Visited in Summer 2012.
The contrast beween this winery and Boutari was very interesting. Boutari is a large, modern winery with plenty of new winemaking technology. This is a small old-fashioned family producer. For example, the Vin Santo is still made by foot-treading in a concrete lagare (or whatever the correct Greek word for this is!) with the filtration being done by having the wine drip through a wicker basket!
Like an idiot, I didn't note down any of the vintages here. D'Oh!
1. Katsano (actually 85% Katsano and 15% Gaidouria)
This is a new grape variety for me. Apparently it accounts for around 1% of Santorini wine production. Since this is not Assyrtiko, this is officially a "regional wine of the cyclades" rather than from the Santorini appellation.
Pale lemon colour. Herbal and smoky nose (no oak). Smooth mouthfeel. Very acidic and refreshing. Light body. Well balanced. Mineral finish. This is very good, if unusual.
2. Santorini
Very pale colour. Nose is predominantly primary fruit - lots of lemon. Also some floral notes. Upon swirling the wine in the glass, the usual Santorini sea-salt smell comes through as well. Intense palate. Lots of lemony acidity. Strong minerality. Great length and powerful finish. An excellent unoaked example
3. Nikteri
This is not barrel-fermented, but is aged in oak for 6-months after fermentation. A half-way house between the usual Santorini style and the Barrel-Fermented style. I like it. Medium-pale gold colour. Nose has usual primary fruit, but also spice, nuts and vanilla. Also creamy notes from the oak. The palate is intense and the wine is surprisingly full bodied. This is somewhat rustic in character. High acid, but soft and creamy mouthfeel. Lots of power and well balanced. Very good.
4. Vin Santo
Dark toffee/treacle colour. Strong sweet aromas such as toffee, also plenty of complexity. Coffee, orange. The palate is a bit too sticky, a little raisiny. Some rancio character on the palate. Bitter chocolate. This does have high acid, but the sweetness still feels a little overdone. This is good, but only in very small doses.
Showing posts with label Trip Notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trip Notes. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 October 2014
Boutari Winery, Santorini
Visited in Summer 2012.
1. Santorini 2011
Pale green. Floral, appley nose. Hints of the sea. Very crisp and acidic. Strong lemon flavour on palate. Lots of minerality. Good fruit intensity. Surprisingly long given that this is just the entry level wine. Well balanced. Very good.
Cost: 8 EUR
2. Kallisti Reserve 2007
Deeper yellow colour than the previous wine, coming from the oak and the extra age. Noticeable oak on the nose - some smoky and creamy notes. Soft and silky mouthfeel, some oak tannins. There is a something of a sherry / oxidation character. Good, refreshing acid. Complex. Very interesting. This was paired with a Greek cheese (didn't get the name) and the pairing was excellent. The cheese tasted sharper and the wine tasted creamier.
Cost: 15 EUR
3. Mandilaria 2009
This is a semi-dry red wine, which sounds like a pretty inauspicious start. The grapes are dried for around 3 days before pressing. This sweetness helps to mitigate the tannins. However, it's not to my taste. The nose is simple red fruit. The palate is sour, with residual sugar. Light and simple. You'd have to be insane to buy this for more than the first wine though!
Cost: 9 EUR
4. Vin Santo Santorini 2007
Vin Santos come from white grapes which have been sun dried. The wine is then aged for over 3 years in barrel - sometimes much longer.
Intense aroma of toffee, nuts, coffee. Some oxidized and rancio aromas. Good acidity... the finish is almost sour. This is complex and well balanced. Very good.
Cost: 16 EUR (didn't note down bottle size though)
1. Santorini 2011
Pale green. Floral, appley nose. Hints of the sea. Very crisp and acidic. Strong lemon flavour on palate. Lots of minerality. Good fruit intensity. Surprisingly long given that this is just the entry level wine. Well balanced. Very good.
Cost: 8 EUR
2. Kallisti Reserve 2007
Deeper yellow colour than the previous wine, coming from the oak and the extra age. Noticeable oak on the nose - some smoky and creamy notes. Soft and silky mouthfeel, some oak tannins. There is a something of a sherry / oxidation character. Good, refreshing acid. Complex. Very interesting. This was paired with a Greek cheese (didn't get the name) and the pairing was excellent. The cheese tasted sharper and the wine tasted creamier.
Cost: 15 EUR
3. Mandilaria 2009
This is a semi-dry red wine, which sounds like a pretty inauspicious start. The grapes are dried for around 3 days before pressing. This sweetness helps to mitigate the tannins. However, it's not to my taste. The nose is simple red fruit. The palate is sour, with residual sugar. Light and simple. You'd have to be insane to buy this for more than the first wine though!
Cost: 9 EUR
4. Vin Santo Santorini 2007
Vin Santos come from white grapes which have been sun dried. The wine is then aged for over 3 years in barrel - sometimes much longer.
Intense aroma of toffee, nuts, coffee. Some oxidized and rancio aromas. Good acidity... the finish is almost sour. This is complex and well balanced. Very good.
Cost: 16 EUR (didn't note down bottle size though)
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Mumm Champagne, Reims
On the weekend we went into Reims itself. The area where we were staying was not the most beautiful area of town and our opinion of the city was probably not helped by the chaos which was being caused by the building of a new tram system. Also, our car was crashed into by a (presumably drunk) driver from Marseille who then drove off. Luckily, our car was parked outside a cafe where some (also drunk) bored locals rushed outside and wrote down his licence place number. When we arrived a few hours later they were over the moon at their detective work. We then had to go to the police station and fill out forms in triplicate before we were able to go do any Champagne visits.
Luckily, we had a much less punishing schedule of visits in Reims, with only Mumm organised. So this basically just stopped us exploring as much of the town as we would otherwise have done.
The atmosphere at Mumm was very different than at the small producers we had been visiting all week. Here you are definitely on the corporate visit conveyor belt. It's a smooth, well-oiled tourist machine. However, the tour is very well done and the cellars are huge and impressive.
The tour covers the whole champagne method and would be an excellent way for someone who was not sure of all the details to start their Champagne holiday. And if you did this before the small producers then it wouldn't feel so impersonal.
