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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.7 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 32 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by CarpeDiem! on 6/21/2018 & rated 96 points: Blindtested. Initially reminding me Norhtern Rhône, this "muscle wine" strikes you from the very first sniff to its endless finish. Exuberant nose of jammy red fruit, tobacco, chocolate, cedar, graphite, tea, portwine. Full bodied in the mouth, multilayered and extravagant show of supermature fruit, tobacco, caramel, licorice, garrigue, sous-bois, wrapped in noble cask, with a 2km phenolic port finish. Kudo! (1765 views) | | | Tasted by rexmerlot on 1/3/2016 & rated 90 points: Dark purple in colour. Clean nose of licorice and black fruit. Dry, med acidity, med body, elegant and smooth tannins, licorce, dark chocolate, spice and black fruit on palate. Med finish. I have had this wine before, and I think I enjoyed it more younger. I would say this wine is past it prime. Cellared properly for its life, so would have expected it to age well. 12 years old, but feel it will not get any better. A great wine, was amazing with dinner or roast top sirloin, but if you have any in your cellar drink now. (2465 views) | | | Tasted by jreis on 2/21/2013: Very good. Dark berries, earth, a little eucalyptus, Asian exotic specs. Beautifully soft on the palate with nice structure and acidity. Really nice. (4257 views) | | | Tasted by Soledade on 10/6/2012 & rated 95 points: Outstanding wine! Full of body, rich, complex. Red ripe fruit, black chocolate and a bit of mint. An endless end in the mouth. Almost decadent! Drink it now or in the next 10 years. Its structure can easilly support the time of bottle. (5140 views) | | | Tasted by Marcyrillo on 4/28/2012 & rated 94 points: Pure velvety. Very complex, layers of black and red fruit. A lot of pleasure. Fantastic wine. I drunk the whole bottle! (5246 views) | | | Tasted by unrelenting on 10/29/2011 & rated 89 points: Similar notes to last time but I felt like there was a bit more fruit present (4726 views) | | | Tasted by petitblanc on 10/8/2011 & rated 85 points: Deep cherry color fading to cinnamon at the rim. Very ripe, grapey fruit, interesting spicy and mineral complexity, and very faint tobacco notes. A couple hours air helped soften the huge structure and ample alcohol (14.5%), but this remained a bit hot and fumey through the long finish. Not great sipping, probably okay with food. Drink or hold several years. Sadly, this is largely New World in style, rendered generic by its excessive heat, with the potentially interesting varietal character largely drowned out. (3949 views) | | | Tasted by bons vinhos on 6/16/2011 & rated 91 points: This was very good,don't get me wrong,but it probably should had been drunk a year ago...medium body,very complex and tipically portuguese,its ligthness reminds me of Burgundy.There's a littlle bit of heat at the end,but it went perfectly with a leg of lamb..couldn't notice the green tannins until the lamb was over.Drink now,with food... (2991 views) | | | Tasted by unrelenting on 6/11/2011 & rated 88 points: Drink now. this wine wasn't built to last. Judging by the prior notes, it had gobs of fruit. Much of it is gone now, leaving green tannins. (2859 views) | | | Tasted by coremill on 4/22/2011 & rated 84 points: from the same bottle as cooberp below, and similar impressions. at first ripe and sweet, almost port-like, with black fruit. with air the fruit fades and gets more sour. not a lot of structure. some notes of vanilla and dill (American oak?). not very interesting. (2927 views) | | | Tasted by cooberp on 4/19/2011 & rated 87 points: Huh? Dark ruby. Dark-fruited, medium-bodied, not much structure, a bit alcoholic. Ripe and primary, but thin. Sour aftertaste. Definitely not drinking the same wine as the tasters below. (3098 views) | | | Tasted by mkubow on 12/15/2010 & rated 92 points: very unique and interesting wine, solid throughout but I loved the spices. (3313 views) | | | Tasted by David J Cooper on 8/5/2010: Deep dark red. Lots of coffee, mineral and dark fruit. Very intense slightly sweet nose. Quite extracted. Very long finish, tannic but with lots of fruit. Excellent. (3590 views) | | | Tasted by JimN on 3/29/2010 & rated 92 points: Tasted blind. The nose is clearly a European wine, but of unknown origin. Almost a Middle Eastern quality to it: cinnamon, cumin, other spices. In a glass aside a Pinot and a Napa Cab, the purple color is striking. On the palate, lush plum and blackberries, with just a bit of tannic structure remaining. Drinking very well now, but will soften for a few more years. (3751 views) | | | Tasted by cisco on 12/25/2008 & rated 93 points: Popped and poured. Very good structure. Great nose with some spices. Dark berries, some spice, and smooth tannis. The finish could have been longer. The wine opened up an became smoother over the 1 hour it was consumed. Decant the wine next time. (4266 views) | | | Tasted by GlenviewGSW on 12/21/2008 & rated 93 points: Excellent wine with great structure. Good still age for several years before optimal drinking. A smoky, gamy wine that has a smooth long finish. (4070 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 10/26/2008 & rated 94 points: Intense ripe grapes. Flowers and some spices. Mixure of flavours on the palate. Smooth lush finish..roast coffee. (4104 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 11/24/2007 & rated 91 points: At little disappointing given the WE 94 and WS 95. ST 90+ more like it. Nice nose at openning but lost it's senses FAST. Ripe berry with plum,vanilla and spice on the palate. A liitle tobbaco roast coffee on the short finish. Glad I only bought one bottle. More like $30 WIDNE. (4587 views) | | | Tasted by Art Vandelay on 10/28/2007 & rated 95 points: Our first Portugese table wine and what a wonderful experience. I will definetely be puting more of them in the cellar by the ports. (4756 views) | | | Tasted by mdefreitas on 7/19/2007 & rated 94 points: Very deep and