Exciting Portuguese White: Maritavora Vinho Branco Reserva 2008

19 June 2017:

Maritávora Vinho Branco Reserva 2008

What an impressive bottle of white wine, showing great expression of place and youthful vibrancy, finely textured, with nicely woven notes of minerality, zesty citrus fruit and herbal nuances, well integrated oak flavours. A handsome and sleek wine, leaving the palate with a clean, crisp finish.

Quinta de Maritávora is located in Douro Superior, very close to the border with Spain. This superb white wine was made from a field blend of varieties, including some vines of a hundred years of age. Codega da Larinho, Rabigato and Viosinho were planted amongst others. Fermented in New French oak barrel. Aged for 7 months, including regular battonage during the first 3 months.

Only 2,850 bottles made and that was my second last bottle! 

Great job, Manuel and Jorge. You should be so proud of it!

A Great Food Wine from Douro Superior: Maritavora Branco

21 Apr 2014: Our good friend Manuel Gomes has quit his full-time job to focus on making a success of his family winery estate, Quinta da Maritávora, in the Douro Superior, right beside the Spanish border.  I highly recommend the newly released organically farmed 2012 Branco Reserva (and very well-priced!).

Lemon hue. Attractive aromatics fill the bouquet: dried herbs, grapefruit, lemongrass, ginger, meadow broom and a hint of smoke. The delicate and intense flavours fill the palate, complemented with an elegant touch of minerality, leaving the palate with a clean and crisp saline and lemony finish. A very elegant and expressive wine, and would make fine pairing with pungent rind-washed cheese such as a Livarot, smoked trout and salmon, and even Chinese dishes, such as prawns in egg yolk, squid in salt and pepper, and dim sum dishes such as Shanghainese dumplings! 16/20

Go go go: Vinous Portugal

Sardinhas Assadas

11 Aug 2013: This summer we spent a couple of weeks exploring Portugal.  I had never been to this country before and my culinary expectations had been limited to: the famous Portuguese custard tart (Pastéis de Belém), bacalhau, fresh sardines and piri-piri chicken ('frango piri piri').  Well, we ticked all these boxes and accomplished much more. The trip opened my eyes to a very interesting culinary scene in Portugal that seems to be evolving at a very exciting pace. Some of the top restaurants we dined at, including DOP in Porto (together with sister restaurant DOC in a town called Folgosa, near Pinhão), Ocean at Vila Vita and Vila Joya, with the latter two in the Algarve, were turning out some really creative and classy dishes deserving of their existing or expectant Michelin stars,all using fresh local produce.

Dusk in the Algarve

Tomato and mozarella at Vila Joya

How about the wines?  Well, the wine scene was even more exciting - before I set off, I had done a little research and made myself a wish list of the wines that I would like to try while in Portugal.  In the end, we tried so many interesting wines (mainly through dining at restaurants, with some tastings at wineries) and we had barely scratched the surface of this list!  I hadn't been too impressed by the espumantes (sparkling wines) that I tried, but the reds and whites really showed some great quality and promising potential.  Below is a list of the wines that we had tried (and made a note of) and would recommend (please excuse the brief notes as I was mostly writing on scraps of paper or paper napkins):

The following wines have been ordered in alphabetical order.

White:

2011 Branco, Quinta dos Avigados, DOC Douro
An elegantly made, nicely balanced Douro white, very reasonably priced!


2012 Quinta da Aveleda, DOC Vinho Verde, 11.5% 
(60% Loureiro, 30% Trajadura, 10% Alvarinho)  Bright and fresh.  Floral, lime zest, grapefruit and peach. Some mineral complexity on palate.  Good acidity, well-balanced. Crisp finish.  And at a lowish alcohol of 11.5%, this makes an excellent aperitif or pairing with seafood, light starters. For early drinking.  This is my type of wine for picnics and Lamma Island outings!

