2019 Quinta do Vallado Douro Vallado Tinto

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 90.5 points

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  9/25/2023 - Isaac D wrote:

  The colour is medium purple. The aromas are medium (+). The aromas are blossom, violets, rose, red plum, black plum, red cherry, black cherry, baked fruits, lavender, rosemary, vanilla, clove, toast, meat, game, earth, leather. The wine is developing. The wine is dry. The flavour intensity is medium. The acidity is medium, the tannins are medium (+). The length is medium (+). Medium Alcohol. The body is medium +. The flavours are violets, rose, red plum, black plum, red cherry, black cherry, lavender, rosemary, vanilla, clove, toast, meat, game, earth. The wine is very good. Drink now, but suitable for further ageing

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  5/23/2022 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 90 Points

  My first TN from the European trip is a bottle that was a gift from the QdV Estate from our visit (as an aside, this is an exquisite property, and the Douro Valley is one of the world’s most beautiful, if not consistently great in quality, at least for its non-fortified wines, wine country areas) last week; no prior notes for a variety of reasons, but primarily because I’ve been doing tastings and dinner pairings not permitting for the kind of consideration I prefer (the quantity has also led to some palate fatigue!). This wine, a plurality Touriga Nacionale, very fragrant on the nose, a bit less forthcoming on the palate with notes of mixed dark berries, black plums and black currants, ground spice, dark florals and a bit of earth. Dark purple, medium+ bodied, surprisingly thick legs. Medium tannins and acidity both fairly well integrated on the pour, no heat. Good complexity, VG intensity, VG++ persistence. A step below the Reserve Field Blend (which blends 17 grapes to this bottling’s 3; see my note on the ‘16 RFB) in sophistication, this wine still punches well above its weight as a nicely balanced, fairly expressive pour which is more than solid with food and without. Like most of the QdV wines, this is good to go with minimal aging and air, and while it should keep well in the near to medium term, upside is likely limited, as you’d expect in this price range (a bit under $20 US at the winery). 89-90
  
  For any of my fellow globalists, the ‘18 Granja I had as part of my dinner pairing on 2 evenings is a massive wine of balanced but not integrated elements, drinking very well with air already but likely to get to the point of greatness in the next 5-10 years then hold that for another 10-20 (it’s 134E at the winery, by the far most expensive non-fortified wine I had in the DV, so I’m not letting you in on any kind of secret, but if anyone tells you Portugal can’t make world class non-fortified wines, pop that for him). My tasting at Qd Pacheca was likewise memorable (and credit to the somm, who, when I told him I’d pay him whatever he wanted to charge me if he’d pour me top quality estate wines rather than the usual tour bus fare did so at the regular tariff); their 2018 Vale do Abraao Colheita was almost as good as the Granja at about half the price. I had so many great Ports that were almost as old as I that I pretty much lost count and can’t, as I write this, single any out for individual treatment, but if this is your jam, book a ticket to Porto, stat, and head about 60 miles west (or stay in Porto if you just want to taste and avoid the Estates, although that wouldn’t be my choice). I’ll try to be more conscientious in Rioja this weekend and Bordeaux in a couple of weeks.

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