Croft and Quinta da Roêda

The Douro is slowly passing by Croft´s Quinta da Roêda just outside Pinhão. But it has not always been like that. Until the river was dammed the water was lower and caused rapids where it makes a bend. The sound or the noise from the river, the arrueda, gave name to the Quinta.

The Quinta was founded in 1811 and was owned by Taylor in many years. But when John Fladgate´s daughter married one of the representatives from Croft, the Quinta changed hands. When Fladgate Partnership bought Croft and Delaforce in 2001 Roêda returned to the old owners.

Recently The Vintage Port Club in Denmark hosted a Croft tasting of most of the declarations since 1955 – including two Single Quinta Vintages from Roêda. Normally at a vertical tasting like this we divide it into two sections (as far as I remember it was Dominic Symington who introduced us to this method) – first the oldest half of the wines beginning with the youngest, and secondly the youngest half beginning with the oldest. Tasting the wines in this order means that we don’t start with the oldest vintages, but we will taste them before the youngest wines, that are full of fresh fruit and tannins and can ruin the ability to taste the full pallet of the old and more fragile ones.

The first wine was the 1985, a year that has brought some very good wines, but unfortunately more disappointments. This evening Croft was among the latter. Already somewhere between red and mahogany with a light brim. A weak aroma with a bit cherries and alcohol, low acid and just a bit fruit left. The 1977 was slightly better without making any impression. Brown, a hidden aroma of strawberry and nuts, very light and some pepper in the tail. None of them seems to have a long life in front of them.

This was sort of expected. Croft did not have the best reputation in the 70ths and 80ths, where it seems like they focused more on quantity than quality. From now on the wines could only improve and they did!

The next flight was two great Vintages, the 1970 and the 1966, followed by another two, the 1963 and the 1955. These wines were the peaks of the evening. 1970 was red brown, but still with fruit and acid for developing further. The nose was full of cherries and bit cinnamon and eucalyptus, fruit and well balanced with a nice tail. 1966 was the weakest of the four. Very light and tawny-like in the stile, some strawberries, raisins and a bit coffee. A lack of acid and a very short finish. Often 1966 has performed nearly as well as 1963, but not this evening. What the 1966 was short of was present in the 1963. A lot of power and fruit, mahogany and a good aroma of fruit and cherries. Still alive and kicking, elegant and well balanced and a long, pleasant tail. 1955 was a bit darker, but not as pleasant and comfortable in the nose. Cherries and a bit sharp at first, but a lot better after a while. It just needed some time.         

The second section of the tasting started with Quinta da Roêda 1987 and 1995. 1987 was red brown with marmalade and pine needles in the nose. Nice and drinkable right now, but without depths and a broad pallet. 1995 was dark red and had a lot of fruit and tannins left. I think it will approve.   

After that we ended with Croft 1991, 1994, 2000, 2003 and finally 2007. Now there was a lot of dark colour and fruit in the glasses, the last ones inky.The more light and perhaps more elegant style with cherries gave room for more powerful and muscular wines with darker berries, plums some coffee and tobacco and perhaps a bit pine needle. In generally they were a bit sweeter, deeper and with a burning tail. 1991 did not have that much depth and power, but a lot of fruit. 1994 was a bit closed right now. Unfortunately the 2003 I tasted was corked, but the report from the other end of the table was, that it was very good and promising. 2007 showed a lot of potential too.    

My conclusion is that Croft in older vintages is very good, and that the quality is rising again, but in a bit more sweet and concentrated style. The head winemaker now is Taylor and Fonsecas David Guimaraens, who wisely has chosen to give the brand its own style. One of the first things the new owners did was to reinstall the old lagares at Quinta da Roêda – a fine symbol of the intentions to produce port of high quality.

After the tasting the participants voted for the best wines of the evening. A couple of corked and odd bottles disturbed a bit, but there was no doubt about the first place: 

1. Croft 1963 with 58 points
2. Croft 1970 with 35 points
3. Croft 1955 with 13 point
4. Croft 1994 and Croft 2003 with 12 point.

Basic Niepoort and an unknown Don Joaquim

Recently a friend invited me to a small tasting of basic Niepoort. First the entry level with Ruby and the Tawny, then Ruby Dum and Tawny Dee and finally LBV 2007, Colheita 2001 and 10 years Tawny.

A tasting like that gives you the chance to compare the style in different levels of quality. And through I am used to drink older vintage, I do enjoy a good glass of reserve port now and then.

