Penfolds Grange – A Vertical Tasting of Ten Vintages
March 27th, 2010 at Hotel Schachtnerhof in Wörgl, Austria
Max Schubert was bursting with ideas after returning from an extended trip to Europe. He had been sent there by his employers at Penfolds to explore developments in sherry production, but it was his time in Bordeaux that had inspired his greatest ambition. It was on the long flight back to Australia in 1950 that Max Schubert decided that he wanted to create a great Australian red wine. A wine to lift Australia out of mediocrity – a red wine of quaöity comparable to the greatest wines of the world and capable of staying alive for decades.
Grange was revolutionary at the time. Everything about the wine was over the top. The barrel ferment characters and volatile acid were greatly misunderstood and snuffed by the local pundits. After an infamous tasting of Grange by Penfolds board members and Sydney wine authorities, the company decided to cease production of Grange in 1957. Max Shubert continued to make small quantities in strict secrecy in 1957, 1958 and 1959. A second tasting with the same board members was organized in 1960 and the bottle aged 1951 and 1955 vintages were greeted with enthusiastic approval. Grange was reinstated and gradually won acceptance among the cognoscenti. Penfolds Grange has since become an Australian icon – a National Trust heritage-listed wine and its creator, Max Schubert, an Australian folk hero.
Grange is made predominantly from Shiraz and a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is almost always a multi-district blend sourced from prime vineyards in South Australia. Significant Shiraz contributions come from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale while Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Robe and Bordertown. Fermentation begins in steel tanks with wax-lined wooden header boards and is completed in oak barrels. It is matured for 18 to 20 months in new 300 litre American oak barrels. It was named after Grange Cottage, build in 1845, at Magill Estate and itself named for Mary Penfold’s family home in England. It was initially labelled Grange Hermitage to pander to Sydney society until 1989. Since the 1990 vintage it has been simply called Grange. Since 1994 it is packaged in laser-etched bottles with identification numbers to improve traceability and prevent forgery.
There have been four chief winemakers in the history of Grange: Max Shubert 1951-1975, Don Ditter 1975-1986, John Duval 1986-2002, and Peter Gago 2002- present. The winemaking philosophy has remained consistent over half a century. The style has been refined, reflecting advances in vineyard and technology. Max Shubert originally aimed to make a wine of between 11.5 and 12% alcohol and that has risen to around 13.5%. This is due to the acknowledgement of the significance of tannin ripeness as well as fruit ripeness. The level of volatile acidity has dropped and more attention is paid to the seasoning and quality of oak. Still Max Schubert’s original practices, selection of the very best ripe fruit, submerged cap vinification and completion of the fermentation in new American barrels, continues.
Zalto Manufaktor provided the stemware for the Penfolds Grange Vertical Tasting
Upon my visit to Penfolds in November 2009, Peter Gago provided me with a list of his personal first and second choices for present tasting. With little exception, it was from this list that we were able to choose our wines for this tasting. All wines were double-decanted four hours before the tasting. This means that after the initial decanting, the bottles were rinsed clean and the wine returned again to the bottle. This eliminated the often quite considerable depot without overly exposing the wines to danger of oxidation. The corks were often in poor condition and seemed nearly glued to the inside of the bottle making their removal extremely challenging. It would not be inappropriate for a sommelier faced with the daunting task of opening an old bottle of Grange to consider the use of a heated port tong to break off the top of the bottle neck. Even for our very experience sommelier, it was not always possible to open the bottles without destroying the cork. A wine sieve was used to remove any cork particles. One wine was cork tainted.
