Requires a good decant, an hour we would say before serving. This is not a PnP wine and the second bottle we had of this on the day that was not decanted was clearly a lot more aggressive and sharp . So please decant. Post the decant the wine relaxed, smooths out and has a lovely round, fleshy texture. We actually tasted this blind and went for tempranillo from Ribera del Duero . We should have picked the Portuguese link however as this had this porty edge to the fruit, from the heat and ripeness that adds that porty edge. Good wine solid 92-93 but please decant.
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Un vin charmeur et harmonieux...! Arômes de fruits noirs, de vieille barrique, de cerises confits, de sucre d'orge et de notes florales sucrées. Ample et fondu avec des saveurs de fruits mûrs et d'épices-bois...vanille. Équilibré et très long. Délicieux ! Prêt à boire.
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One of the best wines in the style from one of the best vintages, but I felt like this wine will need another 10 years. It seemed like a teenage Bordeaux. Still fruit forward, and somewhat polished.
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Tasted on a per glass basis in Lisbon. Dark red. Nose smelled like Bordeaux, dark fruits. Taste extremely balanced. That's what came to mind. No extra tannins. No extra acidity, just a full and pleasant mouth feel that made me want to drink it forever.
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Deep purple! Violets, blackberry, boysenberry, beets, and much more. Flavor profile similar to Petit Verdot and the texture of Merlot. Serious acid creates delightful tension and precision. Really delicious! A fine example of Vintage Port flavors, dry fermented.
On the downside, which is arguing around the edges, the wine comes in light on middle and bass substance. It also comes off excessively polished, especially for the Old World. Still evolving and improvement seems possible. Drink with a medium decant or hold for another three to five years. 92-93.
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The Nearly Annual Lyon 10 Year Retro Tasting (Lyon's Den): First great bottle in this blind tasting! Deep black fruit, black licorice, stone, menthol and oak swimming in a lushly textured wine. Great length and still plush on day 2: 94pts. Now-2031
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PNP. Enjoyed this, but not a re-buy given price. Needed air as other tasters have noted - dark color, dark fruits and tobacco. Full body, medium acidity/tannins and long finish. 91+
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Opened this bottle of grapes up in covid quarantine and coupled with grilled octopus and slow roasted lamb shank. Heavy fruit and exploding after sitting for an hour. Still could sit for another five years to grow up a bit.
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Blend: 65% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca. As noted before, requires a ton of time out of the bottle to open up. On day one, I poured a glass in the morning and tried it 10 hours later. Less inky with time outside the bottle. Fruit takes a back seat, but lots of licorice notes. Pepper notes. Acidity lower than on PnP.
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This records a Jan 2019 tasting. Requires a ton of time out of the bottle to open up. Inky and dense. Fruit takes a back seat to the tannic bite. Tar and leather notes.
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Deep purple wine made mostly from Touriga Nacional with the remainder Touriga Francesca. Very typical for the grapes with a bouquet and flavor still boxed in by considerable tannins in this very big, extracted wine. Nice supporting acidity and fairly high alcohol with promise to develop with further aging. This could take a long time.
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I think this needed air or was just too young. Enjoyed the rich chocolate and black fruit flavors, but there was little more I could pull from this wine, felt primary.
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Un vin avec des notes de cassis, de bois et de fruits noirs. La robe est très foncée. L'acidité et les tannins bien présents et la finale assez longue. Un vin bien équilibré que j'ai bien aimé.
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A fascinating, samurai of a wine with incredible dry extract that builds--it doesn't hit you right away--and keeps accelerating past the finish. Smokey, toasty, black cherry and vanilla with licorice electrodes and dense raspberry. The perfection in the ripeness really shines on the exhilarating finish. Could serve as a cordial.
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2015 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/19/2015-10/27/2015 (New York City, NY): Approximately one year after my last tasting, this wine has substantially improved, which makes me think that it could ultimately become something special. An inky blend of 65% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca, it retains an intense nose of menthol, blackberry, black olive and crushed rocks. Full bodied and heavily extracted, it has tart acidity and big rustic tannins. The wine's alcohol (listed as 14.0%) is nicely integrated. While the tannins remains substantial, they are a little more forgiving than a year ago. The medium-length finish is a bit less tart and astringent. While still somewhat overwhelming to my palate at this point, I think that this wine quite possibly could merit a significantly higher score. Patience will be a virtue. Drink 2020-2040.
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Wow. What a well perfumed, rich, delicious wine. Technically, I agree with la cave d'argent's note to a letter (except the finish on this bottle was fine), but I find this admittedly over-extracted style to be fantastic. She's also incredibly well balanced. It's true, WS often over sells whatever they are peddling, but this was the best I've had from several 2011 Douros so far. By a long shot.
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Decanted for 30 minutes but could have used a couple of hours. Lovely aromas of blackberry, fresh and dried flowers, black stone minerality, and dried herbs. Aromas continued on the palate along with medium plus acidity, fine-grained medium plus tannins, and medium body. Really awesome.