I was surprised how smooth the Rubies were. Easy going with dark berries and nice fruit, and even the LBV did not have strong tannins. The Two Twins from NiePOoRTland are referring to the twins from Alice in Wonderland, Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The first still youthful with red cherries and some plums – the latter aged 3½ years in oak and with notes of dried figs and a long finish with pepper and spirit. They both had a little sign attached around the neck saying Drink Me! And that is what they are made for. Easy to drink – perhaps for a new audience – but without the depth, power and concentration of their older sisters and brothers. Of course the LBV had more to offer, more fruit and a brother pallet, but I was not that impressed. Normally it performs better.

The best wines of the evening were the two Tawnies with age. The 10 years had figs and nuts but also some notes of lemon and orange, followed by a long, comfortable tail. For me the port of the evening was the Colheita 2001. Medium red to light brown. Dried fruits with some orange and apricot in the nose. Still young, but with power, good fruit and intensity. Balanced and nice to drink.    

Besides the wines from Niepoort, we had a Don Joaquim Vintage 1989 – a label that I have never tasted before and to be honest know nothing about. It was ready to drink and close to be gone. A brown and bright colour, a bit milky in the nose, smooth but without depths and a very short finish. Not a great port, but as an introduction to aged vintages it served its duty that evening. The only notes I have been able to find are on the Swedish site vintageport.se. If anyone knows more, you are welcome to send me information…

A nice evening, but I am looking forward to taste Niepoort Vintages and older Colheitas in the future.

My new Italian wine dealer

Most Wine Shops are offering small tastings every month or occasionally. Living in the centre of the Town with several good Wine Shops around me, I am attending some of them. Normally it is possible to taste five or six wines – enough to get an impression of a region or the wines on sale. And something you can do on your way home after work.

One of the places is a small importer of Italian Wine, called Vinotek A Fynnis, which I recently started to visit. The name is a sort of mixture between Danish and Italian and means something like the Enoteca on Funen, the name of the region. The place opened back in 2000 as the result of the owner’s passion for good Italian wine – the same story which is behind many other small Wine Shops and importers.     

Last Month Vinotek A Fynnis focused on wines from Piemonte including a very tasty Aperture Pinot Nero from Colombo, well balanced and comparable with wines from Burgundy. Some days ago they presented five wines from Tuscany, mainly based on Sangiovese of course.

The first wine was a plain Chianti Classico 2008 from the young estate Castelo di Radda. Cherries hidden in the nose and a dry tail with tannins. It was followed by a more powerful Chianti Colli Fiorentini 2009 called “La Torretta” from La Qeurce, a small estate just south of Florence. More expressive, ripe cherries and a lot of fruit, soft notes from 14 months in barriques and very well balanced. A wine, that gives value for money.

Another great wine was the Poliziano, a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007, which had a hint of oak in the nose and acid to balance the plummy fruit. A really nice glass - powerful, but elegant and with a broader palet. Looking forward to try it with a good meal.

The last two wines were both from 2009 and both based on 100 % Sangiovese. First a Montecucco Sangiovese form Salustri and then Morelliono di Scansano 2009 from Colle Spinello. Both with harder tannins.

www.vinotekafynnis.dk

Winemakers Dinner with Crasto

It is a privilege to taste wine with the people who are creating it. That is why the annual Winemakers Dinner in The Vintage Port Club is so exciting. A huge tasting of port presented by a winemaker and followed by a very delicious dinner with wines from the Douro.

Recently it was head winemaker Manuel Lobo de Vasconcellos from Quinta do Crasto who came to Denmark and visited us. Crasto are making both table wines and port, and because of that the tasting started with two red wines, Touriga Nacional 1996 and 2010. The 1996 was aged well with brown rim. Nice fruits and acid, tannins still present but not strong. A fine and well balanced wine. The younger had a bit more minerals and harder tannins, but I am sure that it will develop well too. Later during the dinner we tried another single grape wine from Crasto, the Tinta Roriz 2009, which performed well to the serving.  

As the first port, we were served Crastos Finest Reserve – a fresh and straight ruby with three years in cask. It is a new product from the company which only used to make LBV and vintage. One of the better rubies for the broad marked.

The next flight was an interesting comparison of LBV and Vintage from 1994. Both were nice, but the Vintage had more fresh fruit and a broader pallet. It sure will develop further.

