Jamie Goode's 50 Great Portuguese Wines 2009

Lowry Hotel, Manchester
28th April 2009

2007 Vinho Verde Giro Sol, Niepoort
Quite a full-ish nose, with a fairly buttery feel. Nice fresh palate, with a refreshing zingy acidity on the finish and lingering after. 88/100

2007 Vinho Verde Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas, Antonio Esteves Ferreira
Lactic melony fruit on the nose. Lovely palate - really nice and round with a good weight and richness. But hardly a typical vinho verde. 88/100

2007 Alvarinho Vinho Verde, Anselmo Mendes
A remarkably minerally nose with vanilla and papaya. Very interesting palate: tropical fruit creaminess, but with a crispness that builds on the finish. 90/100

2006 Alvarinho Vinho Verde, Reguengo de Melgaço
Quite a slight nose with some tropical fruit weight. Lovely palate. Great balance of fruit and acidity. 89/100

2007 Quinta do Ameal Escolha, Vinho Regional Minho
A really interesting nose - crisp, fresh lemony acidity. Light, fresh and very fragrant on the palate. You could easily guess there was a bit of muscat in this. Jolly good. 92/100

2007 Quinta de Covela Escolha, Vinho Regional Minho
This has a very fresh nose with red fruits and a nice perfume. Good soft palate which builds in interest in the mouth. It remains fresh, but also has a spicy, peppery, chocolatey feel too. Delicious. 91/100

2007 Afrós Vinho Verde Tinto, Casal do Paço Padreiro
Oh, well done Jamie. A pet wine of mine, after I tasted it a few years ago, and a couple of bottles have made it to offlines, where it's been greeted with alarm, disdain and bewilderment. David Bennett, I remember, was particularly rude about it. But I agree with Jamie, it's not only a pretty unique style of wine, but it's also when taken on its own terms, a rather nice drop.
100% vinhao and, I think, biodynamic.
A deep, dark, inky, glass staining colour. On the nose, it's crisp with crunchy blackberry and elderflower. Juicy, and equally crunchy on the palate. It's quite unusual, yet also very pleasing. It leaves a real blackberry and grape juice feel in the mouth after. 90/100

2005 Valle Pradinhos, Vinho Regional Trás-os-Montes
Quite an opulent nose with black fruit - predominantly blackcurrants but without any Ribena-ness. Rich, lush palate. Ripe, clean fruit. Not overdone, but plush and opulent in the mouth, with a gentle structure. 89/100

2007 Rita Ferreira Douro Conceito
Very pale, rosé-like apearance, with some sediment in suspension. Unusual, nay bizarre nose. Beefy and floral at the same time. Very red wine palate (rather than the rosé appearance), with sweet, bright red fruit. Fairly sweet actually - the sort of weight you might expect from late harvest grapes. Very spicy finish. A bit crazy, which is good! 88/100

2006 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional, Douro
Rich chocolatey plums and a hint of spirit on the nose. Remarkably light attack, but quickly fills out enormously. Rich, full and well structured. But ultimately a touch simple. 87/100

2006 Quinta do Vale Dona Maria, Douro
Quite a porty nose (which is hardly surprising) with elegant black fruit and a touch of violets. There's lovely precision on the palate. Very focussed and clear. Super balance. Very elegant. 92/100

2006 Quinta do Crasto, Vinha Maria Teresa, Douro
A very rich, full nose with crème de mûre and a faint hint of rosemary. Fresh, clean attack. This has a very nice mouthfeel with very ripe fruit, that manages to stay the right side of jammy. Maybe a touch simple and straightforward? 89/100

2005 Quinta do Vale Meão, Douro
A very "posh" nose, with full and refined black fruit, though occasionally there's an odd hint of meths that sneaks out. Good palate, but without any real interest. It feels a touch tired in the company of the other wines on show. Is it an under par bottle? No obvious fault. 84/100
2005 Quinta do Vale Meão, Douro
Another bottle tasted later. Fortunately, there's no meths on this second bottle. Plusher, more interesting palate. There's lovely rich fruit, and quite a lively character, together with the structure to make it last years. Clearly the first bottle was dodgy. 91/100

2005 Poeira, Douro
Fragrant and minerally on the nose. Quite a light palate, just a touch high toned. Either I was distracted into a conversation while tasting this, or there was nothing here to interest me. 86/100

2005 Quinta da Romaneira, Douro
A very interesting nose - raspberry, cherry, plums and a herbal lift. It's fresh and clean on the palate with very attractive flavours and nice balance. Good structure too. 90/100