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2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): This inky blend of 65% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca has an intense nose of menthol, blackberry, black olive and crushed rocks. Massively-extracted and full-bodied on palate, it has very tart acidity and huge rustic tannins. Listed as 14.0%, the wine's alcohol is nicely integrated. The middle palate is dominated by the tannins and the medium-length finish is very tart and astringent. To my palate, this wine is not particularly enjoyable. If I owned it, I would cellar it for several more years. Drink 2020-2030.
Quite monolithic upon opening, really blossomed after 2 hours. Quite powerful and dark, and glad I have 5 more. Have no intention of drinking again for another few years, and it should age for another 20.
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From tasting at Vintage Wines. Wine Spectator's tasters were smoking something when they gave this a 97. Nose is the best part with a plummy sweetness. Palate has herbal and tannic quality that was a bit different but just okay. I can see this improving but can only rate on how it is today and I'm probably being a bit generous. Not exactly a value either at 50 bucks.
3/27/2024 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Requires a good decant, an hour we would say before serving. This is not a PnP wine and the second bottle we had of this on the day that was not decanted was clearly a lot more aggressive and sharp . So please decant.
Post the decant the wine relaxed, smooths out and has a lovely round, fleshy texture. We actually tasted this blind and went for tempranillo from Ribera del Duero . We should have picked the Portuguese link however as this had this porty edge to the fruit, from the heat and ripeness that adds that porty edge. Good wine solid 92-93 but please decant.
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7/20/2023 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 94 Points
Un vin charmeur et harmonieux...! Arômes de fruits noirs, de vieille barrique, de cerises confits, de sucre d'orge et de notes florales sucrées. Ample et fondu avec des saveurs de fruits mûrs et d'épices-bois...vanille. Équilibré et très long. Délicieux ! Prêt à boire.
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12/21/2022 - MatLot Likes this wine: 91 Points
bombe de fruit mais simple
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9/11/2022 - EvoPeteMTL Likes this wine: 92 Points
One of the best wines in the style from one of the best vintages, but I felt like this wine will need another 10 years. It seemed like a teenage Bordeaux. Still fruit forward, and somewhat polished.
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8/30/2022 - Simoneats Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted on a per glass basis in Lisbon. Dark red. Nose smelled like Bordeaux, dark fruits. Taste extremely balanced. That's what came to mind. No extra tannins. No extra acidity, just a full and pleasant mouth feel that made me want to drink it forever.
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6/28/2022 - pgartner Likes this wine: 93 Points
Chryseia 2011 one of the best harvest in many yaers. Now after 11 years perfect to enjoy.
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11/15/2021 - Motz wrote: 92 Points
Deep purple! Violets, blackberry, boysenberry, beets, and much more. Flavor profile similar to Petit Verdot and the texture of Merlot. Serious acid creates delightful tension and precision. Really delicious! A fine example of Vintage Port flavors, dry fermented.
On the downside, which is arguing around the edges, the wine comes in light on middle and bass substance. It also comes off excessively polished, especially for the Old World. Still evolving and improvement seems possible. Drink with a medium decant or hold for another three to five years. 92-93.
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11/6/2021 - Grinner wrote: 95 Points
The Nearly Annual Lyon 10 Year Retro Tasting (Lyon's Den): First great bottle in this blind tasting! Deep black fruit, black licorice, stone, menthol and oak swimming in a lushly textured wine. Great length and still plush on day 2: 94pts. Now-2031
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7/7/2021 - Waedi Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still very young
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5/10/2021 - CWilliam wrote: 91 Points
PNP. Enjoyed this, but not a re-buy given price. Needed air as other tasters have noted - dark color, dark fruits and tobacco. Full body, medium acidity/tannins and long finish. 91+
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8/4/2020 - maxima wrote: 90 Points
Style musclé avec un fruit dense
mais pas over the top.
C`est tout en soie, prunes et mures avec
des tannins fins et une longue finale.
Bien.
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3/28/2020 - thefatheroftheyear Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened this bottle of grapes up in covid quarantine and coupled with grilled octopus and slow roasted lamb shank. Heavy fruit and exploding after sitting for an hour. Still could sit for another five years to grow up a bit.
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3/21/2019 - mdvillaverde Does not like this wine: 90 Points
Blend: 65% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca. As noted before, requires a ton of time out of the bottle to open up. On day one, I poured a glass in the morning and tried it 10 hours later. Less inky with time outside the bottle. Fruit takes a back seat, but lots of licorice notes. Pepper notes. Acidity lower than on PnP.
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3/12/2019 - mdvillaverde Does not like this wine: 90 Points
This records a Jan 2019 tasting. Requires a ton of time out of the bottle to open up. Inky and dense. Fruit takes a back seat to the tannic bite. Tar and leather notes.
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3/7/2019 - cbkjnk Likes this wine: 94 Points
Needed 1-2 hours decanting, completely transformed by time.
