Category Archives: Wine

Real Companhia Velha Vintage Port 1983

Leave a reply

Real Companhia Velha was founded on the 10th of September 1756 by Royal Charter of King D. José I, under the auspices of his Prime Minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Count of Oeiras and Marquis of Pombal. By 1781 the company was known as Royal Oporto in England. In 1960, with the support of the banker Pinto de Magalhães, Manuel da Silva Reis acquires the majority of the company and assumes its leadership.

Estimated cost of this Real Companhia Velha Vintage Port 1983 bottle of 750 ml at 20% is 50 Euro.

Taste notes right after decanting

Aroma is dominated by alcohol with a thin fruit to it.

Thin rosa in the colour with brown notes.

Strong and spicey in the mouth, warmth from alcohol and tannin with a slight sweet after taste.

Intermediate rating 86 / 100

Taste notes 3 hours after decating

Less alcohol in the aroma and the fruit notes have gained more strength.

Colour has gained more weight and is more red now.

Good tannin and fruit balance in the taste. After taste has notes of
liquorice.

Intermediate rating 89 / 100

Taste notes 22 hours after decanting

Clear dark red in the colour, no more haziness.

Good spicy aroma with a dark mysterious fruit to it.

Tannin are still alive and the after taste has grown in length.

Overall rating 91 / 100

Taste notes 48 hours after decanting

Tannin has gone soft and the fruit notes and taste experience has in general become weak.

Sandeman Vau Vintage Port 1999

Leave a reply

Estimated cost of this Sandeman Vau Vintage Port 1999 bottle of 750 ml is 35 Euro.

Taste notes right after decanting

Light in the colour, but still resembling blood red. Thin curtains in the glass.

Weak fruit in the aroma, dominated by the alcohol.

Thin fruit taste with a light and acidity feeling in the mouth.

Intermediate rating 81 / 100

Taste notes after 4 hours

Gained some weight and a darker colour.

Intermediate rating 83 / 100

Taste notes after 9 hours

Dark red with a more brown tone to it.

More matured and in balance in the aroma, less alcohol.

Sweet fruits and tannin in a great play. Still a very dry wine with a specific figs and raisins in the after taste.

Intermediate rating 86 / 100

Taste notes after 12 hours

Much more balance in the taste, a bigger joy on the palate.

Overall rating 88 / 100

Fonseca Vintage Port 1995 #2

Leave a reply

Estimated cost of this Fonseca Vintage Port 1995 bottle of 750 ml is 55 Euro.

Taste notes right after decanting

Light red just a few notes below blood.

Thin aroma that needs more time to develop.

Soft tannin and sweetness in the taste, but not quite balanced.

Intermediate rating 88 /100

8 hours after decanting

Dark red in the colour.

Medium strength aroma with a sweet dried fruits and alcohol.

Thin curtains on the sides of the glass.

Much more bite to the taste. Good medium strength dried fruits, sweet raisins in the after taste that has a nice length.

Overall rating 90 / 100

Pocas 10 Years Old Tawny

Leave a reply

In 1918 Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior and his uncle established Poças & comandita. Manoel Poças receives the Quinta das Quartas, the first of the company’s wine estate in the Douro, in payment of a debt. In 1959 Manoel’s grandsons Manuel and Jorge Pintão joined the firm. In 1962 the declaration of the first Poças Vintage. In 2006 the company remains on family hands with 4 generations working together.

I bought this 375 ml half-bottle at 20% at the price of 10 Euro in a Danish supermarket.

Faint brown colour with red notes in the reflections from light.

Heavy curtains are left on the side of the glass after swinging it around, they descent very slowly.

Overwhelming sweet fruit in the aroma accompanied by a more and more dominating alcohol as the aroma is swept out of the glass.

Very hot from the alcohol, good fruit but still too thin, faint notes of aged wood barrels, as the alcohol fades away it opens up for a good dried fruits in the after-taste which has longer than expected life time.

Overall rating 88 / 100

Croft Vintage Port 2000

Leave a reply

Estimated cost of this Croft Vintage Port 2000 bottle of 750 ml is 38 Euro.

Taste notes right after decanting

Dark red with brown notes in the colour

Has a heavy swing to it already, leaves heavy curtains on the sides of the glass

Deep dark fruit with a spiced side in the aroma. Well performing right after opening the bottle.

Warm alcohol, full bodied taste with a dark side to it, though on the weak side. Slight notes of dried fruits with short after taste.

Intermediate rating 88 /100

3 hours after decanting

The alcohol has become more dominant in the aroma and there is no change to the taste.

Intermediate rating 87 /100

7 hours after decanting

Enhanced on the sweet notes, much more open, alcohol is less warm. A specific raisin taste has come forward. 

Tannin’s are still well alive and gives a good play.

Intermediate rating 90 /100

22 hours after decanting

Red as blood.

Still some alcohol in the aroma but certainly with a much more spicy and mysterious darkness about it.

Still bite from the tannin, warmth from the alcohol and a good full bodied taste.

Clear taste of dried fruits in taste and after taste.