2005 Quinta de São Jose, Douro
Quite a bright nose with good black fruit and a touch of sweet vanilla. Nice and open on the palate with lots of character. There's good fruit initially, but then tannins built into a very spicy structure on the finish. Doesn't work as well as some of the others for me. 86/100

2005 Vale do Inferno, Quinta de la Rosa, Douro
This has a very herbal nose with a touch of furniture polish. Fairly light and fresh on the attack, though there's then lots of structure. I can't really agree with Jamie that it's "a bit of a monster". 88/100

2007 Duorum Colheita, Douro
A very attractive nose with fresh blackberry and red fruits. Very attractive in the mouth, with a lovely mouthfeel. Very precise and focussed, with a very good balance of fruit, structure and a nice acidity. 91/100

2005 Quinta do Noval, Douro
An attractive, very rounded, pretty serious nose, which shows the pedigree I think. Quite refined palate initially, with elegant fruit flavours. This has an interesting fruit character - with some almost slightly underripe flavours. Very concentrated. 90/100

2005 Pintas, Wine & Soul, Douro
This has a notably very dark colour. Glorious nose: deep, perfumed, chocolatey black fruit, meaty black plums with some almost rose petal florality. A gorgeous, plush mouthfeel - very caressing and filling. 92/100

2005 Domingos Alves de Sousa, Quinta da Gaivosa Vinha de Lordelo, Douro
This has an attractive lifted nose, feeling quite crowd pleasing. There's sweet fruit on the palate initially - inviting and very silky. Then it turns more reticent and finishes nicely with a bit of spice. Decent structure. 89/100

2005 Ramos Pinto, Duas Quintas Reserva, Douro
An attractive nose - porty without the power. It feels nice and well made on the palate, but doesn't seem at all special to me. Very nice, but ordinary. 86/100

2004 Niepoort Robustus, Douro
There's some concentrated fruit on the nose, with a slightly sweaty, cheesy feel. Lovely aplate. Very, very elegant, but still with sweet red fruit flavours. 91/100

2000 Barca Velha, Casa Ferreirinha, Douro
There's quite a stink on the nose of this freshly opened bottle (later this had blown off). There's a slightly stewed feel to the black fruit aromas, and there's more than a hint of the sea. Excellent palate. Very smooth and balanced, this has a classy feel. Nicely integrated structure, but with very firm tannins on the finish. There's a long life ahead for this. But the price is pitched breathtakingly high. 90/100

2005 Àlvaro Castro, Quinta da Pellada, Dão
A very interesting nose with more minerally red fruit and just a hint of volatility, which is a bit more of a spirit/grappa volatility than VA. Elegant, refined palate with plenty of character. An interesting wine. 89/100

2005 Àlvaro Castro Dão Pape
There's very juicy black fruit on the nose. On the palate too, it's ripe and juicy. Not a hugely fascinating wine, but it's well made and good drinking. 88/100

2005 Quinta do Perdigão. Touriga Nacional, Dão
A ripe, plummy, chocolatey nose. Good, attractive palate. It has a nice and easy feel, then it suddenly grabs you with a lovely crisp character and a firm structure. Super finish. 90/100

2005 Quinta da Vegia Dão Reserva
A very vibrant, pretty classic Dao nose with smoky, dustry red and black fruit. Nice palate. Fairly deep flavours, but with very good balance. 90/100

2005 Quinta das Maias, Flor das Maias, Dão
The nose has black fruit, coffee and honey. An impressive, serious palate: very rich and mouthfilling, but with some alcoholic heat. 86/100

2004 Quinta de Cabriz Dão Escolha
On the nose, it's quite rich with plummy black fruits and some chocolate. A bit straightforward on the palate, with a bit of heat evident on the finish. 85/100

2005 Vinha do Contador, Paço dos Cunhas de Santar, Dão
Fairly sweet, straightforward black fruits on the nose. Decent palate. But it feels a bit hot to me. This very much has a premium feel, which is not entirely a compliment. 87/100

2005 Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco, Luis Pato, Vinho Regional Beiras
There's sweaty black fruit on the nose. Good silky mouthfeel with lovely ripe fruit flavours and a superb balance. Excellent rendition of baga. 90/100

2005 Quinta das Bágeiras Garrafeira, Bairrada
A rather muted nose with minerally black fruit. A velvety, caressing mouthfeel. But it also has a characterful spicy edge that gives it a real lift. 89/100

2006 Lokal Silex, Filipa Pato, Vinho Regional Beiras
A very interesting nose - rich and fresh black fruit at the same time, along with an almost lavender lift. Fresh, attractive palate with a spicy chocolatey finish. 89/100

