2011 Alves de Sousa vintage port
Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 1:06 pm
My wife Emmy and I have the last week been in Porto and Douro on a private holiday. When Roy Hersh made his blind tasting of the 2011 vintages, Alves de Sousa ended up in the top ten list, which was a huge step for this producer compared to their previous vintage ports. And a big surprise to many FTLOP-readers. I have not been able to find this port in any of the Nordic countries, so we decided to visit them during our stay. Quinta da Gaivosa is not easy to find, but we managed with some guidance. We were there as part of the 2010 FTLOP Harvest Tour, but remembered only part of the way. To our big surprise it was Domingo Alves de Sousa himself that waited for us, and immediately we were invited into a tasting only for us and also his daughter Patricia came along. We tasted three Douro reds, two white ports (one 10 yrs old), one 20 yrs old tawny and finally their 2011 vintage port. As you can see they are expanding their ports range. I will report as soon as they have been tasted / consumed here at home. We purchased various products incl. six 2011 vintage ports. Today 17th May we are celebtrating 200 years of Norway's constitution, so that was a very good reason to open such a special young vintage port. This tasting note is based on consuming the full bottle here in Norway.
9 hrs decanting. Appealing dark purple colour. Powerful, but still subdued aroma of dark red berries, some undefined fruits, floral tones, clearly minerals (crushed stones) and hints of chocolate. The aroma is not so “raw” as we normally find in very young vintage ports. Full body. This is probably the most elegant young vintage port (2-3 years old) I have tasted. Smooth as silk both at the start and also including the middle part. But still this vintage port is powerful, and therefore have the combination that I prefer (including freshness). Tannins are coming on in a good way towards the end. The structure is as good as it can get, the balance is perfect. A lot of berries, hints of minerals and with an acceptable acidity level. Very long aftertaste. Suitable for drinking now, but should age well for a very long time. 96 pts.
9 hrs decanting. Appealing dark purple colour. Powerful, but still subdued aroma of dark red berries, some undefined fruits, floral tones, clearly minerals (crushed stones) and hints of chocolate. The aroma is not so “raw” as we normally find in very young vintage ports. Full body. This is probably the most elegant young vintage port (2-3 years old) I have tasted. Smooth as silk both at the start and also including the middle part. But still this vintage port is powerful, and therefore have the combination that I prefer (including freshness). Tannins are coming on in a good way towards the end. The structure is as good as it can get, the balance is perfect. A lot of berries, hints of minerals and with an acceptable acidity level. Very long aftertaste. Suitable for drinking now, but should age well for a very long time. 96 pts.