1995
Saturated dark rich red colour. Rich blackberry liqueur and black currant jelly, liquorice and cardamom comprise an impressively vibrant nose. Full bodied with abundant velvety tannins that have not yet begun to decay. Warm ripe dark fruit, lifted balsamic components and leather linger on the finish. Drink now to 2020. 91 points
1993
Dark garnet ruby. Chocolate malt, dried fig and minty cedar make a rather exotic impression on the nose and are further complimented by balsamic-drenched raspberries and smoky graphite in the mouth. The tannin is now fully evolved and the wine is at the ultimate of its peak and should be drunk now and within the next 3 years (until 2013). 90 points
1992
Deep dark ruby. Intense tobacco and leather wrapped around a core of blackberry and nougat. Fine-grained satiny mouthfeel with supple tannins. Round, ripe fruit, soft smoky nuances and dark spice linger on the finish. Good but not great. Complex but not profound. Long but eternal. Drink now to 2015. 91 points
1991
Dark ruby. Deep ripe spiced blackberry pie. Mild acid and soft fluffy tannins. Open-hearted and lush, lacking somewhat in structure but comforting seductive in its pure dark berry fruit and butter cookie generosity. Drink now to 2020 without expectations for further development. 92 points
1990
Dark ruby garnet. Relatively discreet plum fruit and a hint of smoked bacon, pepper, vanilla and clove. Richer and riper than expected in the mouth with spicy wild berries and chocolate coating the mouth through the finish. Elegance is expressed in the firm structure and the wine will continue to evolve advantageously for another two decades. 93 points
1986
Deep dark ruby with garnet highlights. Evolving multi-layered intensity in the glass… liquorice and chilli-chocolate layered with plums, cassis and cedar. Heady, lush and extravagant with very tightly knit, ripe tannins. Long and intense. Still has stamina for another two decades. 95 points
1982
Dark garnet-ruby. Abundant still firm tannins. Rich ripe sweet red berries, tobacco and nougat. Fine and precise, perhaps more classic and nearly left bank Bordeaux-like in structure. The tannins are abundant, fine-grained and firm. Red cherry, cassis and roasted coffee linger on the long finish. This wine is perhaps the best structured of the entire tasting and in my opinion one of the most underrated vintages of Penfolds Grange. 94 points
1980
Unbelievably youthful dark ruby colour. Charred beef, dried herbs, soft fig and lovage make a savoury impression. Tannins still abundant and well-structured. Finishes somewhat astringent but long with tarragon, plum, and cassis. Drink now and within the next five years. 93 points
1976
Cork taint. Penfolds current chief winemaker, Peter Gago, is considering a revolutionary alternative bottle closure in the future.
1975, Max Schubert's last vintage as chief winemaker at Penfolds.
1975
Brick red. Intense leather and garrique. No more fruit on the palate and the tannins have dried. Soy sauce and rustic savoury flavours remain. This wine is past its prime.
The Napa Valley Vintners Association was the very generous sponsors for a spectacular tasting at the most recent course day for European students of the Institute Masters of Wine.
The course was conveniently held in Düsseldorf on the 23rd of March, making it quite opportune for many students who were attending the ProWein either as visitors or exhibitors. The morning was spent in mock exam conditions for a practical paper of 12 wines. The paper and the wines were then discussed in depth with Fergal Tynan MW and Frank Roeder MW who did quite a fine job of illuminating those of us still in the dark. They were quite motivating and able to give us useful tips on how to pass the tasting exams. The biggest challenge for most of us is simply getting the paper finished and if you don’t answer all the questions, your chances of passing are quite slim.
Our afternoon session was absolutely spectacular! Larry Stone Master Sommelier, the only American to have won the title of French Matre Sommelier from the Union de la Sommelerie Francaise, was our lecturer. Larry gave us an in-depth seminar on Napa Valley and led us through a tasting of truly exquisite wines from 14 of the 15 Napa Valley sub-appellations. In Larry’s two decades of experience as a wine educator and master sommelier in California, he has gained a reputation not only for his profound knowledge, but his ability to share it in a very unpretentious manner. He was incredibly generous with his knowledge and we had the opportunity to pick his brain for an entire 5 hours!
Here are my tasting notes from the afternoon tasting sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners Association:
Saintsbury 2007, Pinot Noir, Los Caneros
Transparent ruby red. Dark cherry and plum fruit. Powerful 14.5% alcohol is not fully integrated and heats the finish. Liquorice and plenty of oak spice flavour loosely knit, velvety tannins. 89 points.
Cuvaison Estate 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Brandlin Vineyard, Mt. Veeder
Dark black red. Rich cassis with graphite and floral components. Abundant firm, velvety tannins. Muscular, very tightly knit. Very long mineral finish. 93 points.
