Calvados, Port, mencia, GSM
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Delas Cote du Rhone 2022 375mlA serious Cotes-du-Rhone. Full forest berry fruit with delicate spice, bitter chocolate and licorice notes. Impressive depth and some real structure on the full-bodied palate. I love the way the generous, rather fine tannins carry the long, spicy and fresh finish. A cuvee based on 60% grenache, mostly from the Vaucuse region, with about 30% syrah from the Gard and small amounts of mourvedre and other traditional grape varieties. JAMES SUCKLING2022GSM, shirazFrance467$19.00 As low as $17.10 -
Paisley Wines Turntable GSM 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021GSMAustralia349$21.00 As low as $18.90 -
Paisley Wines Turntable GSM 2021A purple-hued blend of grenache, shiraz and mataro that's super perfumed and packed with ripe plum, blueberry and cranberry fruit notes. Hints of jasmine and frangipani along with abundant spice, licorice, gingerbread, mocha, panforte and earth. Gentle, billowy tannins and bright acidity guide the plush, spicy blue and dark fruits to a medium-length finish. Vegan friendly. DAVE BROOKES, Halliday Wine Companion2021GSMAustralia349$22.00 As low as $19.80 -
Delas Cote du Rhone Saint Esprit 2021One of our favourite rhone reds year-in and year-out. There may be nothing quite as satisfying as a good value Rhone red and this one always delivers. Delas Freres is based in the beautiful northern Rhone with a large holding of their own vineyards supplemented by long-term relationships with quality growers all over the rhone. How they manage to put so much goodness into a bottle at this price is an astonishing feat to say the least.
While this indulgent red reflects the north’s regional dominance of Shiraz over Grenache, it reflects the darker fruits and a spicy earthiness often found in the southern Rhone, where this wine hails from. Silky rather than heavy, it still feels concentrated with bright, bubbly raspberry fruits complimented by a little dollop of wild, blackberry fruit. A waft of violets and pastille fruit just add to its appeal.
2021GSM, Mourvedre, shirazFrance467$25.00 As low as $22.50 -
Torbreck Steading GSM 2021 375mlA meld of 51/28/21% grenache/shiraz/mataro from 40 to 150-year-old vines; 20 months maturation in large 4500L French oak foudre. Perfumed and fragrant with lifted blueberry, dark plum and punchy cranberry fruit characters with hints of frangipani, teacake, gingerbread, cherry clafoutis, Chinese barbecue shop, earth and blueberry pie. Bright with vivid acidity and powdery tannin, it cuts a super-spicy savoury line across the palate and represents the Torbreck style with much aplomb. (94) DAVE BROOKES, Halliday Wine Companion - SPECIAL VALUE
I like the tannin tension to this with berry, dried meat and spice aromas and flavors. It’s medium-bodied with a firmness and brightness. Juicy finish. Nice texture at the end. Vivid. Grenache, shiraz and mataro. Drink or hold. (94) JAMES SUCKLING2019GSMAustralia349$26.00 As low as $23.40 -
Tellurian Heathcote Rose 2024Shiraz, Grenache, Nero d'Avola and Mourvèdre from the Tellurian vineyard. Hand-picked and gently whole-bunch pressed to tank. Fermented in seasoned French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. The wine remained on yeast lees in barrel and tank for three months prior to racking, stabilisation and bottling.2024GSM, Nero d'AvolaAustralia404$26.00 As low as $23.40 -
Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2022A well-rounded, juicy and fruit-driven blend of 53% grenache, 37% syrah, 5% mourvedre, 3% marselan and 2% carignan. It shows red berries, dried thyme, bay leaves and loads of baking spices on the nose, following through to a medium body with silky tannins and texture. It's a serious Cotes-du-Rhone with plenty of fun and juicy fruit and a kick of spices lifting the finish. From organically grown grapes JAMES SUCKLING
The smoke and black pepper notes of syrah are intertwined with the fleshiness and mellower personality of the grenache grape in a very convincing manner. Behind this is a solid base of supple tannins that has been expertly crafted STUART PIGOTT
The 2022 Côtes Du Rhône Parallèle 45 is juicy and elegant, with pretty red and black fruits and some peppery, garrigue-like notes in a charming, supple, incredibly elegant profile. Mostly Grenache with smaller amounts of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Marselan, and Carignan, it's well worth enjoying over the coming 3-5 years. JEB DUNNUCK
2022GSMFrance467 -
Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2021A good advertisement for the 2021 vintage in the Rhone this has stacks of red fruit and spice aromas, including a touch of pepper. Notes of licorice and sandalwood on the palate where the restrained tannins neatly fit with the generous fruit. Moderately dry finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now. STUART PIGGOT, JamesSuckling.com2016GSMFrance467Special Price $28.00 Regular Price $33.00 -
PWS Thank You Fortified 500mlFor those of you who may remember we used to have 3 big barrels of fortified wines out the back of the store where you could re-fill your own bottles, or buy from us, a selection of Stanton & Kileen Muscat, Topaque and Ruby Fortified. After many years these bottlings fell out of favour and with room growing to a premium at the store we got rid of them.