2009  Quinta dos Carvalhais Colheita Seleccionada, DOC Dão
Almost white port like, waxy texture, full-bodied, lowish acidity.  Nutty and caramel. A wine for cellaring.

2010 Conceito, DOC Douro, 13.5% abv 
(Rabigato, Códega do Larinho, Códega, Viosinho, Gouveio)  Barrel fermented and part barrel aged.  Creamy palate, lots of spice and oak, but lovely fruit underneath.  Good complexity and concentration. Almost like a white burgundy. A wine to cellar.  

2010 Vinho Branco Reserva, Herdade do Esporão, Alentejo 
(Arinto, Antão Vaz, Roupeiro, Semillon) Apple, citrus (lime and tangerine), floral notes, with some toasty character from barrel fermentation and ageing. Well balanced, creamy texture. Quite rich.  A food wine.  I had enjoyed this with padron peppers, prawn tempura and deep fried sushi at Bica do Sapato (Lisboa) - another restaurant I highly recommend.

2011 Private Selection, Herdade do Esporão, Alentejo, 14.5% abv
(Semillon, Antão Vaz) Pale golden colour.  Honey, lanolin, peach, honeysuckle, lemon curd, with notes of toast and grilled almond.  Medium-full bodied, very firm acidity.  Voluptuous on the palate. Well balanced. Lush mouthfeel, but not cloying. Quite alcoholic though. Great with food.

Bacalhau a Lagareiro

2012 Herdade dos Grous Vinho Branco Reserva, Alentejo, 13.5% abv 
(Verdelho, Antão Vaz, Viognier)  Aged and fermented in 225 litre barrels.  Honeysuckle, apricot, nutty, with vanilla notes.  Racy acidity to balance the richness.  Good acidity.  Finishes long.  Very good food wine.  Perfect with 'Bacalhau à Lagareiro', a traditional oven-roasted bacalhau dish. (Also can go with red wine!)

2012 Wine and Soul Guru, DOC Douro 
(Viosinho, Rabigato, Códega do Larinho and Gouveio)  From old vines grown on schist and granite soil, at altitude 550 metres. Barrel fermented and aged in new French oak barrels for 5 months.  Pale lemon. An intense and expressive bouquet of toast, herbal, citrus peel, with grilled almond notes. The generous palate, bolstered by zesty acidity, slowly leaves you with impression of chalk, wet stones and savoury aftertaste. Linear, precise, and elegant. A remarkable effort (and a tiny production!). (We tasted this with winemaker Jorge Serodio Borges.)

Check out the fresh goat cheese and olive oil bread!

2008 Vinho Branco Reserva, Quinta da Maritávora, DOC Douro
Field blend, from old vines, mainly Códega do Larinho, Rabigato, Viosinho.  Where freshness meets richness, very well judged balance here.  Not heavy at all.  Grapefruit, honey, lanolin, herbal, with some toasted almond notes. Saline finish.  Purity of fruity, winemaking precision, elegance embodied in richness, here's a wine to last for a very long time. (Owner Manuel Gomes Mota served this wine, with the most delicious fresh goat cheese I had ever tried! And you have to have this cheese with an olive oil bread! Heavenly!)



2011 Vinho Branco Colheita, Quinta da Maritávora, DOC Douro
Freshness and vigor are the signatures of this white Douro wine.  Perfect with steamed prawns (camarão) and clams cooked in garlic, parsley and white wine sauce!  Divine on a summer day, with a seafood platter!!!

2010 Pêra Manca Fundação, Eugénio d'Almeida, DOC Alentejo 
(Antão Vaz,Arinto)  Also quite honeyed, with spicy notes of ginger and nutmeg.  Medium bodied.  Well structured and balanced...finishes long.

2012 Vinho Branco Reserva, Quinta de Saes, DOC Dão, 13% abv 
(60% Encruzado, 40% Sercial)  Perfumed nose.  Lime blossom, lime, green apple and white peach.  Lively acidity, flavour complexity building into layers of minerality on the palate.  Medium bodied. This went beautifully with the tomato and mozarella dish at Vila Joya!