The Wines
1. Mumm de Cramant
Herbaceous, grassy nose. Refined and elegant. Light bodied, soft and fine mousse. Well balanced. Good acid, subtle. Long apple flavoured finish. One of the best blanc de blancs of the holiday (although we were in the PN area).
2. Grand Cru Brut
Quite full bodied. Truffles and mushrooms. Biscuit and lemon. Good length. However, at the very end the finish is a little metallic. This would be very good were it not for that.
3. Mumm Rose
Odd. This had an unpleasant yoghurt sourness to it. The fruit felt fake, almost like sweets. I didn't like this one very much at all.
Price Point
Two out of these three wines were good, one of them very good. However, they were all massively overpriced. It was good to finish our visits on this one because it reminded us how much cheaper the wines from the small producers can be. It's a shame they're not easier to find in the UK.
Luckily, we had a much less punishing schedule of visits in Reims, with only Mumm organised. So this basically just stopped us exploring as much of the town as we would otherwise have done.
The atmosphere at Mumm was very different than at the small producers we had been visiting all week. Here you are definitely on the corporate visit conveyor belt. It's a smooth, well-oiled tourist machine. However, the tour is very well done and the cellars are huge and impressive.
The tour covers the whole champagne method and would be an excellent way for someone who was not sure of all the details to start their Champagne holiday. And if you did this before the small producers then it wouldn't feel so impersonal.
The Wines
1. Mumm de Cramant
Herbaceous, grassy nose. Refined and elegant. Light bodied, soft and fine mousse. Well balanced. Good acid, subtle. Long apple flavoured finish. One of the best blanc de blancs of the holiday (although we were in the PN area).
2. Grand Cru Brut
Quite full bodied. Truffles and mushrooms. Biscuit and lemon. Good length. However, at the very end the finish is a little metallic. This would be very good were it not for that.
3. Mumm Rose
Odd. This had an unpleasant yoghurt sourness to it. The fruit felt fake, almost like sweets. I didn't like this one very much at all.
Price Point
Two out of these three wines were good, one of them very good. However, they were all massively overpriced. It was good to finish our visits on this one because it reminded us how much cheaper the wines from the small producers can be. It's a shame they're not easier to find in the UK.
Champagne Louis de Sacy
Coming from Ployez-Jacquemart to here had me worried that I'd rate the wines less highly than they deserved because I would be comparing them to the excellent wine I'd just had. However, they stood up well.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Nue NV
60%PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Zero dosage. Pale colour. Smells very lemony and biscuity. Crisp, acidic but lacks body and the taste dies very quickly once swallowed. This was another true-to-type zero dosage wine. OK, but would be better with non-zero dosage.
2. Brut NV
67%PN, 30% Chardonnay, 3% PM
Smells of dough, lemon and cheese. Good body and length. Intense lemon on palate. Well balanced. Good.
3. Brut Grand Cru
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Aged for 3 years on lees. Almost a caramel sweetness on the nose. Smooth and soft. A little unbalanced on the finish. Good, but not great.
4. Brut Grand Cru Rose Saignee
90% PN, 10% PM
Crisp, acidic and a little savoury on the finish. Red fruit and peaches and apricots. Good length and well balanced. Very good. The two saignee method roses we had on this trip were excellent.
5. Grand Soir Vintage 2001 Grand Cru
30 EUR
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Interesting bottle shape - almost fluted. Mushrooms, nuts, toast, truffles and earthy notes. Weighty and full bodied. Creamy, rich and smooth. Crisp lemon palate. Quite mineralic. Refreshing and very good.
Champagne Louis de Sacy
Coming from Ployez-Jacquemart to here had me worried that I'd rate the wines less highly than they deserved because I would be comparing them to the excellent wine I'd just had. However, they stood up well.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Nue NV
60%PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Zero dosage. Pale colour. Smells very lemony and biscuity. Crisp, acidic but lacks body and the taste dies very quickly once swallowed. This was another true-to-type zero dosage wine. OK, but would be better with non-zero dosage.
2. Brut NV
67%PN, 30% Chardonnay, 3% PM
Smells of dough, lemon and cheese. Good body and length. Intense lemon on palate. Well balanced. Good.
3. Brut Grand Cru
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Aged for 3 years on lees. Almost a caramel sweetness on the nose. Smooth and soft. A little unbalanced on the finish. Good, but not great.
4. Brut Grand Cru Rose Saignee
90% PN, 10% PM
Crisp, acidic and a little savoury on the finish. Red fruit and peaches and apricots. Good length and well balanced. Very good. The two saignee method roses we had on this trip were excellent.
5. Grand Soir Vintage 2001 Grand Cru
30 EUR
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Interesting bottle shape - almost fluted. Mushrooms, nuts, toast, truffles and earthy notes. Weighty and full bodied. Creamy, rich and smooth. Crisp lemon palate. Quite mineralic. Refreshing and very good.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Nue NV
60%PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Zero dosage. Pale colour. Smells very lemony and biscuity. Crisp, acidic but lacks body and the taste dies very quickly once swallowed. This was another true-to-type zero dosage wine. OK, but would be better with non-zero dosage.
2. Brut NV
67%PN, 30% Chardonnay, 3% PM
Smells of dough, lemon and cheese. Good body and length. Intense lemon on palate. Well balanced. Good.
3. Brut Grand Cru
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Aged for 3 years on lees. Almost a caramel sweetness on the nose. Smooth and soft. A little unbalanced on the finish. Good, but not great.
4. Brut Grand Cru Rose Saignee
90% PN, 10% PM
Crisp, acidic and a little savoury on the finish. Red fruit and peaches and apricots. Good length and well balanced. Very good. The two saignee method roses we had on this trip were excellent.
5. Grand Soir Vintage 2001 Grand Cru
30 EUR
60% PN, 35% Chardonnay, 5% PM
Interesting bottle shape - almost fluted. Mushrooms, nuts, toast, truffles and earthy notes. Weighty and full bodied. Creamy, rich and smooth. Crisp lemon palate. Quite mineralic. Refreshing and very good.
Champagne Ployez-Jacquemart
This was definitely the visit of the holiday. We ended up staying at their guest house on the Thursday night and then coming for a tasting on Friday afternoon. So on Thursday night we did not know what a gold-mine of champagne we were sleeping on top of.