Blackbird Vineyards 2006 Illustration Propriety Blend, Oak Knoll
Dark black red. Aromas and flavours of rich sweet vanilla, coffee and cassis with a hint of leather and dark spice. Plenty of supple, round tannin. Warming alcohol on the finish. 90 points.
Kapcsandy Family Vineyard 2006 State Lane Vineyard, Yountville
Dark dense black red. Blackberry and black currant with a hint of cedar. Soft and fleshy with medium high tannin content, velvety mouthfeel and nicely integrated acid. Rich plum fruit and liquorice t on the finish. 96 points.
Clos Du Val 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap
Very dark ruby Black currant and cayenne pepper comprise a very spicy nose. Rich fruit draped over a slightly stalky tannin spine and laced with pencil shavings and leather. Capsicum on the finish. 89 points.
BOND 2005 St. Eden Proprietary Blend, Oakville
Very pronounced, well-defined and focused cassis and black cherry fruit with hints of oleander and graphite. Boisterously fruit-driven, yet not over the top. Sweet and rather confectionary milk chocolate and blackberry liqueur remain long on the finish. This wine has a lot of everything, including 14.5% a.b.v. 94 points.
Rubicon Estate 2006 Proprietary Blend, Rutherford
Dark deep ruby. Dark forest berries, liquorice and chocolate with mineral firmness. Abundant fine-grained tannin, well-integrated alcohol and plenty of generous fruit. Black currants, blueberries, cedar and tobacco linger on the finish. 94 points.
Note to Francis Ford Coppola: This wine is packaged in an obnoxiously heavy bottle that requires a body-builder of a sommelier to pour and a million carbon footprints to produce and ship. What were you thinking? Such a sensitive wine and certified organic to boot and then this?
Salvestrin 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
Dark ruby. Rich ripe black cherry and cassis fruit. Smoky aromas like coffee and charred oak flavour abundant soft tannins. Black currant and cedar remain on the finish. 91 points.
Cain Vineyard & Winery 2005 Cain Five Proprietary Blend, Spring Mountain
Deep dark black. Black cherry, leather, and floral notes make a slightly exotic impression. Abundant very fine-grained tannins wrapped in rich glycerine-laced black fruit on the palate. Warming cassis liqueur and cardamom on the finish. 92 points
J. Davies Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain
Dark ruby with violet highlights. Intense yet elegant black currant and well-integrated alcohol. Medium full-bodied and very well-balanced with plenty of soft supple tannins and vibrant acid. Elderberry and spice linger deliciously long on the finish. 95points
Storybook Mountain Vineyards/Seps 2007 Estate Zinfandel, Calistoga
Transparent dark ruby-violet. Rich brambleberry fruit with vanilla, orange zest, and cinnamon spice. Medium full-bodied with fleshy tannins. Warm, dark-berry compote finish. 90 points
Viader Vineyards 2005 Proprietary Blend, Howell Mountain
Dark ruby. Discreet yet perfumed with floral components reminiscent of violets. A very fine-boned linear structure lends focused elegance to cassis jelly, raspberry and graphite. Abundant, extremely fine-grained tannin. The finish is discreet yet very long and persistent. 93 points
Brown Estate Vineyards 2008 Estate Zinfandel, Chiles Valley District
Transparent ruby-violet. Jammy blackberry fruit with coconut and tangerine flavour soft chewy tannins. Full-bodied and expressive with plenty of spicy rich fruit on the finish. 90 points
Antica Antinori Family Estate 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Single Vineyard, Atlas Peak
Dark youthful opaque ruby violet. Intense freshly roasted Arabica coffee beans on the nose. Lemony acid gives lift to crème de cassis fruit which is supported by fleshy tannins. Opulent fruit on the slightly warming finish. 91 points
The Institute Masters of Wine offers single-course days throughout the year for MW students. The European course days have historically all been held in London, often in rather tight quarters. Participants are always required to bring their own set of 12 glasses, a water cup and a spittoon. It is difficult and expensive for an MW student to get to these single-day courses in London for several reasons:
- Inexpensive flight usually fly to one of the periphery airports requiring about an hour’s travel from the airport to the course venue
- Flight times often make it necessary to stay at least one night in London
- A set of 12 wine glasses must be carried as hand baggage to avoid breakage which leaves little room for overnight necessities in the allowed carry-on piece for most airlines.