2010 Quinta de Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas, DOC Vinho Verde Alvarinho, 13% abv
One of our favourite Alvarinhos on this trip.  Substance, elegance and freshness, all in one!


2012 Vinho Branco, Quinta de La Rosa, DOC Douro
A honeyed and herbal nose, with notes of grapefruit, spice and lanolin coating the palate, finishing with minerality.  Medium acidity. Rounded mouthfeel. A wine for drinking now and in the medium term.  Full of character and complexity.


Red:

2006 Aneto Grande Reserva, DOC Douro, 13.5% abv 
(50% Tinta Roriz, 50% Touriga Nacional)  Sweet and spicy notes of plum, mulberry, violet, liquorice, cloves, incense, tobacco and vanilla. Savoury on the palate. Velvety texture, very suave and elegant.  Medium bodied,vibrant acidity.  A recommendation by the sommelier at Vila Joya.


2004 Touriga Nacional, Quinta dos Carvalhais, DOC Dão
A Sogrape winery.  Deep ruby hue. Plum, blackberry, violet, earthy and smokey. Medium frame.  A very fine effort, very elegant, but perhaps without the depth, concentration nor length of the other red wines that we tried on this trip. Perfect for drinking now. 

2010 Quinta do Crasto Reserva, DOC Douro
70-year-old field blend. 16 months in French and American oak.  Juicy and chewy right now. Quite retrained on the nose, but supple and lush on the palate.  Almost sweet on the finish.  Needs time though.

2010 Vinho Tinto Reserva, Herdade do Esporão, DOC Alentejo
Plum, cherry, with hints of violet and tobacco.  Medium bodied.  Quite high in tannin. 

2009 Quinta do Francês, Odelouca River Valley, Algarve 
(Aragonês, Trincadeiro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah)  Aged 14 months in new French oak.  Deep ruby.  Smokey, plum, black and blue fruit notes, blackberry, blueberry, black pepper notes. Elegant and lush, mouthcoating, complexity building on the palate, with long finish, hard to imagine as coming from hot and dry Algarve (probably thanks to the heat resistance of Trincadeiro)!

2000 Grande Escolha, Lavradores de Feitoria, DOC Douro, 13.5% abv 
(Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão)  Lavradores de Feitoria is a joint venture formed by a group of producers.  This bottle came from Vila Vita's underground cellar.  Still a fresh bouquet of violet, tobacco, plum, fruitcake, with stoney minerality.  Well-integrated supple tannin and medium level of acidity captured in a mid-weight frame. Drinking at peak now and will continue to hold for 4 - 5 years.  Slight dryness on finish.  


2009 Meruge, Lavradores de Feitoria, DOC Douro 
(80% Tinto Roriz, 20% old vines)  Plum, smokey, earthy, spicy, coffee bean, and black pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Supple tannins.  A very fine effort, that marries concentration with freshness, quite stylish, and reasonably priced for the quality. Drink now and over next 5 - 6 years. A very stylish barbecue wine!

2007 Três Bagos, Lavradores de Feitora, DOC Douro
Red cherry, plum, earthy, violet and spicy notes.  Supple tannin, giving velvety texture.  Ripe fruit, well balanced.  We had this at DOP restaurant!  Great recommendation by the sommelier!

Bacalhau dish at Largo

2010 Primeira Escolha, Luis Pato, DOC Bairrada 
(50% Baga,50% Touriga Nacional)  Very elegant and emphasis on finesse, freshness and purity of fruit.  Fine structure. Perfect with roasted fish, such as salmon, bacalhau and tuna (such as the above dish at Largo, Lisboa!)


2012 Quinta do Manoella Vinhas Velhas, DOC Douro
From hundred year old vines.  Cherry, blackberry, violet notes, with dusty, minerally undertones.  Loved the elegance and freshness here......very precise and linear.  