For future reference, the "mini-bar" at the guest house is simply a fridge full of the Ployez-Jacquemart champagnes all sold at cellar-door prices. Tragically, this minibar went untroubled by our group on the Thursday night.
Ployez-Jacquemart are Negociants, buying in at least some of their grapes. However, the production is quite small at around 130k bottles per year. Most of the base wine undergoes MALO with exception of the Special Cuvee (Cuvee Liesse d'Harbonville). This special cuvee is aged in oak barrels which have been used 3 times before in Burgundy. The base wine spends 3-months in barrel and then the champagne is aged for 10-years in the cellar. Not undergoing MALO produces champagnes which require more age before drinking well. Dosage is low too at around 3-5 g of sugar per litre of wine.
Since the special cuvee ages for a long time before release, the wines are riddled a few years prior to release and the wines are stored sur-pointe. This minimizes the contact between the dead yeast and the wine allowing the wine to age without the yeast autolysis flavour overwhelming the other flavours in the wine.
Visit
This was a great visit. They have quite extensive cellars and gave a very informative and interesting tour. A combination of the quality of the wine (see below) and the excellent tour mean that I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone.
The Wine
1. Selection Rose
Delicate pink colour. No bitterness (a common complaint of mine about rose). Fine mousse with intense red fruit. Good length with a savoury finish. The red wine spent a year in oak before assemblage. Well balanced. This is the best rose so far. Very good.
2. 2000 Vintage
No oak. Very refined but still expressive and exuberant. Lemon, creamy truffle nose. Something almost cheesy. Full bodied on the palate. Intense lemon curd and biscuit flavour. Great length. Best wine so far.
3. Cuvee Liesse d'Harbonville 1998
The 2000 vintage rapidly lost the crown of best wine so far to this, the very next wine tasted. This was a truly impressive Champagne. This has such intensity of flavour and length that after just one sip it is possible to clearly taste it for a long time afterwards.
The aromas start off being quite earthy and become more lemony with time in the glass. Full bodied and very intense flavour on the palate. Great balance. The oak influence is subtle and well integrated. This would be an excellent champagne to pair with food. It's so powerful that it is what I imagine a great white burgundy would taste like were it a sparkling wine. The base wine did not undergo MALO but the wine still tastes quite creamy.
I really, really liked this one. Fantastic.
For future reference, the "mini-bar" at the guest house is simply a fridge full of the Ployez-Jacquemart champagnes all sold at cellar-door prices. Tragically, this minibar went untroubled by our group on the Thursday night.
Ployez-Jacquemart are Negociants, buying in at least some of their grapes. However, the production is quite small at around 130k bottles per year. Most of the base wine undergoes MALO with exception of the Special Cuvee (Cuvee Liesse d'Harbonville). This special cuvee is aged in oak barrels which have been used 3 times before in Burgundy. The base wine spends 3-months in barrel and then the champagne is aged for 10-years in the cellar. Not undergoing MALO produces champagnes which require more age before drinking well. Dosage is low too at around 3-5 g of sugar per litre of wine.
Since the special cuvee ages for a long time before release, the wines are riddled a few years prior to release and the wines are stored sur-pointe. This minimizes the contact between the dead yeast and the wine allowing the wine to age without the yeast autolysis flavour overwhelming the other flavours in the wine.
Visit
This was a great visit. They have quite extensive cellars and gave a very informative and interesting tour. A combination of the quality of the wine (see below) and the excellent tour mean that I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone.
The Wine
1. Selection Rose
Delicate pink colour. No bitterness (a common complaint of mine about rose). Fine mousse with intense red fruit. Good length with a savoury finish. The red wine spent a year in oak before assemblage. Well balanced. This is the best rose so far. Very good.
2. 2000 Vintage
No oak. Very refined but still expressive and exuberant. Lemon, creamy truffle nose. Something almost cheesy. Full bodied on the palate. Intense lemon curd and biscuit flavour. Great length. Best wine so far.
3. Cuvee Liesse d'Harbonville 1998
The 2000 vintage rapidly lost the crown of best wine so far to this, the very next wine tasted. This was a truly impressive Champagne. This has such intensity of flavour and length that after just one sip it is possible to clearly taste it for a long time afterwards.
The aromas start off being quite earthy and become more lemony with time in the glass. Full bodied and very intense flavour on the palate. Great balance. The oak influence is subtle and well integrated. This would be an excellent champagne to pair with food. It's so powerful that it is what I imagine a great white burgundy would taste like were it a sparkling wine. The base wine did not undergo MALO but the wine still tastes quite creamy.
I really, really liked this one. Fantastic.
Champagne Arnould
Rather entertainingly, their website says:
"The whole family await you at the farm to share a moment of conviviality"
which is not how we found it at all. The meeting we got was decidedly frosty. However, once they realised that we were taking things seriously and not just a bunch of drunk tourists then they were much more friendly.
1. Extra Brut
100% PN, zero dosage.
This confirmed my existing prejudice about zero dosage champagnes. This was OK, but it just lacked a little body. The Brut Tradition (number 3) was so much better to my taste.
Very tart and dry. The overall impression is that the wine is missing something - particularly on the finish.
2. Carte d'Or
50% PN, 50% Chardonnay from old vines
Very pale. Dry, but not zero dosage. Crisp lemon acid. Some peach, some biscuit and plenty of lime on the finish. Sort of reminiscent of a key lime pie. Good.
3.Brut Tradition NV
100% PN
Strong biscuity aroma. Smooth, fine mousse. Silky mouthfeel. Quite full bodied. Well balanced. Would work well with food. This one is very good.
"The whole family await you at the farm to share a moment of conviviality"
which is not how we found it at all. The meeting we got was decidedly frosty. However, once they realised that we were taking things seriously and not just a bunch of drunk tourists then they were much more friendly.
1. Extra Brut
100% PN, zero dosage.
This confirmed my existing prejudice about zero dosage champagnes. This was OK, but it just lacked a little body. The Brut Tradition (number 3) was so much better to my taste.
Very tart and dry. The overall impression is that the wine is missing something - particularly on the finish.
2. Carte d'Or
50% PN, 50% Chardonnay from old vines
Very pale. Dry, but not zero dosage. Crisp lemon acid. Some peach, some biscuit and plenty of lime on the finish. Sort of reminiscent of a key lime pie. Good.