- Lunch is not provided at course days
- Hotel rooms in London rarely have a sink large enough to clean your wine glasses
- In the end it costs a continental student 2 ½ work days and 250-350 Euros to visit a course day in London.
For these reasons it was really great to have a course day in Düsseldorf. Many students were already present at the ProWein, either as exhibitors or professional visitors and thus travel expenses were not completely extra for the course day. The VDP invited students the evening before to a fine restaurant for dinner and a tasting of extraordinary German wines. In addition to this a very nice soup, sandwich, dessert and beverage buffet was provided for no extra cost at lunch on the seminar day. AND a set of 12 tasting glasses, a water glass and a spittoon were provided for each student. The entire organization of the Düsseldorf course day was superb and must be highly praised. Many, many thanks to all those who made it such a worthwhile learning experience!
Silvio’s homecoming
Chateau Tahbilk 1981 Cabernet Sauvignon Victoria
Chateau Montrose 1978 St. Estephe
Faiveley 2002 Latricieres Chambertin
„Die Presse“ veranstaltet gemeinsam mit dem Weingut Höpler ein hochklassiges Weinseminar. Durch den Abend führt Weinakademikerin Julia Sevenich.
Das Seminar kostet nur 55 Euro (statt 120 Euro).
Donnerstag, 21. Jänner 2010, 19 Uhr
SAS Radisson Blue, 1010 Wien, Herrengasse 12
Anmeldungen an leservorteile@diepresse.com bis 17. Jänner
2009 Kennwort „Weinseminar“
Louisa Rose, the chief winemaker at Yalumba has invited me for a Viognier Breakfast today, or better said, she has arrived here at Percy’s with a chef and several appetizing looking bottles in tow.
Louisa, or “Lou” as she is affectionately called by her friends and colleagues, has been a winemaker since graduating at the top of her class from Roseworthy in 1992. Since 2006 she is the chief winemaker here at Yalumba. I’ve been able to observe Lou at work this week. She’s a no-nonsense woman that shoots straight from the hip. She’s honest to the point of being blunt, but the reason she can pull this off with such admirable grace is that not only does she have an impeccable palate and is extraordinarily good at what she does, she is also a very fair, honest and warm-hearted boss and colleague.
One of Lou’s great achievements at Yalumba has been her work with the Viognier grape variety and the creation of one of Australia’s great icon wines – “The Virgilius” Viognier. Indeed, the amazing popularity and success of Viognier in Australia is largely due to the efforts at Yalumba.
It is worth recalling that back in 1968 there were only 14 hectares of Viognier growing in the northern Rhône in the tiny appellations of Condrieu and Côte Rotie. Not much of it was growing anywhere else in the world. Due to the variety’s demand on climate and difficulty in the vineyard, it had become nearly extinct, having been replaced by easier and more predictable varieties.
I heard that the Hill-Smith family family fell with the variety on a trip to the Northern Rhône. I wasn’t able to confirm that, but I do know that they planted 1.2 hectare of Viognier on their Vaughan property in Eden Valley in 1980. They experimented with it quietly for about 10 years before subsequently extending their Viognier vineyards not only in the Eden Valley, but in the Riverland and Limestone Coast regions of South Australia. Much of Australia’s Viognier vine material actually originates from the Yalumba estate nursery.
The clone used for nearly all of the early plantings was the Montpellier 1968. In the late 1990’s Yalumba initiated discussions with other great Viognier makers around the world and placed cuttings from their best vines into a clonal development program at the Yalumba Vine Nursery. This work continues today where Yalumba, after years of observation, have selected 11 of the most successful clones for its youngest Viognier plantings in the Virgilius Vineyard on Flaxmann Valley Road in Eden Valley.