2007 Vinho Tinto Reserva, Quinta da Maritávora, DOC Douro
From the quinta's cellar.  Tasting very fresh, cherry, plum, spicy and smokey notes, with some floral character. Tannin still to be integrated for this warm vintage but it is drinking very well now with a robust structure.  Good acidity.  Can do with some bottle age.


2008 Vinho Tinto Reserva, Quinta da Maritávora, DOC Douro, 14% abv 
(Field blend: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and others.) Winemaker Jorge Serôdia Borges (also Wine and Soul). Aged in French oak 18months.  Warm black cherry, spicy notes, within a dense and concentrated structure.


2011 Vinhas Velhas Grande Reserva, Quinta da Maritávora, DOC Douro
Tasted from tank, weeks before bottling.  100% new oak. Aged 18 months.  An excellent effort, full of finesse, precision, purity and depth.  Very precise and fine.  A wine for the cellar!  

2008 Quinta da Pellada, Alvaro Castro, DOC Dão, 13% abv 
(Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz) Beautifully balanced, harmonious, drinking beautifully now.



2011 Wine and Soul Pintas, DOC Douro
80 year old vines.  Coffee, violet , mineral, wet stones, overlaid with blackberry and plum notes.  Plush, voluptuous, ripe tannin and firm acidity coating the palate. Muscular power nicely wrapped within the velvety texture.  Dense but very elegant.  2011 was a hotter vintage than 2012.  

2012 Wine and Soul Pintas, DOC Douro
Quite a different style from the 2011 vintage.  More reserved and classic.

2004 Vinho Tinto Reserva, Quinta de La Rosa, DOC Douro, 15% abv
From the Quinta's own cellar.  This was a brilliant effort.  Still very taut, full of energy and tension, within a robust and firm structure of ripe tannin and plenty of concentration.  Violet, blueberry, plum, cherry, roses and spices. Vibrant acidity complementing the balance with plenty of freshness.  A wine for the cellar!


2009 Vinho Tinto, Quinta de La Rosa, DOC Douro
Aged in seasoned oak of 2, 3, 4 and 5 years.  Notes of dried raisin, plum, mulberry and violet.  Nice concentration, with balance, harmony and a fine structure.  Very elegant.  A wine to be enjoyed now and for drinking over 8 - 10 years.  (And the Reserva is highly recommended if you can find it!)

This is by no means an exhaustive list and I look forward to going back to Portugal to try more of these characterful and elegant wines!

The captivating landscape of the Douro

Guincho a Galera

20 Jan 2012:  As part of Richard's birthday present, I took him to try out a new restaurant - the newly opened Guincho a Galera in Hotel Lisboa, Macau.  It is in the same spot where Robuchon used to be, the latter having relocated to the top floor of the Grand Lisboa.  The only change the hotel did was the uniform for the waitresses, who all donned a cheerful-looking polka-dot patterned apron as part of the uniform and a smiley face!  Forteleza do Guincho is one of 10 Michelin-starred restaurants in Portugal and is the main restaurant of Hotel Forteleza do Guincho at Cascais (south of Lisbon), situated inside a 17th century fort overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  Presiding over the kitchen is Antoine Westermann (Le Buerehiesel, Strasbourg) who has been with the restaurant since 1998.  The cuisine there is French with a Portuguese accent.  This offshoot in Macau opened on 9th January.  On this Friday night, there were not too many diners at the restaurant, which suited us very well, as we would get more attention from the kitchen!  The private room was occupied, as was another table for 2 next to us. 



Salt cod cakes

 As amuse-bouche, we were given 2 pieces of deep-fried salt cod cakes (bacalhau) with tomato chutney.  Very tasty and the cod fish mixture with potato was not heavy at all, covered with a light batter, which made it look a bit like a bird's nest, very similar to the one that Cantonese use for deep-fried taro dumplings.

Caldo Verde Soup

For first course, Richard took the Caldo Verde soup, a soup made with cabbage and potato, a Portuguese staple.  According to Richard, it was the best Caldo Verde he'd ever had!