3.Brut Tradition NV
100% PN
Strong biscuity aroma. Smooth, fine mousse. Silky mouthfeel. Quite full bodied. Well balanced. Would work well with food. This one is very good.
Champagne Marguet
This is a producer based in Ambonnay. We got slightly lost on the way there having taken a wrong turn (twice!) on our way through Bouzy. I'm glad that we finally made it there though since the wines were very good.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Tradition Blanc de Noirs
15 EUR. Premier Cru grapes
Pale coloured with med-low intensity lemon and biscuit aromas. Strawberry on the palate. Dry, crisp and well balanced. Long and very good. Excellent for the price. An aperitif champers.
2. Cuvee Reserve Grand Cru
Medium-high intensity aromas of biscuits, bread, apple and saffron. Complex and intense palate (one of my tasting notes is apple crumble). Soft, well balanced and silky mouthfeel. Very intense fruit character all the way to the finish. This is good stuff.
3. Cuvee Vintage Rose 2003
Grand Cru grapes again. 60% PN and 40% Chardonnay. The 60% PN includes the fact that 17% of the blend is red wine.
Strawberry pink colour. Spicy nose. Explodes into foam in the mouth. Medium bodied with good length. Good.
4. Ratafia
Fragrent, floral and red fruit nose. Not too sweet and a good balance between acidity and sweetness.
5. Maxine Marguet 2000 (from Magnum)
We bought a magnum of this and drank it one evening later in the holiday. This was excellent. Complex flavour profile of lemon, ginger, lime and peaches. Smooth and complex. Very high quality.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Tradition Blanc de Noirs
15 EUR. Premier Cru grapes
Pale coloured with med-low intensity lemon and biscuit aromas. Strawberry on the palate. Dry, crisp and well balanced. Long and very good. Excellent for the price. An aperitif champers.
2. Cuvee Reserve Grand Cru
Medium-high intensity aromas of biscuits, bread, apple and saffron. Complex and intense palate (one of my tasting notes is apple crumble). Soft, well balanced and silky mouthfeel. Very intense fruit character all the way to the finish. This is good stuff.
3. Cuvee Vintage Rose 2003
Grand Cru grapes again. 60% PN and 40% Chardonnay. The 60% PN includes the fact that 17% of the blend is red wine.
Strawberry pink colour. Spicy nose. Explodes into foam in the mouth. Medium bodied with good length. Good.
4. Ratafia
Fragrent, floral and red fruit nose. Not too sweet and a good balance between acidity and sweetness.
5. Maxine Marguet 2000 (from Magnum)
We bought a magnum of this and drank it one evening later in the holiday. This was excellent. Complex flavour profile of lemon, ginger, lime and peaches. Smooth and complex. Very high quality.
Champagne Cattier
Another good producer in Chiny-les-Roses.
1. Cattier Brut
Pale colour, powerful nose, light bodied and with a refreshing grapey character. Excellent as an aperitif.
2. Blanc de Blanc Brut
Refined and smooth with a silky mouthfeel. Lemon and apricot flavour. Good length, well balanced all the way to the finish. Elegant. True to the style of a blanc de blanc.
3. Cattier Brut 2002
1/3 each of PN, PM and Chardonnay
Very punchy nose with intense aroma of apricot and grape. On the palate more lemony with crisp acid. Great length. Excellent.
1. Cattier Brut
Pale colour, powerful nose, light bodied and with a refreshing grapey character. Excellent as an aperitif.
2. Blanc de Blanc Brut
Refined and smooth with a silky mouthfeel. Lemon and apricot flavour. Good length, well balanced all the way to the finish. Elegant. True to the style of a blanc de blanc.
3. Cattier Brut 2002
1/3 each of PN, PM and Chardonnay
Very punchy nose with intense aroma of apricot and grape. On the palate more lemony with crisp acid. Great length. Excellent.
Champagne Gardet
One area where it's possible to get confused is that the NV wines are labelled George Gardet (the son of the founder) whereas the vintage wines are labelled Charles Gardet (the founder). They are both from the same estate.
As a place to visit this one was great. Large, multi-storey cellars. Quite mechanised (lots of machines/gyropalettes) and we even got to see the bottling line in action. Annoyingly we just missed a round of disgorgement, which I've still never seen.
The Wines
1. Brut Tradition NV
Light, refreshing, toasty, biscuit and lemon. Soft mouthfeel. Good.
2. Selected Reserve NV
A bargain at 18.50EUR. This is their "English style" wine which is a blend of older vintages (2000 and 2001) and all made from reserve wine which has been sitting in oak. Very soft in the mouth. Silky, well balanced and with great length. This has a lot of depth and intensity of flavour. Ridiculously good for the price. They clearly have the English preference down to a T since our group was all over this.
3. Brut Special
Quite sharp on the palate. Neither one style nor another. I preferred the Selected Reserve.
4. Cuvee Charles Gardet 2000
23.50 EUR
Light, classy nose. Quite young tasting but some mushroom character coming through on the nose. Medium body, medium-high acid. Well balanced and with a good crisp finish. Excellent.
5. Rose Charles Gardet
25EUR
Salmon coloured and almost like a still pinot noir on the nose. Intense palate with plenty of red fruit but also some citrus (maybe more orange than lemon). Good length, very high quality.
This is a rose made by the saignee method rather than by blending red and white base wine together before secondary fermentation. Champagne is the only quality wine in Europe which is allowed to produce a rose by blending red and white wine. There is a good reason why most regions prohibit this - it is a short-cut and does not produce as good quality wine. I find it really quite surprising that Champagne of all regions (which makes wine which takes many years to produce and is often done in a very labour-intensive way) allows such a process. This Charles Gardet Rose is excellent and I wish more rose champagne was like this.
As a place to visit this one was great. Large, multi-storey cellars. Quite mechanised (lots of machines/gyropalettes) and we even got to see the bottling line in action. Annoyingly we just missed a round of disgorgement, which I've still never seen.
The Wines
1. Brut Tradition NV
Light, refreshing, toasty, biscuit and lemon. Soft mouthfeel. Good.
2. Selected Reserve NV
A bargain at 18.50EUR. This is their "English style" wine which is a blend of older vintages (2000 and 2001) and all made from reserve wine which has been sitting in oak. Very soft in the mouth. Silky, well balanced and with great length. This has a lot of depth and intensity of flavour. Ridiculously good for the price. They clearly have the English preference down to a T since our group was all over this.