Another uneven flight followed. Vintage 1987, Vintage 1963 and Colheita 1910 – what a span! The two last were from grapes from the same vineyards, but bottled under the label Constantino. The brand was founded back in 1877 by Constantino de Almeida, who bought the Quinta in 1910. In 1981 the Roquettes overtook the Quinta and they still run it today.

1987 was clear red with red berries in the nose. It had a lot of acid, but a jammy taste. 1963 was the peak of the evening. The colour was now mahogany and it had a hint of raspberry and other red berries, good acid to balance the impressive fruit. It ended with a long, elegant tail. A wine in perfect balance, which can compete with wines from the big companies.     

The contrast to the next wine was huge. It was dark brown and very cloudy. An expressive nose with caramel, figs and balsamic. Still very powerful and concentrated with some brown sugar, tree and figs. The 1910 was the only cask aged port in the tasting, but it represented them well.

Now the tasting turned upside down. It was time for vintage from 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009 – a short span with some very young wines.

1997 was a disappointment. It was not corked, but must have been a bad bottle. A scary nose, too much alcohol and very bitter. .

The years to follow were both broadly declared years like 2000, 2003 and 2007 and minor years like 2001 and 2004. Surprisingly the minor years performed better. As Manuel Lobo told us, it is sometimes like that for Single Quintas. They don’t have a lot of vineyards form different locations in the Douro to choose from when they are blending. That means that they are more dependent on the weather and the harvest. A year that is generally a good vintage with many declarations is not automatically a good vintage for a Single Quinta like Crasto. Perhaps the next year is better.

That was exactly my opinion when I compared 2001 with the millennium year 2000. 2001 was not that expressive in the nose, but it had more fruit and tannins - and a bigger potential. The same was the case with 2003 compared to 2004. The former was drinkable now if you like young, fresh vintages. The latter was more closed but again with a better structure and a bigger potential in the long term.

At last I will mention the 2009 – a very nice and tempting nose even if it was so young. I am looking forward to taste it again in some years.

Quinta do Crasto and Manuel Lobo succeeded in convincing us that Crasto are making long lasting vintages of good quality. It is said that they have more passion for winemaking than port. If that is true, it is more a question of quantity than quality. They have a lot of declarations but besides the 1997 none of them failed. As Manuel Lobo explained the future sure will bring better quality due to the development in the vineyard and in the winemaking process. Generally we will have better port, but there differences between the vintages will remain.  

After this huge tasting follow a wonderful dinner created by Chef Klavs Styrbæk at Restaurant Kvægtorvet (The Cattle Marked) in Odense and his staff. The menu and the wines are listed below. Let me just remark the Colheita 1997 which Manuel Lobo brought in his suitcase. It was just bottled before he departed and it was the first time it was served outside Quinta do Crasto. Colheita is new marked for Crasto. They intend to release the 1997 later this year and more will follow. How was it? Still young, fresh in the nose and with a lot of fruit. Promising, but in my opinion worth further storing in casks. But I am thankful that Crasto in the future will add another product to their pallet.

Menu:

Norway Lobster, Jerusalem Artichoke, Lemon, Ginger

Codfish, Mustard-Caper Sauce, Beetroot, Chips

Grilled Leek, Oyster, Parsley, Onion, Vinaigrette, Brioche

Portbraised Wild Boar, Parsnip, Bacon, Horseradish

Grilled Wild Boar, Hazelnuts, Salsify, Thyme, Shallots

Cheese Selection - Sheep, Goat, Cow and Olives, Figs

Chocolate, Crumble, Sauce

Fennel Sorbet, Liquorice Cake, Pear, Tarragon

Oatmeal Ice-cream, Malt Whisky, Caramel, Guinness Foam

Orange Jelly, Jasmine Tea, Orange Oil, Mint

Wines:

Esporão Espumante

Quinta do Crasto White

Quinta do Crasto Superior

Quinta do Crasto Reserva 2010

Quinta do Crasto Tinta Roriz 2009

Quinta do Crasto LBV 2007

Quinta do Crasto Finest Reserve

Quinta do Crasto Colheita 1997

http://www.quintadocrasto.pt/

Passion for Wine and Culture

My approach to wine and wine tasting is sort of semi-professional. First of all I am an amateur. I enjoy drinking wine, but I am not educated as a sommelier or working in the wine business. Tasting and writing notes is not my full time job. By the way, if you think about the origin of the word amateur it comes from the Latin “amara”, meaning love. An amateur love what he or she is doing. And I am not afraid to admit, that I love tasting and drinking wine. Wine is a passion for me.