Spring Vegetable Salad



Treasure hunt inside veggie salad

For first course, I had the spring vegetable salad.  I had very little expectation but what arrived was an artistic and colourful display of freshness and an impression of intense flavours.  It's an assembly of lightly dressed steamed baby carrots and turnips, courgette, onion, asparagus and fresh salad leaves, crowned with an intensely flavoured tomato, all of the above atop a caramelised thin crisp covering some delicious sauteed wild mushrooms inside a crouton ring. An absolutely delightful way to start the meal!

Slow-cooked pork loin

Richard's main course was a slow-cooked pork loin, with wild mushrooms and potato cake, accompanied by a few pieces of crispy skinned pork belly.  The pork was ever so tender and intensely flavoured.




Duck Rice

 I chose the traditional Portuguese dish -duck rice as my main course.  Probably the best duck rice I've had!  The duck breast was beautifully cooked, tender and full of flavours, served with a mire-poix of beans and vegetables, and some baked rice with a crispy top.  The dish came with a savoury and rich duck blood sauce. It really was a marvellous interpretation of a great classic!  So tasty that I ate all of it and felt rather full afterwards!




Petits fours - with Macanese egg tarts - Richard rather impatienty snatched his egg tart.........hence only one here!

Not sure if it's the case that the more stars the restaurant has, the daintier the portions get....but I certainly appreciate these healthy without being too generous portions.  Service was attentive and professional.

The wine list was presented in an ipad - it's the only practical way of presenting the wine list as the hardbacked version is more like an encyclopaedia!  (Richard could not resist asking for it and they dutifully brought it round, together with an extra stool to put it on!)  The Portuguese section is a relatively small one, compared with the pages and pages of high end Bordeaux and Burgundy.....but there are some real gems there and I cannot wait to go back to the restaurant to try the other Portuguese reds that I identified!

For the white wine, we had the 2009 Renoma Branco, Niepoort.  A blend of many grapes including Codega, Rabigato, Donzelinho, Viosinho and Arinto, with average age around 60 years old, planted at altitudes of 400 - 800 metres. Aged on lees for 8 months in French oak (228 litre and 500 litre casks). Straw colour.  Citrus, dried apricot, candied fruit and honey on the nose, with nuances of almond, eucalyptus, spice and mineral on the palate. Refreshing and savoury, showing great character, a rounded mouthfeel and a nice long finish.  Crafty balance between lovely ripe fruit and acidity. Entry level wine but did a perfect job for us as a first course wine. (Great value on the wine list at only MOP 250!)  Drink now and over next 1 - 2 years. 16/20

For the red, I took a long time to choose from the relatively smaller Portuguese section (as I was tempted by so many possibilities in the Douro section, which dominates at the moment) but in the end went for the 2007 Pintas, Wine and Soul. It came with an alarming 15% alcohol!  Deep ruby.  Black cherry, berries, lifted with notes of liquorice, herbal, tobacco, chocolate and violet.  Full-bodied, with firm acidity and ripe tannin.  Sweet entry, followed by an explosive mouthfeel, and a spicy and long aftertaste.  A powerful wine, as intensely flavoured as the food, all wrapped inside a velvety texture and robust structure with balance and elegance. Can be enjoyed now with 2 - 3 hours of aeration and over next 10 - 15 years. Fabulous wine!!! 17.5/20 

Husband and wife team behind Wine and Soul:  Jorge Serôdio Borges ( ex Niepoort and Passadouro) and Sandra Tavares (winemaker at Quinta do Vale D. Maria in the Douro, and also Chocopalha, her family’s property in Estramadura).  Pintas came from a 70 year old vineyard, with about 30 different grape varieties.  Fermentation took place in lagares at a controlled temperature. Grapes were foot-trodden for about 12 days.