The original vines in Eden Valley were planted on their own roots, but these new vines have been grafted just as Yalumba’s other subsequent Viognier plantings have been grafted. Although there has not yet been phylloxera in South Australia, that pest is not the only reason to graft vines. In a replanting environment in the Riverland, Ramsey rootstock is used to help combat nematodes, salinity and drought. In the Limestone Coast Teleki 5C and Paulsen 1103 are used as they have good lime tolerance and reasonable, but not excessive vigour to cope with the shallow limestone soils.
Louisa Rose says, “Getting the cropping levels right early in the season is the biggest challenge. If the vine is left with too much fruit it will struggle to develop sufficient canopy to set the berries and ripen the crop. If the vine is struggling then leaf health is severely affected. If over cropping occurs on young vines it can take a number of years for the vine to recover due to poor cane development and the vine ends up with stunted growth and poor spur or cane positioning.”
The Virgilius
The flagship Viognier was conceived as the white partner to the flagship Barossa Shiraz called Octavius. The name “Virgilius” stems from the Roman poet Virgil who was also friend and mentor of the first Emperor of Rome, Octavius (Augustus). After nearly twenty years of experimentation, the Virgilius made its debut in 1998.
Virgilius is sourced from the best Viognier vines from the Eden Valley. Viognier can be notoriously high in alcohol and flabby due to it inherently low acid. This is because it needs to be really ripe before it develops all those lovely peach and floral aromas. And when Viognier finally does ripen, it ripens very fast. Louisa monitors the ripening progress diligently and gets her team out there to pick quickly in the cool early morning hours to preserve that precious acid.
To minimize the high phenolic content, she practices whole bunch pressing. Structure, balance and longevity are her goals with this big-bodied wine so it is fermented slowly with indigenous yeast in used French oak barrels. The wine remains on its lees for 9-10 months. Only the best barrels are chosen for the final blend.
The Breakfast
Lou presents the entire line-up of Yalumba Viognier with our breakfast. We have two variations of eggs Benedict: one with spinach and Barossa ham and the other with smoked Pacific salmon. All three of the dry white Viognier wines pair superbly with the eggs. We began with the 2008 Yalumba Y Series which exhibits excellent varietal character with jasmine and white peach flavours. The 2008 Yalumba Barossa Eden Valley is a bit more rich and intense with apricot and peach laced with a little citrus and orange blossom – I really enjoyed this with the Florentine version of the eggs. The Virgilius is a really sexy wine and I really have to hold myself back. (It would be easy to sit for a few hours enjoying this, but do still have a day of work ahead of me.) The 2008 Virgilius has intense aromas of peach apricot and ginger spice. It is wonderfully textured and displays well-balanced structure with vibrant acid and integrated alcohol. The finish is very long and mineral and while this wine is generous, it is by no means blowsy. I adore it with the salmon and the Hollandaise sauce. In the tradition of the northern Rhône, Yalumba also produces three dry red wines that are Shiraz blended with a small amount of Viognier. This adds a discreet floral components and bright yellow stone fruit to dark briary Shiraz. The 2008 Y Series Shiraz Viognier is reminiscent of crushed raspberries and rhubarb with a bit of cinnamon and jasmine. This is a jazzy medium bodied wine with soft juicy tannins and actually goes pretty well with the salmon. The 2006 Yalumba Barossa Eden Shiraz Viognier is a deeper darker wine with plum and black raspberry fruit and a cedary juniper berry component. The 2007 Yalumba Handpicked Shiraz Viognier is a complex wine with blackberry, honeysuckle, wild heather, dried apricot and a hint of roasted coffee. The tannins are abundant and very fine-grained and the finish lingers long with an array of spices and fruit. Yalumba also produces a sweet botrytized version of Viognier in adequate vintages. The 2008 Wrattonbully Hand Picked Botrytis Viognier is absolutely delicious with the fresh fruit. The superb ending to our meal is the Yalumba V de Vie, which is the pure, clear distilled Viognier.