But what to do with all that wonderful sticky goodness? The juice was too good to just pour away and we really had a bit of a soft-spot in our heart for these wines. In jumps crew at Stanton & Kileen help us out with our little conundrum. They expertly blended the 3 fortifieds together with a little fresh stock from their own holdings and worked a little magic at the same time. The result is the PWS Thank You Fortified.
This is such a magical combo or red fruits blended with spicy muscat florals and a hint of earl grey tea. It's beautifully luscious and sweet like a muscat but a dollop of strawberry and raspberry fruit elevate the nose with a little twist on the traditional fortified. Delicious!
PortAustralia476$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Stanton & Killeen Rutherglen Muscat 500mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
PortAustralia476$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Petit Pittacum Mencia 2022We have been enamoured with the mencia based wines of Spaces northwest since first we tried them. Their beautiful lifted nose spiked with mineral accents that flowed onto graceful pallets raked with fine granit like tannins an earthy savouryness at the edges. They are something akin to cru Beaujolias crossed with the finest reds of the loire and we just cant get enough.
Bodegas Pittacum is owned by the Terras Gauda operation and is situated in Argaza in the heart of Bierzo and made from grape sourced from small plots of organically grown 90 year old vines grown in clay soils on steep slopes.
Glace fruits with crème de mure and raspberry coulis flecked with granitic mineral shards. Mid weight styling come from slippery red fruits and a gentle burst of freshness that comes not from acidity but from a deep mineral vein soaked up from the long roots and rocky slopes. Its like a bowl of mixed berry smashed onto rock and is absolutely delightful. If you have not had the wines of the region or mencia this is a belter of an introduction.
2021menciaSpain355$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone Rouge 201960% Grenache 40% Syrah
To put it plainly this is delicious! Everything you want in a Cote Du Rhone. Based in the Northern Rhone town of Tain Hermitage Jaboulet has transformed this cuvee over the past five years. Total production is about a third of what it used to be, and the focus is very much on quality. Bright fresh with a generous juicy Grenache mouth feel but enough stuffing and spice to keep it lively and mouth watering delicious. A great value wine that has potential to improve over the next three to five years. ALEX WILCOX
2016GSMFrance467$33.00 As low as $23.00 -
Ogier Le Temps Est Venu Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2022Mostly Grenache and Syrah, the 2022 Côtes Du Rhône Le Temps Est Venu is up-front and loaded with charm, offering lots of black raspberry and redcurrant-like fruit as well as peppery garrigue and spice. It's medium to full-bodied, round, layered, and beautifully balanced. JEB DUNNUCK2021GSMFrance467$37.00 As low as $33.30 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo 2022César Márquez Parajes is a coupage of the most prestigious and unique Bierzo plots. Old vines grown as they used to be, without using pesticides or chemicals that can damage the natural balance of the terroir. Each of the plots is worked separately according to their needs and the harvest is carried out manually.
In the winery, 50% of the grapes used to make César Márquez Parajes are destemmed. Then they are pressed in the old-fashioned way, with feet, so that some of them stay whole during fermentation. Fermentation is spontaneous with the grape’s native yeasts. Once the must becomes wine, it is pressed and placed into 225 and 500 litre barrels separately. After 12 months the barrels are emptied and the different wines are combined.