If you're visiting Portugal soon, here's a very good article with tips for top restaurants: http://portugalconfidential.com/2010/12/2011-michelin-star-restaurants-in-portugal/

I am convinced that Portugal is an exciting place for wine discovery and I believe it has great potential for those seeking something different and indigenous! I just wish the alcohol management could be improved slightly to come under 14.5%!

As for the Guincho a Galera in Macau, definitey looking forward to returning to try out the other dishes and more exciting wines from the wine list!  Hopefully, we may see more wines from other Portuguese regions next time, such as Alentejo, Dao and Bairrada??!!

A Tour in the English Country: Days 3/4 - Cavendish Hotel/Baslow Hall

26/27 June 2011:  We finished a rather hectic day of visiting Chatsworth (home of the Duke of Devonshire) and Haddon Hall (home of Lord Edward Manners), which couldn’t be in contrasting styles.  For me, Chatsworth oozes opulence and power and Haddon Hall has retained a rather romantic and nostalgic charm about it.  I was a little disconcerted by the lack of mobile reception inside the main house of Chatsworth and had to speedily walk through the rooms so that I could get back on the blackberry, to deal with the flurry of emails about 2010 Bordeaux!  The gardens at Chatsworth were equally as impressive as the house and well worth spending the time. If you have the inclination to organise it, I highly recommend a scrummy picnic in the idyllic settings of the gardens, and with a good book, it would be an ideal way to spend a leisurely few hours.  We had dinner at Baslow Hall, a 1-Michelin star restaurant.  Highly recommended.  Richard had a delicious piece of turbot with lobster (with sweet corn velouté and quinoa) as starter, followed by belly pork, with crackling.  I just had a pan seared scallops with bacon, which was just what I needed! 

We actually stayed at the Cavendish Hotel during our 2-day visit (wifi did not work very well - so I had a lot of problem trying to key in orders for 2010 Bordeaux en primeur - as a result, rather stressed out!).  Our room looked out onto the Derbyshire dales and the magnificent lawn of the hotel, with the most splendid sunset on our first evening! The room had a rather sombre feel to it, perhaps it was the rather imposing four-poster bed and the dark-toned curtains.....but it was a rather nice touch to lighten up the atmosphere with the presence of the Cavendish Bear, which sadly did not get adopted by us as our luggage was already bursting with bottles of English wine and jars of relish and chutney! 

Reception staff was very friendly and helpful.  Restaurant service was much less efficient and informative.  The dining room felt rather cramped (and too warm) as well.  The warmth caused Richard to doze off on a few occasions (although it was me who drove the whole distance from Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire to Derbyshire with one stop on the motorway)!  The wine list seemed very young and not particularly extensive - a lot of wines from vintages of 2008 and 2009!  When I spotted Quinta do Crasto 2009 on the wine by the glass menu, I thought I would give it a whirl (given our delightful experience of the 2003 Xisto earlier in the month, and taking a break from burgundy J).  It took me a while to get the vintage information from the sommelier, so I did not proceed to ask which wine it was from the range.  Perhaps it was the Crasto? When the wine arrived in the glass (no, it was not poured in front of me), it was too warm, so I very carefully lowered the entire glass into the ice bucket to chill for about 10 minutes, precariously leaning against the half bottle of Pouilly-Fume that Richard had ordered.  The nose reminded me of bubblegum, hoi sin sauce, black tea, bergamot, lavender, blackberries and cardamon.  The palate was less interesting, somehow lacked intensity, concentration and complexity. Only mildly tannic, with some acidity.  Balanced and decently made, but a little simple and did not evolve with time in the glass.  14.5/20

The lasting power of the Douro!

Seabass with caviar

25 May 2011:  Richard and I totally indulged at a gastronomique dinner at Amber restaurant.  The menu was prepared by guest chef from L'Ambroisie, Paris.  I loved every single dish, but particularly loved the seabass with caviar and the very intensely flavoured lobster...It was just an amazing performance by the kitchen and the staff did a great job serving the food, doing their best to pronounce the dishes!