3. Brut Special
Quite sharp on the palate. Neither one style nor another. I preferred the Selected Reserve.
4. Cuvee Charles Gardet 2000
23.50 EUR
Light, classy nose. Quite young tasting but some mushroom character coming through on the nose. Medium body, medium-high acid. Well balanced and with a good crisp finish. Excellent.
5. Rose Charles Gardet
25EUR
Salmon coloured and almost like a still pinot noir on the nose. Intense palate with plenty of red fruit but also some citrus (maybe more orange than lemon). Good length, very high quality.
This is a rose made by the saignee method rather than by blending red and white base wine together before secondary fermentation. Champagne is the only quality wine in Europe which is allowed to produce a rose by blending red and white wine. There is a good reason why most regions prohibit this - it is a short-cut and does not produce as good quality wine. I find it really quite surprising that Champagne of all regions (which makes wine which takes many years to produce and is often done in a very labour-intensive way) allows such a process. This Charles Gardet Rose is excellent and I wish more rose champagne was like this.
Champagne Mailly
Slightly underwhelming visit this one. Perhaps it was just shown up by the comparison with Vilmart which we had just visited. Considering that this is a famous cooperative from one of the more renowned grand cru villages in Champagne this was more than a little disappointing.
However, having said that, there was nothing wrong with the wines, all of which were competant if not exactly exciting and the final two were both good.
Tasting
1. Brut Reserve NV
75% PN, 25% Chardonnay
Lemon, biscuits and cream. Good acid, well balanced. Good length.
2. L'Air Vintage 2005
75% PN, 25% Chardonnay
Vanilla and citron tart on the nose. Soft and creamy with red fruits on the palate. Fine mousse, high acid. Finish is a little bitter. Otherwise good.
3. Blanc de Noirs
100% PN
Deeper colour, red fruit character, high acid. A little simple.
4. Le Feu Vintage 2000
75%PN, 25% Chardonnay
This was probably my favourite of the tasting. Vanilla, biscuits, cream and yeast autolysis. Also something like pear. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. Great length and classy finish. Well balanced, high acid. Still very fresh but starting to develop some secondary character. Very good.
5. Les Eschansons 1999
75%PN, 25% Chardonnay
This wine was also very good, but for me Le Feu pipped it to the post slightly. Quite a lot of red fruit and also some pear character again. Silky mouthfeel, good length and pleasant finish. Well balanced and would age well, but for the price would rather have the Coeur de Cuvee from Vilmart.
However, having said that, there was nothing wrong with the wines, all of which were competant if not exactly exciting and the final two were both good.
Tasting
1. Brut Reserve NV
75% PN, 25% Chardonnay
Lemon, biscuits and cream. Good acid, well balanced. Good length.
2. L'Air Vintage 2005
75% PN, 25% Chardonnay
Vanilla and citron tart on the nose. Soft and creamy with red fruits on the palate. Fine mousse, high acid. Finish is a little bitter. Otherwise good.
3. Blanc de Noirs
100% PN
Deeper colour, red fruit character, high acid. A little simple.
4. Le Feu Vintage 2000
75%PN, 25% Chardonnay
This was probably my favourite of the tasting. Vanilla, biscuits, cream and yeast autolysis. Also something like pear. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. Great length and classy finish. Well balanced, high acid. Still very fresh but starting to develop some secondary character. Very good.
5. Les Eschansons 1999
75%PN, 25% Chardonnay
This wine was also very good, but for me Le Feu pipped it to the post slightly. Quite a lot of red fruit and also some pear character again. Silky mouthfeel, good length and pleasant finish. Well balanced and would age well, but for the price would rather have the Coeur de Cuvee from Vilmart.
Champagne Vilmart
This was the first of our winery visits on our recent Champagne road-trip - and what a way to start. This was one of the few places we visited where the person showing us round was the winemaker himself.
The grapes are pressed in a vertical cylinder press which they use 4 times on each load, pressing with light pressure each time. The juice then ferments in oak barrels for 10-months. The oak is not new oak, but has been used for one vintage in Chassagne-Montrachet or Meursault.
Riddling is performed by hand and the wines are released with plenty of age. The current release of the vintage is 1999.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Grande Reserve NV
30% Chardonnay, 70 PN
This is a blend of wine made from grapes of the 2005 and 2006 vintages. The base wine saw oak, but large, neutral oak casks. The wine had a fine mousse and a creamy taste (but none of the wines undergo MALO). Light body, with high acid. very lemony on the palate and great length. Very nice NV and a good start to the holiday.
2. Cuvee Grand Cellier
70% Chardonnay, 30% PN
This is made only from free run juice and is a blend of wines from 2004, 2005 and 2006. Slightly deeper colour than the previous wine. Fuller bodied with very high acid. Fine mousse. On the palate there are stone fruits such as peach as well as the lemon and an almost cheesy note on the nose.
3. Grand Cellier d'Or 2003
80% Chardonnay, 20% PN
Toasty, vanilla and biscuit on the nose. More body and weight on the palate. Honey, apricot and lemon notes. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. Good length and excellent balance. I like this.
4. Coeur du Cuvee 2001
80% Chardonnay, 20%PN
Very complex flavours - almost like a stew. Something noticeably herbal with deep aromas on top of a lemon and apricot base. Full bodied. Yeast autolysis, toast and vanilla all noticeable elements to the wine. Crisp acid, well balanced, great length. This is a very special wine and would stand up well to food. We didn't know it at the time but this was the 2nd best wine of the entire holiday!
5. Coeur du Cuvee 2000
Much more of a mushroomy nose than the 2001. Lots of complexity, but this one is aging much quicker which presumably implies that the 2001 will be better. The 2000 is excellent now, but upon going back to the 2001 it is clearly much fresher.
6. Ratafia
This is made from 100% Pinot Noir grape juice which is then fortified without fermentation. Very sweet, nice-tasting grape liqueur. Ripe, red fruit aroma. Very acidic. Would benefit from sweet food or creamy cheese.
The grapes are pressed in a vertical cylinder press which they use 4 times on each load, pressing with light pressure each time. The juice then ferments in oak barrels for 10-months. The oak is not new oak, but has been used for one vintage in Chassagne-Montrachet or Meursault.