The discussion is critical and to the point – no pussy-footing allowed! Despite this, it remains very respectful and quite positive. Logically, things like oak, malolactic fermentation, alcohol, sugar and acid levels are discussed, but marketing themes are also included. For example, Yalumba not only produces a series of wines made from organically grown grapes, it also produces wines suitable for vegans. “For vegans,” you ask? Yes, indeed! What many consumers do not know is that in food and beverage production certain processing agents are often employed (often for stabilization purposes) that do not remain in the end product. Some of these processing agents are derived from animals. That includes things like albumin (from egg whites), isinglass (from fish bladders), casein (from milk) or gelatine. Wines that are suitable for vegans have not employed these processing agents. The Yalumba team of winemakers agreed that the food pairing suggestion of one of the vegan wines “to serve with fish” was probably not a well-chosen labelling scheme.
For each of the 45 wines we taste, there is a data sheet. After the name and region of each wine comes a single word which should be different for each wine in the Yalumba family and represent the essence of that wine. This is followed by a more extensive style and sensory description. The datasheet for each wine further includes all of the winemaking procedures from picking criteria and fruit processing to clarification, fermentation, fining, stabilization and maturation. Viticultural and oenological challenges and future plans that were discussed in the previous white wine master class summarized at the end.
Wörgl?!
Why do I live here?
I’m still learning how to pronounce “Wörgl” properly. It works best after a glass of wine.
Do you know how you pronounce “Ö”?
Shape your lips in an “O” and say “ER”!
Did you try it? Easier than you thought, isn’t it?
Now instead of “W”, put “V” on the beginning. Try to roll your “R” as best you can.
That’s it!… WÖRGL!
Whew! We deserve a break and a big, appetizing glass of peppery Grüner Veltliner!
Gerhard Mayr and I have been organizing training tastings for ourselves and fellow MW students here in Wörgl, Austria for the past two years. MW students from all over Austria as well as those residing in the bordering countries Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and Germany come to Wörgl for exam training and preparation.
No one in the wine world has ever heard of Wörgl. It’s in the Austrian Alps. No vines grow here. It snows. It freezes. Despite this, Wörgl is centrally located for central European Master of Wine students. It is has two autobahn exits and a train hub through which people must transfer coming from or to eastern Europe, Germany, Italy, or Switzerland. The nearest airports to Wörgl are in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Munich, and may all be reached in between ½ and 1 ½ hours.
Despite its convenient location, Wörgl would never have become such a base for MW students without the support of Bernhard Kammerlander and Hotel Schachtnerhof. Bernhard and his team supply MW students with an entire “MW setup” (12 Riedel tasting glasses, one spittoon, and water carafe and water glass per person) as well as a seminar room. Schachtnerhof also supplies storage for our tasting packages. Each of the participants (theoretically anyway – you know how that goes) puts together a tasting package of 12 wines emulating a past exam paper. Included in the package are the question paper, answer sheet, and afterwards the crib sheet for each participant. We store the tasting packages at in the hands of Bernhard Kammerlander at Schachtnerhof in Wörgl. Our host selects the package for each tasting training so that none of the MW students ever knows which package will be tasted. Bernhard tempers all of the wines at perfect temperature and decants them into neutral, numbered bottles. He does this free of charge, all in the name of furthering wine education!
This weekend was our first tasting training for the 2009/2010 study year. It was also the last tasting training before I head off to Adelaide for the residential seminar. I’ve been tweaking my technique and I think I’m progressing, but I’m still far from the necessary level for passing the exam. (I’ll tell you more about the humiliating horrors of MW tasting in another blog post.)
Meanwhile, here is a pic of tonight’s gorgeous wine. 1978 Château Lascombes. Gerhard bought it at an auction in Munich a couple weeks ago for around 50 Euros. The label has been affected by humidity. The cork was saturated, but extremely firm and intact. The brand corresponded with the label and the label and molded bottle corresponded with documentation from the winery. The wine was stunning, vibrant, classic. Certainly a worthy farewell. Australia is beating the drum for regional authenticity. Will any Australian wine be able to portray a sense of place as authentically as this? I am curious about Australian vines and traditions. They are older than one might first believe…we shall see.