extracted. Outstanding nose of berries, spice and violets. This has firmed up a bit since my last tasting, but it still pushes the envelope of ripeness. A bit less ripeness would have garnered a higher review. Still outstanding, though. (5236 views) | | | Tasted by Marcyrillo on 3/1/2007 & rated 95 points: Fantástico vinho. Muito encorpado, muito complexo e com certeza vai evoluir grandemente no futuro. Persistência incrível e ótimo equilíbrio. (3710 views) | | | Tasted by Vinho on 11/13/2006 & rated 95 points: Solar do Vinho do Porto (Figueira): Primeiro em magnum, depois garrafa normal, com as mesmas impressões. Violáceo fechado, límpido e brilhante. Aromas finos, complexos, intensos e profundos, notas minerais, florais, cacau, tostado, eucalípto, com nuances mescladas difíceis de se identificar. A cada nova taça uma sensação diferente. Na boca é impressionantemente austero, quase salgado (talvez umami), mesmo numa safra quente. Taninos finos, boa acidez, textura sedosa, grande estrutura e, novamente, destaque para a sensação de salinidade. Muito jovem. Excepcional. 95+pts. (7520 views) | | | Tasted by mdefreitas on 9/4/2006 & rated 94 points: Inky Purple. Brimming with ripe, mashed, spiced plums, violets and creamy blackberries. Very modern style, as the oak spice is quite up-front. Creamy texture in the mouth, with very ripe, fine tannins. Not much roughness here. Hedonistic "thrill-a-minute" rollercoaster of fruit. Very much like a "dry-port". A bit of alcoholic heat in the finish. I would be quite interested in seeing how this ages. Really beautiful the second day, with the structure better integrated. (5884 views) | | | Tasted by Marcyrillo on 6/1/2006 & rated 95 points: Já muito agradável para beber. Impressionam as camadas de sabor que sobrepõe a boca, nunca tinha sentido antes. Muita estrutura e concentração, porém macio e elegante. Acidez mais baixa. Longa persistência. (3666 views) | | | Tasted by cousteau on 5/31/2006 & rated 94 points: Encontro Mistral 2006: Mr. Olazabal himself was presenting his wines at the tasting table. He makes only the two wines (meandro and vale meao) The differences: Meao has more touriga nacional, about 60%, and 60% goes in new oak barrels while the rest goes in second use oak barrels. One third of the production goes to Meao. Olazabal believes it will age about 8 to 15 years. He said the Barca Velha (which used his grapes on the blend) had on it's blend some other varietals from higher altitude vineyards that gave it more acidity and aging potential. So the "barca nova" shouldn't last as long as the "barca velha". This 2003 is very powerful. The fruit profile is quite the same as Meandro with blackberries and plums upfront. The same spice but a more silky texture and a much longer finish. Superb wine. (6805 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Quinta do Vale Meão Producer website
In 1877, Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, owner of the largest winemaking estate in the Douro, purchased 300 hectares of virgin land at auction from the Vila Nova de Foz Côa municipality. Her dream was to create a model vineyard from nothing, using for this the vast experience she had acquired throughout a lifetime as a Douro landowner. This ambitious project took eight years to complete, from 1887 to 1895. Sadly, this grand lady’s pleasure in her last and most significant enterprise was of short duration as she died in 1896.
Since then, the estate always remained in the hands of her descendants. In the 1970s, her great-great-great-grandson, Francisco Javier de Olazabal became responsible for its management and he began the long and laborious process of acquiring the shares that belonged to his kin and to other co-owners of the property. In 1994, he and his children became the sole owners of the Quinta. Until then, the grapes from the estate were sold to A.A. Ferreira S.A., the company established by Dona Antónia’s descendants, where they formed the basis of some its finest wines. This connection continued until 1998 when Francisco Javier de Olazabal resigned as Managing Director of A.A. Ferreira S.A. to dedicate himself, together with his oenologist son Francisco de Olazabal y Nicolau de Almeida, to producing, ageing and marketing the wines from the Quinta through a new company, F. Olazabal & Filhos Lda
The Quinta vineyards were subject to a major reconversion and replanting beginning in the 1980s, partly because of the need to replace the vines that were flooded as a result of the building of the Valeira dam. The new vineyards were planted with blocks of single-variety vines, most especially Touriga Nacional, a varietal that until then had practically been abandoned in the Douro because of the low yield and difficulty in cultivating the vine. This varietal has proven to be particularly well suited to the edapho-climateric characteristics of the Upper Douro and it contributes greatly to the quality and originality of the Quinta wines. Their complexity is guaranteed by the careful use of the different types of soil that exist in the Quinta - schistose, granitic and alluvial.
Our aim is to uphold the originality and complexity of our wines by exploring, to the utmost, the combination of the different traditional Douro varietals grown in separate blocks in the vineyards and the different styles that result from the geological variations of our soil.
We also give preference to combining traditional winemaking methods in lagares with modern technologies. This is why we restored and totally re-equipped the centuries-old Adega dos Novos winery, taking care to preserve its fine architectural features and recover the imposing stone treading tanks.
The Adega da Barca Velha wine lodge, reserved exclusively as a warehouse for Port, was reconstructed in 2007.
Red Blend.Portugal ViniPortugal (Associação Interprofissional para a Promoção dos Vinhos Portugueses/Portuguese Wine Trade Association)Douro Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e PortoDouro Port's Not So Sweet Cousin, By Eric Asimov. Oct. 31, 2007.
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