Riddling is performed by hand and the wines are released with plenty of age. The current release of the vintage is 1999.
The Wines
1. Cuvee Grande Reserve NV
30% Chardonnay, 70 PN
This is a blend of wine made from grapes of the 2005 and 2006 vintages. The base wine saw oak, but large, neutral oak casks. The wine had a fine mousse and a creamy taste (but none of the wines undergo MALO). Light body, with high acid. very lemony on the palate and great length. Very nice NV and a good start to the holiday.
2. Cuvee Grand Cellier
70% Chardonnay, 30% PN
This is made only from free run juice and is a blend of wines from 2004, 2005 and 2006. Slightly deeper colour than the previous wine. Fuller bodied with very high acid. Fine mousse. On the palate there are stone fruits such as peach as well as the lemon and an almost cheesy note on the nose.
3. Grand Cellier d'Or 2003
80% Chardonnay, 20% PN
Toasty, vanilla and biscuit on the nose. More body and weight on the palate. Honey, apricot and lemon notes. Smooth and silky mouthfeel. Good length and excellent balance. I like this.
4. Coeur du Cuvee 2001
80% Chardonnay, 20%PN
Very complex flavours - almost like a stew. Something noticeably herbal with deep aromas on top of a lemon and apricot base. Full bodied. Yeast autolysis, toast and vanilla all noticeable elements to the wine. Crisp acid, well balanced, great length. This is a very special wine and would stand up well to food. We didn't know it at the time but this was the 2nd best wine of the entire holiday!
5. Coeur du Cuvee 2000
Much more of a mushroomy nose than the 2001. Lots of complexity, but this one is aging much quicker which presumably implies that the 2001 will be better. The 2000 is excellent now, but upon going back to the 2001 it is clearly much fresher.
6. Ratafia
This is made from 100% Pinot Noir grape juice which is then fortified without fermentation. Very sweet, nice-tasting grape liqueur. Ripe, red fruit aroma. Very acidic. Would benefit from sweet food or creamy cheese.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Villa Cafaggio
An interesting visit. This is a relatively large producer with high-tech production methods. Based in the Golden Conch around Panzano it has excellent vineyard location, beautiful views and great wine.
Tasting
1. Chianti Classico DOCG 2006
This is made in quite low yields - 8 bunches of grapes per vine. Ripe black fruit, sweet spice, liquorice and fresh leaves. Long, with a good balance between acid and tannin. Medium body. Very good. Drink now, but will not be hurt by age
2. Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2005
This is made with even lower yields - 6 bunches of grapes per vine. Black fruit, floral some vanilla. Very ripe fruit on the palate. Concentrated palate. High acid and tannin. Not really balanced yet but will be great in a bit of time.
3. San Martino 2000 IGT (100% Sangiovese)
At nine years old this is still very young. Pronounced black fruit, but slightly cooked fruit. Developing some green pepper notes too. High acid and very high tannin. Full bodied and very long. Still needs time. This is excellent - particularly once it has had a little time to open up in the glass.
4. Cortaccio 2003 IGT (100% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Medium intensity black fruit. A little tobacco and cedar. Smooth mouthfeel. Much more approachable in its youth than wine #3. Full body, high tannin and med-high acid. Round, pleasant and well balanced. Long and complex finish. Outstanding.
Buying Old Vintages
At the estate you can buy all the old vintages they still have stock for at the same price as the current vintage. So we got the oldest bottles we could find (ll early 90s - sadly I didn't make tasting notes) of the Classico, Riserva and San Martino and tried them. The old San Martino was fantastic, the riserva held up quite well and the classico was past its best.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Caiarossa
Since the British legal system had unreasonably requested that Tamsin perform jury duty she was late coming out to Tuscany. So on the Wednesday in the middle of our week's wine tasting we drove from Chianti back to Pisa to collect her. To make the most of this journey we were looking for a winery to visit in the coastal region.
As a result of a tip from the excellent Monty Waldin book we visited a producer called Caiarossa. This was a fantastic place to visit. The winery is owned by the owners of Chateau Giscours and Chateau du Tertre from Margaux and is a much smaller production vineyard than either of those two.
During the tour it became clear that the winemaker is very into biodynamic winemaking (something I find truly bizarre). However, if someone is going to pay that amount of attention to how they make their wines that they are prepared to follow the implausible rules of biodynamic winemaking then they are also going to be paying close attention to the important stuff. As a result, the wines are often fantastic, as these proved to be.
Another reason why the visit was so awesome was that, since the estate has only been producing wines for a small number of years, they have not become "touristed out". We received a very gracious and hospitable welcome, with our guide even staying late so she could take us into the barrel hall and show us some barrel samples of Petit Verdot (something I'd never had as a single-varietal before). Anyway, excellent wines, gracious host and beautiful scenery... what more could you want? Try to arrange a visit if you happen to be in the coastal area.
1. Pergolaia 2005 IGT (95% Sangiovese)
Medium-high aroma intensity: dark berries, wood and wild herbs. Fairly high acid and tannin but in balance. Medium-high body. Medium intensity red fruit. Also something slightly sour. Medium length. A good wine, but needs food.
2. Caiarossa 2004 IGT (Blend of multiple varieties)
Pronounced aroma of black fruit and tomato. Evident oak influence, but not obtrusive. High acid, high (but fine) tannin. Intense black fruit. Well balanced, long and with a fresh, fruity finish. This was outstanding and will age well.
Incidentally, we put this in a blind tasting on the final night of the holiday. The other wines were Castello di Fonterutoli, Fontodi's Syrah and Biondi Santi. This wine was the clear winner against some stiff competition.
3. Caiarossa 2005 IGT
Dark and brooding. Plenty of liquorice, cedar, tobacco and black fruit. Medium-high acid and high tannin. Long, but very tannic finish. A baby - give it time and it will be outstanding. For now, just very good.
4. Caiarossa Bianco 2007 IGT
This is a fairly unusual blend of 55-45 Chardonnay and Viognier. Very high alcohol as well and from a hot climate so I wasn't expecting a great wine. Surprisingly it worked very nicely. Aromatic peach notes, as well as a noticeable grape smell (which is surprisingly rare in wine) and some dairy aromas. Full bodied with high alcohol. Plenty of acid. There has been lots of lees contact which gives it a nice texture. Amazingly concentrated. This wine was served after two huge reds and really held its own. Usually my preferred style for white wine is not anything like this, but I could happily drink this wine at any time.