César Márquez Parajes remains true to its roots. A wine that overflows with natural elegance as a result of the quality of the raw material and the expertise of the makers. Freshness with enveloping smoothness. DECANTER
2022menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo Mencia 2021The super affordable 2021 Parajes really overdelivers in this cool year. It was produced with grapes from up to 45 different plots in nine villages, trying to capture the essence of Bierzo. This regional red mixes soils and altitudes, mostly very old plots and therefore planted with a field blend with a majority of Mencía but also around 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% whites or other reds like Bastardo, Souson or Estaladiña. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and plastic bins with some full clusters, indigenous yeasts and variable macerations, ranging between 15 and 60 days. Seventy-five percent of the volume matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter barrels and the rest in a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's aromatic, floral, perfumed and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It is round and juicy, with very fine tannins and depth and complexity, corresponding to a much more expensive wine. A bargain. He harvested quite early in 2021, and the wines have moderate alcohol. 29,504 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2022. LUIS GUITIERREZ, Wine Advocate
2021menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Massimo 2022Comprising of almost all Mencía with just a dash of Tempranillo and Sousón, this expressive, light bodied wine captures the very essence of Ribeira Sacra, grown on slopes above the River Sil so vertiginous they can only be worked by hand. Flavours of blueberries, blackcurrants, and herbs with fresh, lifted acidity. BARRICA WINES
2022mencia, tempranilloSpain471$43.00 As low as $38.70 -
Fonseca Tawny Port NVMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
PortPortugal450$44.00 As low as $39.60 -
Warres Warrior Port 750mLMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2011PortPortugal450$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Envinate Lousas Vinas de Aldea Mencia 2022The bottled 2022 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is aromatic, extroverted, open and immediate, floral, perfumed and expressive, with a juicy and round palate. It's fleshy and round, still with 12.5% alcohol on the label but possibly a tad riper than the 2023 sample I tasted next to it. It's a very approachable vintage for this cuvée. 25,200 bottles and 360 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate
There are some incredible things happening in Spanish wine right now and one of the producers at the heart of this revolution are Envinate. A project between four winemakers who met studying oenology in Alicante in the mid two thousands bonded around a shared ideology and desire to explore and express the underappreciated terroirs of Western Spain. Envinate has since risen to become one of the icons of 'New Spain' a movement which is has reached a crescendo in recent years as young producers strive to craft wines that showcase a patchwork of Spanish terroirs, using indidgenous grapes farmed fastidiously and rendered into wines without artifice.2022menciaSpain471$54.00 As low as $48.60 -
Fonseca Bin No.27 Finest Reserve PortMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
PortPortugal450$55.00 As low as $49.50 -
Stanton & Killeen Vintage Fortified 2015 750mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2015PortAustralia476$56.00 As low as $50.40 -
Pioneiro Moscatel Roxo NVMy love of fortified wines is no secret, in fact I am loudly proclaiming it to any and all who are willing to listen (usually that's a small group admittedly). This is a new one for me and it is one hell of a wine. Burnt fig, orange peel, walnut, black tea and a hint of fish oil all intermingle on the really complex and decidedly enticing nose. The palate pretty much follows the same line as the nose and has an expansive, detailed and surprisingly lively finish. This little ripper is a contender for my new wine of the year. ROSCOENVPortPortugal458$60.00 As low as $54.00 -
Taylors LBV 2017More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2017PortPortugal450$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Stanton & Killeen Vintage Fortified 2007 375mlWhile this is beautifully fresh, it has morphed into a very fine aged fortified. Woodsy, earthy tones with coffee and vanilla, blackberry essence and brandy-esque flavours to the spirit. Lovely balance, clean with tannins adding a raw-silk texture. A lot of emotion infused into this: a fitting tribute to Chris Killeen's skill as a fortified winemaker. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion
Deep, rich, burnished red colour with a tawny rim; the bouquet mellow, complex, rich and sweet. Licorice and blackberry aromas with star anise and spicy notes from the brandy spirit. The palate is still remarkably firm and structured, but also rich and sweet, the finish drying it off cleanly with well-balanced tannin, acid and spirit. Blackberry and espresso coffee flavours. It's drinking in its prime at 12 years of age. (Durif, touriga, tinta roriz, shiraz, tinta cão, tinta barroca) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review2007PortAustralia476$68.00 As low as $61.20 -
Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny PortMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
PortPortugal450$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny PortReddish-tawny color. Slightly roasted aromas of bonfire, toffee and almond; slight hint of maderization. Sweet and smooth, but rather powerful, with youthful red berry flavor and a bit of heat. Smoke and nutskin on the lingering finish. STEPHEN TANZER, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Portuguese paradox. Old and rich nut, tobacco and toffee flavors yet fresh, thick and fruity, adding a slight tannin bite. WINE SPECTATOR
PortPortugal450$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Warres Quinta Da Cavadinha Port 2006 750mlThe Quinta da Cavadinha has a lifted bouquet with more red cherry fruit. It is lighter and more airy that Symington’s other single quintas, with fine delineation with more expressive minerality compared to the Quinta do Bomfim 2006, for example. The palate is ripe and sweet on the entry and displays filigree tannins, a wonderful edginess and poise, plus a sense of completeness that is very attractive. This is not a powerhouse single quinta, but it has life-affirming tension and purity towards the long, sensual finish. Wonderful. Drink 2016-2040. Tasted October 2011. NEAL MARTIN, The Wine Advocate2006PortPortugal450$85.00 As low as $76.50 -
Willie Smiths Pommeau de Tasmanie 18.2%Aged in small apple brandy casks for over 12 months, this rich and generous liqueur is a result of blending pressed French and British heirloom apple varieties with our apple spirit.