As I got there early, I had time to browse through the wine list and decided to surprise Richard with a wine he would most likely never choose, unless he was in Portugal.  It's the 2005 D+D.  I had heard about this wine and was intrigued enough to try it that I ignored the potential faux-pas of having Portuguese wine with first rate French haute cuisine (as well as Richard's disapproval)! 

D+D - Drinks and Dreams was a project formed by Emilio Moro from Ribera del Duero and his assosciate in the Duoro Valley, including Sogevinus, and other shareholders.  The first vintage was 2005.  The grapes in the blend are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz.  It's a Crianza, minimum requirement for wood ageing is 6 months and released after minimum of 2 years.

D+D 2005: Floral, berries, herbal, balsamic, chocolate, black pepper. Medium bodied, sweet ripe tannin, balanced by good acidity. Finishes sweet and long, slightly syrupy. Drinking rather young now, will continue to evolve over next 4 -5 + years. 15.5/20

Richard didn't like it too much at Amber and decided to stick with the wine-food pairing suggestions by the restaurant.  Without help, I didn't go very far with the bottle.  So I brought the rest of the bottle back home (and quite a lot of it too!).  We had done the usual thing of pumping out the air, etc.  5 days later, we opened the bottle again and it actually tasted as though it hardly developed at all.....still rather robust, structured, showing no fatigue and standing up to the chili beef stew that we had for supper!  These Portuguese grape varieties sure know how to stay in the game!

Pre-Christmas Celebration Dinner

23 Dec 2010: Year-end "grande bouffe", a perfect excuse for a bit of indulgence!  We did not have time to prepare elaborate dishes as it was a work day!  Nevertheless, I congratulated myself on my home-made blinis (which I made beforehand)!  Starter was a composition of balik salmon and Richard's fabulous smoked trout pâté!  For main course, Richard cooked a very tasty dish of pork chops served with parsnips, apples and a rich meat jus, intensely flavoured with some leftover vin jaune, madeira and white burgundy!  This was followed by a cheese platter of Isle of Mull cheddar, coulommiers, vacherin and stilton.  Dessert was a combo of Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, berries and ice cream doused with aged PX!  I just adore PX - its richness is so intoxicating! We were rather spoilt by the array of fine wines (all in magnums, except the last two wines): 1999 Pierre Gimonnet Millésime de Collection, 1998 Haut Brion Blanc, 1961 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1959 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1990 Château Lynch-Bages and 1955 Graham's. 

1990 Grão Vasco Garrafeira

12 Dec 2010: Richard cannot even remember how he acquired this wine.  I have been intrigued by this bottle for a long time, mainly because of the lack of attention we have given it.  1990 Grão Vasco Garrafeira from Dão, a DOC region from Portugal.  Probable grape variety mix would be Jaen, Alfrocheiro, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz.  Garrafiera would mean  a minimum requirement of 24 months in cask followed by 12 months in bottle before release.  I thought it would be amusing to open it on a Sunday night with our simple supper - tonight it was simply roasted chicken, served with a tomato-ketchup based sauce, an adaptation of the recipe from Marco Pierre White's latest book.  "Gobsmacked" would be an appropriate description of how we were taken by surprise by the quality of this wine!  Garnet ruby.  An intense and complex bouquet of red fruit, plums, overlaid with cloves, liquorice, wild herbs and wet leaves.  On the palate, coffee and chocolate came through to add to the complexity of this wine.  An elegant display of complexity and character, with a velvety texture of softened tannin but still firm acidity, finishing very long.  Beautifully matured, gloriously showcasing ripe and characterful fruit quality and cool climate complexity.  A marvellous effort.  I was only vaguely aware of the potential in winemaking of this region - Dão, but after this bottle, I was left in no doubt that there could be some really gorgeous wines coming out of this region, from the right hands.   These indigenous varieties are naturally blessed with a high level of acidity and with the right amount of ripening, they could be material for very ageworthy wines.  Sadly this was our last bottle and a great experience indeed!   18/20