5. Oro di Caiarossa 2006 (late harvest. I think grape variety is petit
manseng)
This wine had a noticeably sesame seed aroma. Also nuts and dried apricots. Sweet, with high acid and excellent length. Again, an excellent wine and it made an interesting change in style from all the Vin Santo we drank that week.
Poggio Antico
Poggio Antico
Brunello di Montalcino
This was an excellent visit and I highly recommend it to anyone planning to visit wineries in Tuscany. I had arranged for our group to have a tour and tasting in the morning and then we stayed for lunch afterwards. The grounds of the estate are so fantastically beautiful that it's an amazing location to sit and have an Italian-style lunch over several hours and the food was excellent. So excellent we were too late for our afternoon's appointment. Be warned - you will probably spend longer here gawping at the scenery than you originally planned to!
Rather amazingly Alasdair's harebrained travel plans worked out perfectly with his flight arriving early(?!), which enabled him to arrive in time for lunch.
Tasting:
1. Rosso di Montalcino 2007
This is aged for 10 months in tonneau before being bottled. Lots of black fruit, long and well balanced. Very good, much better than rosso usually is.
2. Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a traditional style with 3-years in Slavonian oak. The nose has confected black fruits and a somewhat gamey character. High tannins and high acid. Well balanced and long. This was excellent but needs a bit of time - the palate is still quite aggressively tannic and has plenty of fruit, acid and tannin so no worries about aging potential.
3. Altero Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a modern style with new french oak aging. There is noticeable wood on the nose but not so much on the palate. Plenty of black fruit, but also leather, smoke and spice. Very high tannins. Again, this has plenty of acid to balance the tannin. Still quite aggressive but more approachable now than the traditional style (#2). However, this one will also benefit from age.
4. Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2003
So far this century Poggio Antico have only made a riserva in 2001 and 2003.
This has pronounced intensity on the nose - jumping out of the glass. Concentrated fruit aromas, some red but mostly black. Lots of smoke, tobacco and leather. Brooding. Very high tannin and acid, still very grippy. Intense black fruit, this is still very fresh and young tasting. A baby - needs a fair amount of time. Or a huge steak. This one was outstanding.
5. Madre 2006 (IGT)
This is their 50% Cabernet and 50% Sangiovese supertuscan. Plenty of cassis on the nose as well as some gamey and earthy notes. The tasting note given by the woman at the estate was "morbido" a rather worrying sounding Italian word that, as far as I can tell, means that it tastes smooth rather than it tastes of death! This wine had plenty of tannin and acid and is quite long, but nothing like as long as the riserva. Very good, more approachable in its youth than the others.
Poggio Antico
53024 Montalcino
+39 0577 848 044
mail@poggioantico.com
Brunello di Montalcino
This was an excellent visit and I highly recommend it to anyone planning to visit wineries in Tuscany. I had arranged for our group to have a tour and tasting in the morning and then we stayed for lunch afterwards. The grounds of the estate are so fantastically beautiful that it's an amazing location to sit and have an Italian-style lunch over several hours and the food was excellent. So excellent we were too late for our afternoon's appointment. Be warned - you will probably spend longer here gawping at the scenery than you originally planned to!
Rather amazingly Alasdair's harebrained travel plans worked out perfectly with his flight arriving early(?!), which enabled him to arrive in time for lunch.
Tasting:
1. Rosso di Montalcino 2007
This is aged for 10 months in tonneau before being bottled. Lots of black fruit, long and well balanced. Very good, much better than rosso usually is.
2. Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a traditional style with 3-years in Slavonian oak. The nose has confected black fruits and a somewhat gamey character. High tannins and high acid. Well balanced and long. This was excellent but needs a bit of time - the palate is still quite aggressively tannic and has plenty of fruit, acid and tannin so no worries about aging potential.
3. Altero Brunello di Montalcino 2003
This is made in a modern style with new french oak aging. There is noticeable wood on the nose but not so much on the palate. Plenty of black fruit, but also leather, smoke and spice. Very high tannins. Again, this has plenty of acid to balance the tannin. Still quite aggressive but more approachable now than the traditional style (#2). However, this one will also benefit from age.
4. Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2003
So far this century Poggio Antico have only made a riserva in 2001 and 2003.
This has pronounced intensity on the nose - jumping out of the glass. Concentrated fruit aromas, some red but mostly black. Lots of smoke, tobacco and leather. Brooding. Very high tannin and acid, still very grippy. Intense black fruit, this is still very fresh and young tasting. A baby - needs a fair amount of time. Or a huge steak. This one was outstanding.
5. Madre 2006 (IGT)
This is their 50% Cabernet and 50% Sangiovese supertuscan. Plenty of cassis on the nose as well as some gamey and earthy notes. The tasting note given by the woman at the estate was "morbido" a rather worrying sounding Italian word that, as far as I can tell, means that it tastes smooth rather than it tastes of death! This wine had plenty of tannin and acid and is quite long, but nothing like as long as the riserva. Very good, more approachable in its youth than the others.
Poggio Antico
53024 Montalcino
+39 0577 848 044
mail@poggioantico.com
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Port and the Douro Valley
Although there had been much drunken talk of creating a London-based successor to Bacchus prior to this visit, it was only on our Port-tasting holiday that serious plans were hatched. So it seems fitting to start the Bacchus Vintage website here. And the fact that I've only just got around to pulling the photos from my phone and am looking for an excuse to use them has nothing to do with it.
In planning this trip we relied heavily on a book called "The wine and food lover's guide to Portugal". It was pretty indispensable in planning stuff -particularly when we went up the Douro Valley. A proper review of the book will follow later but the basic message is that I wish all wine regions had such a book since it would make planning wine holidays a doddle.
Porto
Porto is well set up for easy wine tourism. The old town of Porto is North of the Douro River. Across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia sit all the Port houses. If you are in Ribeira then you can simply walk across the bridge. Otherwise simply get a taxi from your hotel to whichever port house you are going to. Many of the port houses will have a free tasting which you passers by can partake of, after which they then hope to sell you bottles of their wine. Alternatively you can follow the free tasting with paid-for tastings where you get to drink the proper stuff. Do this rather than buying wines onsite to take away - the wines are not sold at a discount to local wine shops in Porto or the airport duty-free (which is very well stocked) so you may as well purchase the wines elsewhere.
