden shades transport us to the Orient of spices, piquant and exotic aromas, with all its mysteries.
This is where the magical path towards the 20 Years and the 30 Years begins.
Its body and its richness of flavour transport us to the place where it was created – “Quinta de Ervamoira”.
It is in this mystical, biblical landscape that this wine is extracted from the schist, from the silence, for our delight.
Grapes varieties: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca. Storage: Store the bottle upright in a cool, dark place Temperature: 16º to 18ºC
Prizes:
– 93/100 – Wine & Spirits Magazine, 2011, USA
– 92/100 – Wine Spectator Magazine, 2012, Kim Markus, USA
– 3 Gold Medals – International Wine Challenge, 1995/2004/2011, UK
– Gold Medal – IMBIBE Sommelier Wine Awards, 2013, UK
– Vinha Grande is the second oldest wine of the Douro Valley (behind Barca Velha) and its heritage is noticeable in every sip. An elegant, complex wine with the structure of a fine Bordeaux exhibiting flavours of blackcurrant, leather and subtle oak spice.
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,
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.
Taylor’s holds one of the most extensive reserves of very old cask aged Port of any producer. They include a collection of rare Single Harvest Ports. These are Ports from a single year which age to full maturity in seasoned oak casks and display the year of harvest on the label.
Taylor’s has decided to make a limited release, each year, of a Single Harvest Port made 50 years previously.
The first in the series is a 1964 Single Harvest of exceptional character.The 1964 Single Harvest release will be followed a year later by the launch of an equally rare and exceptional 1965. Further annual releases of 50 year old Single Harvest Ports will follow.
These extraordinary Port wines have aged in oak casks in the cool, dark and quiet environment of Taylor’s lodges in Oporto. The wine has matured, slowly and evenly, gradually developing the sublime, rich and sumptuous aromas characteristic of a very old Port wine. Half a century of ageing has given this Single Harvest 1969 its seductive complex aromas and intense mellow flavour.
Tasting Notes
Medium golden mahogany, with a hint of olive green on the meniscus. The nose is complex with aromas of walnut, macadamia, brown sugar and a warm spicy background of molasses and caramel. The palate is smooth and honeyed, with rich spice, figs, mocha and confit apricot. The acidity is marked and the finish long with beautiful balance.
94 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “The 1966 Single Harvest Tawny Port (i.e., a Colheita) is a traditional blend, aged in French and American oak. It comes in at 183 grams per liter of residual sugar. Surprisingly rich and fresh, this seems younger than its age. The complexity here is not quite as great as with some and the nuances of molasses and the like are controlled. On the other side of the coin, it has a rather sensual texture, finishing with a sugary burst. Underneath is the expected acidity and a bit of pop. Overall, it is rather seductive and quite delicious. Note that this will be released in January 2016, part of Taylor’s old Colheita releases..”
A classic Taylor Vintage Port, stylish and poised. The 2011 displays the purity of fruit, fine scented quality and firm linear tannins that are hallmarks of the house style, as well as the characteristic Taylor’s combination of power and refinement.
20/20 Jancis Robinson “This is restrained. Well mannered, discreet, keeps its powder very dry. But on the palate it opens out in the most superb, burgundian peacock’s tail sort of way….Upright and straight backed. But irreproachable. My gums are virtually impervious to sugar and acid but this wine set them vibrating a bit. Dried prunes ground up with rocks.” 2013-05-01
96 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “The 2011 Taylor’s Vintage has a multifaceted, Pandora’s Box of a nose that is mercurial in the glass: cassis at first before blackberry and raspberry politely ask it to move aside, followed by wilted rose petals and Dorset plum. Returning after one 45 minutes that nose has shut up shop. The palate is sweet and sensual on the entry, plush and opulent, with copious black cherries, boysenberry and cassis fruit, curiously more reminiscent of Fonseca! It just glides across the palate with a mouth coating, glycerine tinged finish that has a wonderful lightness of touch, demonstrating how Vintage Port is so much more accessible in its youth nowadays. But don’t let that fool you into dismissing the seriousness or magnitude of this outstanding Taylor’s.” Neal Martin, Erobertparker.com 2013-05-01
97 Points Derek Smedley MW “The nose is deep and brooding yet it has the fragrance of violets rockroses, cedar wood and a hint of nutmeg. There is an intensity of flavour about the palate black cherry mingles with blackcurrant rich deep sumptuous. The fleshy richness is supported by seamless sinewy tannins with the freshness of bilberry and bramble giving a slightly lighter feel at the back bringing out a mix of exotic perfumes.” 2013-05-01
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