Vale do Vinhedos, RS
Tasted Wednesday, January 4, 2012 by Timbalimba with 634 views
All wines were tasted at source, at the domains.
Serving temperature, glasses, and general condition of the wines served was sole responsibility of the person who presented the wines. I found the conditions (wine temperature and sample freshness) in two of the tasting rooms less than ideal but surely it must be up to the winemaker to decide how to serve his or her product?
Apart from that complaint, I found it a thoroughly delightful visit to the Vale. It offered a nice opportunity to meet the men (they were all men) behind the labels, try their wines, discuss them in detail, and, as visits to winemakers rather have a habit of doing, provided some real surprises as well. Some of the bigger names did not perform as I had expected them to and some of the lesser known garagistes certainly punched above their weight.
Light gold. Lively mousse. Another classic nose with a large serving of toast. Quite hefty on the palate, pink grapefruit, even a touch of cherry. OK finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Deep rose colour. Stinky nose, Pinot barnyard. Hmm… not sure. Very dry on the palate, fruity, full, yet austere. Not my style but I'll have to give it points for individuality and courage.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale gold. Good mousse. Benchmark nose, hint of strawberry, brioche, vanilla. Not quite as good on the palate, very fruity, no minerals and a bit short.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Unoaked. Pale gold. Nice, mineral nose, touch of honey, peach. Medium bodied, very fresh, delicate fruit. Decent length. Not bad at all, Chablis-like.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet, slight bricking. Peppery nose, hint of raspberry fruit. Fleshy and ripe in the mouth, balanced finish. Nice blend.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Blue-tinted garnet. Perfumed, musky bouquet, herbs, tobacco. Stewed strawberry fruit on the palate, tobacco comes back, tar. Reminds me very much of Sangiovese. Good.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Blackish purple, impressive depth of colour. Closed nose, some minerals, herbs. Mouth-coating tannins, liquorice again, fruit kernels, tar. Not short on power but a real brute.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Deep purple, no obvious signs of age. Smoky, liquorice nose, deep. Good structure in the mouth, full bodied, but a bit tight, needs to gain some weight. Maybe improves with time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Purple-garnet. Black pepper and liquorice on the nose. Medium bodied, slightly stalky, but individual style, very peppery. Not bad.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet. Finely tuned bouquet, cherry, some oak in the background. Fine fruit, just a bit short. Correct.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet. Deep, brooding nose, very typical Merlot with some bottle age, cherry fruit and saffron spice. Fine, balanced in the mouth, not terribly long but good balance.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet, starting to show maturity at the rim. Surprisingly mature nose, perfumed rubber, Syrah-like. Nice. Medium bodied, yet flesh, fine fruit, integrated oak. Excellent balance. The best Cab I've tried from Serra Gaúcha, very elegant.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Greenish gold. Oak, dry nose, minerals. Quite fruity but classic. Not the longest of finishes but clean and balanced.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale gold. Dry nose, biscuits, nuts and toast. A bit fluffy perhaps and quite full, but not bad, restrained fruit (thankfully). Clean refreshing finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale silver. Fruity nose, muscat grape juice aroma. Nice palate, not too full, has a more serious tone underneath. Finishes well with some echoes of residual sugar.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Unoaked. Light garnet. A bit of smoke on the nose, some kirsch. Medium palate, not much fruit. The balance is all right but this is pale, not showing much.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Purple. Closed nose, some funk, a hint of stewed, herby fruits. Medium to full bodied, quite acidic, some dirty cherry and bitter almonds. Too dirty, too short on fruit.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet, bricking. Green pepper and American oak… oh well. Full bodied, mature yet still stalky, salty tannins. Unbalanced and not up to par if it wants to compete in the global Cab market.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Concentrated blackish purple, maturing towards the rim. Tar, fruit stew on the nose. Full bodied yet doesn't feel very generous, stalky fruits, grainy thin tannins. Shortish finish. Square.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
Cherry, youthful. Very burnt nose, shrubbery, Tokyo-drift-like rubber on tarmac. Quite full, a bit alcoholic, toasted oak, but nice.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Blue-tinted garnet. Quite a chemical, artificial nose, but palate is better; herbal, inky, a touch of blueberry. Clean finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
French oak single vineyard version. Oaky (unsurprisingly), but nice balance, a bit inky. Give it some time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Concentrated garnet. Subdued, earthy, closed. Iodine on the palate, good acidity, not much tannin yet a bit green and stalky. Needs time