The main revelation of this trip for me was the amazing quality of the 40-year old tawny ports. Having tried many 10- and 20-year old tawnys before I'd come to the conclusion that the extra age did not add enough to the wine to justify the extra cost. However, it appears that something magical happens to tawny port between 20 and 40 years of age. Every single 40yo tawny we tasted was fantastic - it's just a shame they are so much more expensive.
Port houses to visit which come particularly recommended are Grahams and Taylors (not surprisingly). Grahams in particular has an excellent and informative visitor centre, with some truly amazing ports for you to taste. A strong contender for my wine of the holiday was the 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio we tasted there.
The Douro Valley
We took the train from Porto to Pinhao on around 5pm on Friday afternoon. This journey up the Douro is supposed to be one of the world's most beautiful train journeys. However, it's also a packed commuter route which we were travelling on during Friday rush hour which detracted from the beautiful scenery somewhat! Not least because we didn't get a seat until about half-hour before we arrived in Pinhao. The train journey was followed by a short taxi ride to Quinta de la Rosa, where we stayed the night.
After heading out for a looong and boozy dinner we headed back to Quinta de la Rosa to discover that we'd inadvertently locked all the other people staying there out of their rooms. oops!
The next day we had tours and tastings at two Quintas with radically different approaches to wine making. Quinta de la Rosa makes wine in a traditional manner. There is a mechanical lagar (check spelling) but foot treading of grapes is still used for at least some of their wine. Dusty and covered in cobwebs, the conditions in the winery would give many New-World wine makers an OCD-induced heart attack. However, the wine was excellent, particularly the vintage port.
Later in the day we visited Quinta do Portal. The winemaking practises here could not be more of a contrast to Quinta de la Rosa. Bright, clean and shiny. Yet some fantastic wine at both places. And they get extra points for the fantastic tasting they put on for us. See the pic below for slightly drunken evidence of this. (Note Adam clutching several bottles of port to his chest!)
After this we got a late train back to Porto and flew back to London on the Sunday. There are two flights back to Stansted from Porto on Sunday - we took the later of the two. If anyone reading this is planning a trip to Porto my strong advice would be to not bother. Pretty much everything you might want to do in Porto is closed. Add to this the problem that the later flight gets you back to Stansted in the wee hours and you definitely want to get the earlier flight
So... Porto is a fantastic place to go on a wine tasting holiday and I will definitely go back in the not too distant future.
Links for those who care...
The Wine and Food Lover's Guide to Portugal
Quinta de la Rosa
Quinta do Portal
Quinta do Vesuvio
In planning this trip we relied heavily on a book called "The wine and food lover's guide to Portugal". It was pretty indispensable in planning stuff -particularly when we went up the Douro Valley. A proper review of the book will follow later but the basic message is that I wish all wine regions had such a book since it would make planning wine holidays a doddle.
Porto
Porto is well set up for easy wine tourism. The old town of Porto is North of the Douro River. Across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia sit all the Port houses. If you are in Ribeira then you can simply walk across the bridge. Otherwise simply get a taxi from your hotel to whichever port house you are going to. Many of the port houses will have a free tasting which you passers by can partake of, after which they then hope to sell you bottles of their wine. Alternatively you can follow the free tasting with paid-for tastings where you get to drink the proper stuff. Do this rather than buying wines onsite to take away - the wines are not sold at a discount to local wine shops in Porto or the airport duty-free (which is very well stocked) so you may as well purchase the wines elsewhere.
The main revelation of this trip for me was the amazing quality of the 40-year old tawny ports. Having tried many 10- and 20-year old tawnys before I'd come to the conclusion that the extra age did not add enough to the wine to justify the extra cost. However, it appears that something magical happens to tawny port between 20 and 40 years of age. Every single 40yo tawny we tasted was fantastic - it's just a shame they are so much more expensive.
Port houses to visit which come particularly recommended are Grahams and Taylors (not surprisingly). Grahams in particular has an excellent and informative visitor centre, with some truly amazing ports for you to taste. A strong contender for my wine of the holiday was the 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio we tasted there.
The Douro Valley
We took the train from Porto to Pinhao on around 5pm on Friday afternoon. This journey up the Douro is supposed to be one of the world's most beautiful train journeys. However, it's also a packed commuter route which we were travelling on during Friday rush hour which detracted from the beautiful scenery somewhat! Not least because we didn't get a seat until about half-hour before we arrived in Pinhao. The train journey was followed by a short taxi ride to Quinta de la Rosa, where we stayed the night.
After heading out for a looong and boozy dinner we headed back to Quinta de la Rosa to discover that we'd inadvertently locked all the other people staying there out of their rooms. oops!
The next day we had tours and tastings at two Quintas with radically different approaches to wine making. Quinta de la Rosa makes wine in a traditional manner. There is a mechanical lagar (check spelling) but foot treading of grapes is still used for at least some of their wine. Dusty and covered in cobwebs, the conditions in the winery would give many New-World wine makers an OCD-induced heart attack. However, the wine was excellent, particularly the vintage port.
Later in the day we visited Quinta do Portal. The winemaking practises here could not be more of a contrast to Quinta de la Rosa. Bright, clean and shiny. Yet some fantastic wine at both places. And they get extra points for the fantastic tasting they put on for us. See the pic below for slightly drunken evidence of this. (Note Adam clutching several bottles of port to his chest!)
After this we got a late train back to Porto and flew back to London on the Sunday. There are two flights back to Stansted from Porto on Sunday - we took the later of the two. If anyone reading this is planning a trip to Porto my strong advice would be to not bother. Pretty much everything you might want to do in Porto is closed. Add to this the problem that the later flight gets you back to Stansted in the wee hours and you definitely want to get the earlier flight
So... Porto is a fantastic place to go on a wine tasting holiday and I will definitely go back in the not too distant future.
Links for those who care...
The Wine and Food Lover's Guide to Portugal
Quinta de la Rosa
Quinta do Portal
Quinta do Vesuvio
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