Overall rating 90 / 100

Pocas Junior Porto 20 Years Old Tawny

Leave a reply

In 1918 Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior and his uncle established Poças & comandita. Manoel Poças receives the Quinta das Quartas, the first of the company’s wine estate in the Douro, in payment of a debt. In 1959 Manoel’s grandsons Manuel and Jorge Pintão joined the firm. In 1962 the declaration of the first Poças Vintage. In 2006 the company remains on family hands with 4 generations working together.

This 750 ml bottle at 20% was bought in a Danish supermarket at the price of 32 Euro.

Right after opening

Orange, red notes and brown play in the colour. Light and thin curtains on the glass wall.

Dried fruits in the aroma, dominated by alcohol.

Immediately a mouthful of raisins, sweet and with a suitable length of after taste. Some alcohol.

Intermediate rating 88 / 100

21 hours after opening

Colour and aroma unchanged.

Much more pak and barrel in the taste, mild alcohol and less warm. Smooth and sweet taste.

Overall rating 90/100

Gould Campell Vintage Port 1980

Leave a reply

Gould Campell was founded in 1797 by Garret Gould. Through the years and many wars, the brand survived and was a well-established name in Great Britain. In 1970 the company was bought up and became a part of the Symington family business. The brand Gould Campell was discontinued in 2015 due to economical reasons.

This 750 ml bottle of vintage port at 20% can be found at around 53 Euro from wine shops in Europe.

Taste notes right after decanting

A very fine looking cork, in such a good shape that it has to be re-corked at some point.

Dark red colour with brown notes.

Darkness and dried fruits in the aroma. Clear notes of oak casks but yet dominated by the alcohol.

Warm alcohol, early signs of balance with a dry tannin and acid. Sweet fruit notes with a good raisin in the after taste. Spicy and slightly mysterious.

Intermediate rating 87 /100 

3 hours after decanting

Colour has changed for a more bloody expression.

Less alcohol in the aroma.

The dried fruit notes in the taste had become more full bodied.

Good and sweet wine.

Intermediate rating 90 /100 

6 hours after decanting

Balance has settled for a perfect mix of sweet fruit and tannin. It is as close to drinking candy as it can get for this wine.

Overall rating 91 / 100

Quinta do Pego Colheita Porto 2007

Leave a reply

I tasted this 750 ml bottle at 20% at a family dinner. It has a estimated price in Denmark of 34 Euro.

This Quinta do Pego Colheita 2007 was bottled in 2016.

Deep orange red colour.

Light sweet fruits in the aroma with a dominating alcohol.

Soft tannin with a okay balance to the fruit. After taste has a good sweet raisin which the slowly fades out.

When first uncorked it is dominated by the alcohol and needs to breathe, no decanting, just needs to sit for half a day in bottle with level under the neck. That really works wonders on a colheita.

Overall rating 84 / 100

Dow Vintage Port 2004 Quinta do Bomfim

Leave a reply

Taste notes right after decanting

Perfect cork, not a single spot of mold or leaking. Some sediment in the bottle.

Thin blood red colour with heavy curtains in the glass.

Sweet fruit and some spices in the aroma, but dominated by alcohol.

Dry tannin, sweet grapes and with a young strength in the taste. Good after taste.

Suitable for maturing further.

Intermediate rating 84 /100

4 hours after decanting

Colour has changed for a darker red.

Still a dominating alcohol in the aroma, but also with a more dark spice to it.

Good warmth in the drink, balanced fruits, sweet raisins with a biting tannin.

Intermediate rating 88 /100

6 hours after decanting

Taste and aroma has gotten softer, sweeter and more accessible.

Overall rating 89 / 100

Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Port 1995

Leave a reply

The name Quinta do Noval first appeared in land registers in the year 1715.  António José da Silva, a Port shipper from Gaia, father-in-law of Luiz Valsconcelos Porto, acquired Quinta do Noval in 1894 after its devastation by phylloxera. He restored the property by replanting its vineyards.

A new bottling line and warehouse was completed in 1997 in Alijo, near to Pinhão. This project made Quinta do Noval the first of the traditional Port shippers to centralise all its activities in the Douro Valley rather than in Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto.

Estimated cost of this Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Port 1995 bottle of 750 ml is 38 Euro.

Taste notes right after decanting

Red to light red in the colour

Feels thin and easy to sling in the glass, heavy curtains on the sides.

Spiced fruit, darkness, tannin and a dominating alcohol in the aroma.

Good fruit with a powerful bite, sweet taste with some alcohol.

Intermediate rating 85 /100

2.5 hours after decanting

Darker in the colour and slightly heavier.

Aroma and taste remains the same as earlier.

6 hours after decanting

Darker in the colour

Dark and spicy with a sharp nose.

Medium bodied, yet dry and alive from tannin. Sweet fruit in the end.

Will properly improve with longer decanting than 6 hours, still a lot of tannin that could rest for a couple more years in the cellar. The bottle had a bigger sediment than what I find on average in a vintage port.

Overall rating 88 / 100