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10/31/2018 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep purple wine made mostly from Touriga Nacional with the remainder Touriga Francesca. Very typical for the grapes with a bouquet and flavor still boxed in by considerable tannins in this very big, extracted wine. Nice supporting acidity and fairly high alcohol with promise to develop with further aging. This could take a long time.
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10/27/2018 - DRob wrote:
Much more fruit and less tannin than last tasting. Maybe doesn't have the legs I first thought it did?
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5/6/2018 - Rhuguet wrote:
Very good but needs at least one more year
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4/15/2018 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 90 Points
I think this needed air or was just too young. Enjoyed the rich chocolate and black fruit flavors, but there was little more I could pull from this wine, felt primary.
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11/20/2017 - RayOB wrote: 90 Points
Drank at 67
Rich primary and full.
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7/3/2017 - jset22 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dry, but fairly tame tannins. Powerful. Drinking fairly well now. P&P
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12/29/2016 - ti_ric Likes this wine: 90 Points
Un vin avec des notes de cassis, de bois et de fruits noirs. La robe est très foncée. L'acidité et les tannins bien présents et la finale assez longue. Un vin bien équilibré que j'ai bien aimé.
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12/9/2016 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
A fascinating, samurai of a wine with incredible dry extract that builds--it doesn't hit you right away--and keeps accelerating past the finish. Smokey, toasty, black cherry and vanilla with licorice electrodes and dense raspberry. The perfection in the ripeness really shines on the exhilarating finish. Could serve as a cordial.
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4/30/2016 - danielbleier wrote:
Had at the tail end of the WFFT auction, bright fruit, smooth and rich...palate fatigue prevents me from scoring this
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3/26/2016 - Rollerball wrote: 93 Points
Single Blind Tasting a Dozen Wines (Rollerball's Place): Lots going on here- inky with sharp fruit, calculating salty notes, yogurt, oats. Intense and extracted.
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10/24/2015 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
2015 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/19/2015-10/27/2015 (New York City, NY): Approximately one year after my last tasting, this wine has substantially improved, which makes me think that it could ultimately become something special. An inky blend of 65% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca, it retains an intense nose of menthol, blackberry, black olive and crushed rocks. Full bodied and heavily extracted, it has tart acidity and big rustic tannins. The wine's alcohol (listed as 14.0%) is nicely integrated. While the tannins remains substantial, they are a little more forgiving than a year ago. The medium-length finish is a bit less tart and astringent. While still somewhat overwhelming to my palate at this point, I think that this wine quite possibly could merit a significantly higher score. Patience will be a virtue. Drink 2020-2040.
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10/24/2015 - cos65 Likes this wine:
Fairly inky purple. Plummy berry, herbal, minerally. Touriga nacional and touriga Franca
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8/22/2015 - Pinotphile123 wrote: 90 Points
Still very young and tannic but showing great fruit , cherries prominent.
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5/23/2015 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Académie des Cinquante Portugal Tasting (Diner Thuis, The Hague, NL): Wonderful purity and balance, classic composition, "claret from the Douro", velvety, noble oak, youthful, complex, deep, harmonious, quite a technical wine but extremely well made.
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5/19/2015 - jviz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow. What a well perfumed, rich, delicious wine. Technically, I agree with la cave d'argent's note to a letter (except the finish on this bottle was fine), but I find this admittedly over-extracted style to be fantastic. She's also incredibly well balanced. It's true, WS often over sells whatever they are peddling, but this was the best I've had from several 2011 Douros so far. By a long shot.
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1/21/2015 - corkcork wrote: 90 Points
Closed
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12/21/2014 - wineretriever Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes but could have used a couple of hours. Lovely aromas of blackberry, fresh and dried flowers, black stone minerality, and dried herbs. Aromas continued on the palate along with medium plus acidity, fine-grained medium plus tannins, and medium body. Really awesome.
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10/17/2014 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 85 Points
2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): This inky blend of 65% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca has an intense nose of menthol, blackberry, black olive and crushed rocks. Massively-extracted and full-bodied on palate, it has very tart acidity and huge rustic tannins. Listed as 14.0%, the wine's alcohol is nicely integrated. The middle palate is dominated by the tannins and the medium-length finish is very tart and astringent. To my palate, this wine is not particularly enjoyable. If I owned it, I would cellar it for several more years. Drink 2020-2030.
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8/20/2014 - DRob Likes this wine:
Quite monolithic upon opening, really blossomed after 2 hours. Quite powerful and dark, and glad I have 5 more. Have no intention of drinking again for another few years, and it should age for another 20.
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3/22/2014 - yeti575rider wrote: 90 Points
From tasting at Vintage Wines. Wine Spectator's tasters were smoking something when they gave this a 97. Nose is the best part with a plummy sweetness. Palate has herbal and tannic quality that was a bit different but just okay. I can see this improving but can only rate on how it is today and I'm probably being a bit generous. Not exactly a value either at 50 bucks.
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2/20/2014 - henrygjeffreys Likes this wine:
rich smelling, spices and cloves
good fragrance
some meatiness
quite long
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