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Purple. Very spicy nose, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper. Impressive bouquet. Youthful, decent tannins, pepper and raspberry. Finishes well. Should improve with a couple of years in the cellar.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale gold. Lively mousse. Classic nose, biscuity. Full, rich palate, a bit OTT but not bad. Difficult to grasp this is 100% Chard.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Platinum-coloured. Asti sweet pears on the nose, sweet palate, refreshing acidity. Clean but not long.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Smoky nose, minerals. Bone dry, green apple fruit, medium-light body. Nice. Attractive style.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Very fruity, muscat perfume. Light bodied, nice acidity.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Deep PX-like in the glass, brown-tinted, mature. Raisiny nose, PX again, licorice. Medium bodied (for a fortified wine), caramel, licorice, raisins. Good acidity, decent finish, led pencils.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Malbec-Tannat-Ancellotta. Very youthful blackish purple. Sightly dirty, chemical nose, fruit cocktail. Young in the mouth, herby, stalky, tannic and closed at this stage. Four-square finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Nice bouquet of perfumed raspberry. Best nose this far. Medium bodied, balanced, light acidity. Shortish finish, does not quite deliver on the promise of the nose.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Tannat-Merlot-Cab. Layered bouquet, perfumed, a tad chemical, mature. Good balance in the mouth, cherry and raspberry fruit. OK finish but a bit light.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Oaky, herbaceous, red fruit perfume. Medium bodied, good acidity. Quite a typical aged Malbec, but not bad.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Muted nose, burnt shrubbery, toasted oak. Medium bodied, green pepper fruit, restrained tannins. Medium length, a bit hot.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Very dark. Black cherry fruit. Plumskin acidity, salty tannins. Decent length.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Concentrated purple. Oaky, deep, nicely perfumed. Good raspberry fruit on the palate. Just a bit light on the finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Deeper, musky fruit, lanolin, hint of raisins. Good acidity and decent length. OK.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Unoaked, 11%, not MC. Sandalwood, cedar on the nose (tasted blind I would have sworn oak). Medium to light bodied, quite acidic, grainy, salty tannins. Straightforward light red.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet. Nice, youthful nose, sandalwood, cherry, good fruit expression. Refreshing medium bodied palate, crisp fruit. Unadulterated and pure in its expression.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Cherry-garnet. Fresh, herby, fruity nose, black cherries. Medium bodied, pure fruit, raspberries and cherries. Not bad at all.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Garnet, but little evidence of maturity. Nice, cedar and crisp red fruit. Again, pure and fresh.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Pale gold, fine mousse. Very fresh nose, this purity is carried over to the palate, crisp finish, not bad length.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Greenish yellow, fine mousse. Pears and cinnamon nose, not terribly sweet on the palate, good freshness.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC. All rights reserved. "CellarTracker!" is a trademark of CellarTracker! LLC. No part of this website may be used, reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission of CellarTracker! LLC.
2008 Miolo Moscatel Terranova Late Harvest Reserve 85 Points
Brazil, Vale do São Francisco
Green-tinted gold. Toasted vanilla, some linoleum, nice pear-drop fruit underneath. Medium palate, nice fruit, a touch of acidity, decent finish. Not bad.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2008 Miolo Quinta do Seival Castas Portuguesas 81 Points
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Campanha
Purple, layered. Dirty nose, dry herbs, scorched red fruits. Disjointed palate, fruit stew, grainy tannins, sharp acidity. Unbalanced.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2010 Miolo Pinot Noir RAR Colezzione 82 Points
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Campos de Cima da Serra
Garnet-ruby. Muted nose, some undergrowth, overripe strawberry, oak. Not very expressive palate, a touch of strawberry, moist earth, oak. Square--- no great gestures, no charm.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Miolo Chardonnay Cuvée Giuseppe 83 Points
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Serra Gaúcha, Vale dos Vinhedos
Pale gold. Big bouquet dominated by toasted French oak, some green fruits underneath, some yeasty tones, obvious sur lie. A lot of wood on the palate as well, buttered salted toast, green plum. Decent finish (oak again). Overdone sur lie and then clobbered senseless with a wooden stick. Pity, because there are hints of delicate fruit somewhere.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2008 Miolo Reserva Lote 43 84 Points
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Serra Gaúcha, Vale dos Vinhedos
Purple. Charred oak, cedar, cherry, a dirty tone of damp earth. Full bodied on the palate, grainy tannins, sharpish acidity, some fruit, and more oak again. Medium finish, echoes of damp earth return. Nope. In my opinion the Miolos struggle with the balance, especially at the premium range.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2009 Miolo Merlot Terroir 85 Points
Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Serra Gaúcha, Vale dos Vinhedos
Concentrated purple-garnet. Toasted oak, licorice, star anise, plum. Dense in the mouth, four-square, fruit and spice packed together. Slightly mean finish, tart acidity. Closed and unbalanced. Heavily extracted and I wonder (actually I very much doubt) whether it has all the elements to turn into an outstanding wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue