TN: 2007 Quinta do Vallado Douro

[Andy Velebil]

Nose - Bing cherries with a touch of oak
Palate - Unripe green tannins, a bit lean and simple red fruit, light tannins, lots of acidity though.
Finish - a bit of oak obscures the fruit at this stage (go away some age??)
82 points

I opened this about 4 hours ago. So far I am not impressed and am left scratching my head as to how Mark Squires gave this 90 points. To be honest, I put the cork in it, set it aside, and opened another Douro in its place. I'll try it again tomorrow just to see if it changes in any way.

[Michael M.]

WS even gave 93 points.

[Andy Velebil]

WS even gave 93 points.

Michael,
Now 24 hours later, I've got another glass I'm drinking at the moment. I can say the fruit is a little more expressive now on day 2, but this still has a lot of unripe tannins which hurt the overall experience. There is no way I can see 93 points for this. To be fair after today I'd probably raise my score a point or two, but still not close to 90 let alone 93.

[Roy Hersh]

I have had this too and liked it a bit more than Andy but certainly less than the WS and even less than the TWA's Squires. I settled in at 89 points with 2 days. I did not find harsh tannins whatsoever and in fact would have raised my score had I found more tannins prevalent than I did, which I felt were too soft if not lacking. I also tasted the Reserva and Touriga Nacional by Vallado both of which are really impressive. I know the Reserva gets the big scores, but conversely, I prefer the Touriga Nacional. TNs are in the upcoming newsletter.

[Michael M.]

WS even gave 93 points.

Michael,
Now 24 hours later, I've got another glass I'm drinking at the moment. I can say the fruit is a little more expressive now on day 2, but this still has a lot of unripe tannins which hurt the overall experience. There is no way I can see 93 points for this. To be fair after today I'd probably raise my score a point or two, but still not close to 90 let alone 93.

Andy,
thanks for your additional information. I think I will give it a try and order a bottle besides the 10 year old Tawny from Vallado.