Quinta do Vale Meão was the last great purchase of the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. This tiny woman was widowed at the age of 33 and took over management of the large family ownings in 1844. She modernized the family’s wine estates and proved to be both a cunning and kind business woman. Her charisma and generous engagement for social projects and investments in the valley’s infrastructure won her the nickname of Ferreirinha, “the little Ferreira“. At the time of her death in, she was the largest landowner in the Douro Valley. Quinta do Vale Meão was last of her achievements: 270 hectares of barren common land purchased from the town council of Vila Nova de Foz Côa in 1877. It was the only property which was totally planted by her. It is now owned by her great-great grandson Francisco Javier de Olazabal, formerly president of the Port and Douro Wine company A.A. Ferreira, to whom the grapes of the property used to be sold. It was from this property that the legendary “Barca Velha” was sourced. In 1998 he decided to resign in order to develop its own wine-making project under the technical direction of his son, Francisco de Olazabal y Nicolau de Almeida.
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The elegant century-old winery is built with granite and a chestnut roof reflecting the building materials of the region. The historical structure was respected during modernization. Investments were made in modern vinification equipment and although the old granite “lagares” are now temperature-controlled, all grapes for both port and red table wines continue to be trodden by foot.
As the Douro river was tamed and dammed in the mid 1970’s, the vineyards closes to the river were flooded and lost. “This was quite an advantageous loss,” explains Francisco de Olazabal, “for these were the worst vineyards and subsidies we received from the government allowed us to plant 22 hectares of Touriga Nacional on a prime site with rocky schist soil.” Vines now cover 80 hectares of the property, and are planted in soils of different geological nature: schist, granitic and alluvial gravel. This diversity, unusual in the Douro Region, contributes to the complexity of the wines. The vineyards are block planted with the following varieties: Touriga Nacional 40%, Tinta Roriz 30%, Touriga Francesa 15%, Tinta Amarela 5%, Tinta Barroca 5%, Tinto Cão 5%.
Wines tasted at Quinta do Vale Meão on November 2nd, 2009:
Quinta do Vale Meão Meandro 2006
This is the second wine from Quinta do Vale Meao and it looks as if it profited from declassified juice in this difficult vintage for this is really a nice juicy wine. Dar violet. Macerated plum and very ripe blackberry are supported by refreshing acid and bedded in fairly fine-grained tannins. Pleasant nuances of blasamic-drenched fruit and heather linger on the medium long finish. 88
Quinta do Vale Meão 2004
Dark violet. Bright lingonberry and black berry laced with lavender and licorice. Medium bodied and elegant with bright acid and very fine-grained tannins. Delicious fruit and dark wet slate remain on the long vibrant finish. 94
Quinta do Vale Meão 2000
Dense opaque ruby with fading violet-ruby rim. Plenty of crushed blackberry and cranberry jam with sappy licorice spice. This medium-full bodied wine is elegantly concentrated. Seamless fine-grained tannin lend a satiny mouthfeel. Floral components join anise and dark red berry on the finish. 95
Quinta Do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2007
It’s a bit early to assess a vintage port, but at this stage this shows rich, fiery fruit and a full body. Plenty of blackberry, cassis, and licorice-flavored fruit. The long finish displays abundant sweet tannin. Drink 2015 to 2030+. 90
I will have the privilege next week of commentating two spectacular tastings at the glamorous Palais Coburg Wine Open. I shall lead the “Precious White Wine of Austria and France” on November 5th which is described in the previous blog entry as well as the “USA Select” on November 4th. I am incredibly excited. I have had the chance to taste nearly all of these wines in the past, but have not been able to compare them in this combination.
The wines that will be tasted at the US Select tasting are:
1998 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill
2005 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Nuits Blanches
1998 Sine Qua Non Backward & Forward
2001 Sine Qua Non Rien Ne Va Plus Rousanne
1999 Sine Qua Non OX, Pinot Noir
2002 Beaux Freres Pinot Noir Single Vineyard
1996 Dominus
1996 Ridge Monte Bello
2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil
2001 Sine Qua Non Ventriloquist
1994 Dalla Valle Maya
1994 Harlan Estate
1994 Screaming Eagle
2002 Mr. K. Ice Man Gewürztraminer
Tickets for the tasting are available at: http://www.coburgwineopen.com/en/index.php/ticketverkauf/