Complex and well-structured with baked apple and spice, balanced with firm tannins and cask influence.
Our take on the traditional aperitif from North-West France – enjoy as such or serve with blue cheese or dessert. WILLIE SMITH
NVCalvadosFrance$90.00 As low as $81.00 -
Algueira Mencia Ribeira Sacra Risco 2019Merenzao is the same variety as Trousseau (and Bastardo in Portugal) and was probably brought to Ribeira Sacra by the Cistercian monks who set up camp here in the Middle Ages. Algueira’s Merenzao vines have an average age of 80 years and are rooted in a steep slope of gneiss, quartz and slate in the Amandi Gorge. The fruit sees a wild yeast, 100% whole-bunch ferment, is pressed by foot and aged for 12 months in old oak and some local chestnut vessels.
The result is an extraordinary, unique wine with a complex perfume of finely detailed fruit characters that recalls wild cherry steeped with blood orange, rose and a tincture of wild herb. There’s more colour and muscular density from the solar year, yet it remains super lucid and tender and finishes long, leaving behind a lick of elegant tannin and a perfume of sweet red berries and smoky minerals. This is one tasty Bastardo!
2021menciaSpain355$125.00 As low as $112.50 -
Fonseca Guimaraens 2018
More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2018PortPortugal450$125.00 As low as $112.50 -
Nin Ortiz Planetes de Nin Priorat 2017More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2017menciaSpain459$130.00 As low as $117.00 -
Taylors Vintage Port 2018 375mLMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2018PortPortugal450$130.00 As low as $117.00 -
Roger Groult Calvados 8yo Pays d'Auge 41% 700mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
CalvadosFrance$150.00 As low as $135.00 -
Dow Vintage Port 1977 375mLThis is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977.The 1977, still a baby, is fabulously scented, very rich and concentrated, and has a potential longevity of at least another 30-50 years. ROBERT PARKER1977PortPortugal450$170.00 As low as $153.00 -
Fonseca Vintage Port 2003 375mlSaturated deep ruby. Brooding, reticent nose of cassis and kirsch; there's nothing cooked about this one! Then massive, sweet and superrich in the mouth; explodes with exotic ripeness. Intriguing note of graphite. This coats every nook and cranny of the palate and clings and builds on the back end in a way that no other wine of this vintage can match. Huge, sexy and wonderfully lush Fonseca, built for the long haul. As impressive as the best 2000s, and, along with the Quinta do Noval Nacional, is an early candidate for port of the 2003 vintage. (97) STEPHEN TANZER
Fonseca vintage Ports are always among the most attractive and long-lived. This 2003 conforms magnificently to that model. It is structured, rich, powerful and opulent. There are cassis and black fig flavors, as well as sweet tannins. It is delicious already, and will remain delicious throughout its long life. (97) WINE ENTHUSIAST
Sporting an opaque, black-colored robe with dark purple trim, the 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port exhibits a nose of profound depth. Its sweet black mass of dark fruit and spice aromas leads to a character of immense depth, richness, and weight. Full-bodied, viscous, and almost impenetrable, this dense, backward port is powerful and exceptionally long in the finish. Possibly the most masculine Fonseca I've ever encountered, it coats the taster's palate with licorice, jammy black fruits, and notes of chocolate that last for over a minute. This blockbuster will require at least three decades to fully blossom. Anticipated maturity: 2035-2060. (96+) WINE ADVOCATE
2003PortPortugal450$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Cidrerie du Leguer Eau de Vie de Cidre 700mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
CalvadosFrance449$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Guimaro Finca Capelinos Single Vineyard Mencia 2020The 2020 Finca Capeliños comes from a warm year, but the grapes have been harvested earlier in recent years to achieve moderate alcohol and macerations have been shortened to get wines that are more elegant and harmonious. The 2020s are quite open and expressive, and the Capeliños displays impressive notes of violet pastille and a faintly Mediterranean note of aromatic herbs. (96) LUIS GUTIERREZ2020menciaSpain471$185.00 As low as $166.50 -
