June 12, 2023 - 1st of 6 bottles purchased last year. Provenance perfect, great cork. 14%. Opened immediately after removing from a large Transtherm cellar set at 14C. Warmed up and transformed quickly as the sun set in Hong Kong.
Color: pigeon blood ruby. Mid-mature colour, almost radiant.
Nose: a lot of dark red brambly fruit. Quite a medley. Sweet, but not heavy, over-powering, or overtly alcoholic.
Almost a silky texture with fine, fine, powdery tannins. Candied, confectionery taste. New world comparison: a mature, toned-down, oak-restrained and more delicate Clarendon Hills Romas Grenache. Good weight throughout, but not heavy. Not a rough edge, harsh angle, or taste of overt oak present in this wine. Bravo. Distinctly medium-bodied. Very drinkable, thoroughly enjoyable.
As it warmed up and opened up, I thought that this wine was still pretty youthful.
I do not possesses nearly as much experience with red wine from Portugal as vintage port, but this wine presents itself as well made, slightly reserved, yet youthful and optimistic. The wine in a word: jewelled.
December 18, 2021 - Same impression as last time. A fruit bomb that is moving towards mature notes.
November 15, 2021 - Powerful expression of the variety in its natural place. Tasted immediately after the same vintage Chryseia, and found this wine marginally more appealing. Primarily purple fruits and berries, with red berry accents, backed by strapping loam and mineral elements. Strong underpinning substance and less sense of manufacture pushed it above the Chryseia. No reason not to drink now, but it is still evolving...and might improve marginally.
November 6, 2021 - The Nearly Annual Lyon 10 Year Retro Tasting (Lyon's Den): Possibly the darkest (dry) wine in this tasting, it's loaded with black fruit, mocha, tobacco and graphite notes. Not quite as long as the Chryseia before it. Seemed slightly sweeter on day two: 93pts.
September 14, 2021 - Tannins have subsided from my last note and all that is left is muted fruit and tons of acidity. Time has not done this wine a favor.
October 4, 2020 - Encore bien aimé ce mono cepage du douro.nez de mures,cassis,garrigue et un peu de réglisses.en bouche au début bcoup de cassonade..mais apres un peu de temps ca se place laissant la place au cacao,coulis de cassis.un finale avec un peu d amertume café tres bon c est pret...
July 5, 2020 - Very open. Lots of fruit but a bit one dimensional. Balance is superb and it is very long in taste.
May 11, 2020 - No improvement from my last notes 5 years ago. Still too much tannins and hidden fruit.
April 12, 2020 - Vraiment bcoup aimé ce monocepage portugais nez de prunes,anis,cardamone et cacao.en bouche l acidité c est adoucit les tannins sont nobles, en bouche kirsh,foret noire tres belle longeur sur le cacao amer.j attendrais plas bcoup car l acidité c est deja assagit et si l acidité assoudi it d avantage une vin costaud come celui ci pourrait sembler un peu bonbon
March 26, 2020 - Integrated and drinking great but probably just cresting over peak. Nevertheless I find the acid structure makes it more versatile with food than most reds so it will be easy to drink the last 2 bottles this year. I like that the (classy) oak is now fully integrated and transparent with a short decant. BTW the CellarTracker default photo up there I took at work and didn’t put it up there myself so some customer has extra good taste.