2005 Vinhas Velhas de Santa Maria, Quinta de Foz de Arouce, Vinho Regional Beiras
There's quite fresh, ripe black fruit on the nose, with decent oaking. Very pleasant palate. A bit straightforward maybe and absolutely nothing to justify a £45 price tag. 87/100

2004 Quinta do Cardo Selecção do Enólogo, Beiras
There's some lovely, elegant black fruit on the nose. The palate is light and elegant with a very attractive character. Nice fruit; good structure. Very firm structure on the finish. Some very good flavours linger in the mouth after. 91/100

2002 Quinta dos Currais Reserva, Beiras Interior
The nose has sweaty, slightly stinky black fruit with a sort of musky perfume lift. Initially, there's very fresh fruit on the palate, but that's quickly overtaken by the serious structure. Yet it remains well balanced. 89/100

2005 Quinta de Sant'Ana Reserva, Vinho Regional Estremadura
A fresh, leafy, very raspberry nose. There's really nice character on the palate with good red fruits. Very good structure. Very good balance. Nice acidity and spices on the finish. 92/100

2006 Quinta do Rocio, Vinho Regional Estremadura
The nose has black fruit with roasted notes and some coffee/mocha. Quite a silky mouthfeel. Possibly not one for long ageing - it seems to lack the structure for that. But it has a nice delicious note now. 90/100

2006 Quinta da Lagoalva Alfrocheiro, Vinho Regional Ribatejano
This has a really lovely nose - fresh red fruit with a herby, scented lift. Very interesting palate. This is lovely, fresh, clean drinking and really rather yummy. 92/100

2005 Adega de Pegões, Colheita do Cinquentenario, Vinho Regional Terras do Sado
There are very fresh black fruits on the nose, but with a green (bell) pepper and asparagus note. Good balanced palate. Very clean, with lots of fresh and fruity character, alongside a decent structure. 90/100

2004 S de Soberanas (Soc. Agro-Pecuana das Soberanas), Vinho Regional Terras do Sado
This has a rather curious nose: there's some dusty, toasty oak; a bit of a green edge to the fruit and then some chocolate to round it off. Good palate, pretty much following the nose. Lots of spicy tannins dominate the finish. 88/100

2005 Herdade da Comporta, Vinho Regional Terras do Sado
Quite restrained, muted black fruit on the nose. Nice palate - it's good, fairly easy drinking, but with an attractive character. 87/100

2005 Palácio da Bacalhôa, Vinho Regional Terras do Sado
A muted nose with some fresh black fruit. It shows good balance in the mouth. There's nice fruit and a good structure. Attractive drinking. 88/100

2004 Marias da Malhadinha, Herdade da Malhadinha Nova, Vinho Regional Alentejano
This is a blend of aragones, alicante bouschet, cabernet, syrah and touriga nacional. The nose has nicely perfumed black fruit with a hint of cheesiness. Very good palate - very attractive, velvety and mouthfilling. There's lots of character here. Finishes with good spicy tannins. 90/100

2006 António Maria, Francisco Nunes Garcia, Vinho Regional Alentejano
This blend of alicante bouschet and cabernet sauvignon has a general, minerally, gently scented nose, but with a very firm concentrated blackcurrant core. There's some fairly ripe, sweet fruit on the palate, but not overdone. 89/100

2005 Dona Maria Reserva, Vinho Regional Alentejano
A blend of 50% alicante bouschet, together with syrah and petit verdot. There's herbal black fruits and a hint of mint on the nose. Attractive palate - fresh and clean with a nice juicy feel, but with a serious structure to back it up. 88/100

2007 Herdade dos Grous Moon Harvested, Vinho Regional Alentejano
Minerally red fruits on the nose. Lovely, caressing palate. This has light, elegant fruit and good character. 88/100

2002 Herdade do Mouchão, Vinho Regional Alentejano
This blend of 70% alicante bouschet and 30% trincadeira has a very distinctive nose of sawdust and Vimto with a hint of Evostik, alongside a concentrated cranberry streak, none of which in in the slightest unpleasant. It's very attractive on the palate - very different. There are dry and dried red fruits, cranberries and a gentle structure. 90/100

2005 FitaPreta Preta, Vinho Regional Alentejano
A blend of touriga nacional and cabernet sauvignon, this has minerally, perfumed raspberry fruit with crème de framboise overtones. Nice and fresh on the palate, this has good structure and an acidity that matches the ripe, modern fruit. 88/100

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Last updated: 27 April 2009