Guimaro Pombeiras Single Vineyard Mencia 2020This is from a plot planted with the classical field blend found in the old vineyards, mainly Mencía with a myriad of other varieties-Caíño, Sousón, Brancellao, Merenzao, Negreda, Garnacha, Mouratón... The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year. This is explosive with a baroque, exotic and decadent nose redolent of flowers, soy sauce, violet pastille, spices and herbs. It's a little spirity (it's 14.2% alcohol), which probably adds to the showy profile. The palate is a little more backward-it's structured and has abundant, fine tannins, still a little hard. 800 bottles produced. (97+) LUIS GUTIERREZ2020menciaSpain471$185.00 As low as $166.50 -
Adrien Camut Pays D'Auge Calvados 6yrs 700mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
CalvadosFrance449$195.00 As low as $175.50 -
Stanton & Killeen Vintage Fortified 2015 1500ml
More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2007PortAustralia476$205.00 As low as $184.50 -
Taylors Vintage Port 2018More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2018PortPortugal450$230.00 As low as $207.00 -
Christian Drouin Calvados 1995 700mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
1995CalvadosFrance$330.00 As low as $297.00 -
Niepoort Vintage Port 2007More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2007PortPortugal450$425.00 As low as $382.50 -
Descendientes de Jose Palacios La Faraona Mencia 2011Depp, bright purple. Drop-dead aromas of dark berry preserves, Asian spice, potpourri and incense, with an intense mineral overtone. Stains the palate with sappy, chewy black raspberry and floral pastille flavors enlivened by notes of allspice, star anise and nutmeg. Silky, sweet and penetrating on the finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity and clarity. There's an elegance and focus here that's reminiscent of the best Burgundies, but with more power and texture. If I were a third-world despot this is what I'd be drinking every day. STEPHEN TANZER, wineaccess.com2011menciaSpain355$1,383.00 As low as $1,244.70 -
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2000Very dark savoury aromas. Dark elderberry. More bramble than blackcurrant. Very dry and firm and dense. Dry but slides over the palate – even though the tannins are very compact it remains fluid. Leaves your mouth feeling clean even though it is so mouthfilling. JULIA HARDING MW
2000PortPortugal450$3,595.00 As low as $3,235.50 -
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2011This is the first time Noval have declared their famous Nacional since 2003 so this is an exciting development. Very dark purple stains the inside of the glass. Gosh, a massive bruiser of a wine. There is such concentration here that not much aroma can escape initially. Wild, peppery stuff. Then wonderfully juicy and spicy. This is like the ultimate biodynamic wine with lots of microbiology going on, in a good way. Very clean and fresh on the finish. Not notably sweet and with more marked acidity than some. A big contrast to, for example, Fonseca 2011. This is all about subtle topnotes rather than broad lusciousness. So vital! JANCIS ROBINSON, 2013
The 2011 Quinta do Noval Nacional has an entrancing bouquet that unfolds with time. It is extraordinarily concentrated with black currant pastilles, baked earth, a touch of terracotta and bay leaf that gains more dimension with time. Yet there is undeniable purity and elegance here, a seductive chorus of aromas perfectly in tune. The palate has a wondrous symmetry and focus, perfect acidity and immense purity. Everything here is so precise and at the same time, unassuming, as if this Nacional is aware of its breeding without the impulse to brag about it. It has closed down just a little since last year, but I take this as a positive sign that this legendary Nacional will delight for decades rather than years. This is the kind of elixir that leaves you speechless – surely the finest Nacional since the ethereal 1963. NEAL MARTIN, 20142011PortPortugal450$4,500.00 As low as $4,050.00