On the other hand I am a journalist, and among other things I do write about wine. It has not been like that for many years, but slowly my interest increased. I have been doing radio programs about wine, I have written articles about wine for newspapers and magazines, and I have a couple of blogs where wine is among the topics – this one in English and another one in Danish called “Portugal – my second homeland” (http://mit2hjemland.blogspot.dk/) about Portuguese history, culture and wine.

Of course wine is far from being the only topic I deal with as a journalist. And I guess that my approach to writing about wine is based on the fact, that I have been a cultural journalist for many years. I like history, I like art, I like literature etc. Because of that I am interested in the stories and the history behind a wine.

Too give an example; I can mention that Ramos Pinto is my favourite port brand. They are making splendid port – good vintages and very good tawny with indication of age. But that is not the only reason. The Company has two main interests: winemaking and culture. They are having museums in both Vila Nova de Gaia and at Quinta de Ervamoira. And the founder of the Company, Adriano Ramos Pinto, was interested in art and public relation, so he ordered international artists to create advertising posters – like “The Kiss”. You can read more about it in an article I wrote for the newsletter For The Love Of Port:  http://www.fortheloveofport.com/guest-corner-articles/ramos-pinto-the-kiss

I am not always lucky that I can combine my passion for culture and my passion for wine directly like in the case of Ramos Pinto. But somehow they often work together. I do write notes and I am trying to develop my skills for tasting and putting words together afterwards. But more often I tell stories and give information or make interviews with the people behind the wine. That – and hopefully a lot of tasting notes – is what I hope to publish here in the future.

Vintage 1983

1983 is not among the best port vintages and overshadowed by 1985. But in a matter of fact some of the wines have received good reviews, e.g. James Suckling, who in his book Vintage Port gives Cockburn 97 point.  

Scores like that is of course not objective, but a matter of personal preferences and other circumstances. But Cockburn was the overall winner too, when The Vintage Port Club in Denmark recently tasted 14 different versions of vintage 1983. A fine tasting with some good bottles, but with some disappointments as well – due to a couple of corked bottles.

Roy Hersh among others mentions that Cockburn has a lot of defect bottles in that year. Apparently we were lucky, both our bottles were fine. Dark mahogany, a little resistant in the nose, but with a lot of dark berries and vanilla. Deep and powerful.    

The tasting was blind, which led to some surprises. Dow is usually among the best of the vintage, but did not perform well this evening. Pale with some cherry, but without power at all. I would never have guessed it was a Dow. Another disappointment in my opinion was Fonseca, which smelled bad and did not taste a lot better. And it did not get better.

The evening’s second place was split between Nieport and Smith Woodhouse. I myself had Taylor as a favourite followed by Graham, Warre, Niepoort, Ramos Pinto and Cockburn. 

Taylor was well balanced and ready for drinking, but perhaps not with a long life ahead. Niepoort was a bit hidden in the nose, but with a long tail with pepper and nice tannins. Ramos Pinto and Warre still had a lot of power and tannins too.

Some of the wines performed well, but 1983 will never be a classic or top vintage. Too many disappointments, and quit a lot of wines, e.g. Borges and Feist, had the best of their lives behind them.

The Vintage Port Club normally votes after a tasting. The participants are giving the best wine 3 point, the second best 2 point and the third 1 point. This was the result:

Cockburn: 23 point

Niepoort and Smith Woodhouse: 20 point

Ramos Pinto, Warre and Gould Campell: 18 point

Taylor: 13 point

Graham, Fonseca and Quarles Harris: 11 point

Feist 5 point

Borges and Ferreiras Quinta do Seixo: 2 point

Dow: 0 point

More than Wine

Why calling this new blog about Wine for "More than Wine"? Well, that is excactly what it is about.
I am a journalist - and I am a winelover. In my work and on this blog, I try to combine the two of them. That means that I will be writing about wine with tasting notes, but not just that. I will try to tell stories connected to the Wine, the District or the Country as well.
I have a big passion for Portugal. Because of that you will often find something about port and portuguese wine here. But not only. My passion for Wine is general. I am curious, open minded and allways interested in learning and experience more.
I am from Denmark, and English is not my native language. I will try to do my best, but I hope that you will excuse the mistakes, that will appear.