TN: 2007 Quinta do Vallado Reserva Douro Red

[David Spriggs]

Medium ruby color. Earthy Cranberry nose. Slightly rustic entry with cherry and an acid bite. Really excellent acidity. Long finish. Very clean and well made. Excellent with New York steak. A solid Douro wine. Ready to drink now. Better with food. 92 points

Day 2 - A big change. Much darker color. Much more depth. A bigger wine. Bigger in fruit and certainly more balancing structure. All-in-all a more complete wine. I clearly did not decant this wine long enough. 93+ points

[Andy Velebil]

Medium ruby color. Earthy Cranberry nose. Slightly rustic entry with cherry and an acid bite. Really excellent acidity. Long finish. Very clean and well made. Excellent with New York steak. A solid Douro wine. Ready to drink now. Better with food. 92 points

Disregard my other post asking how it was. I opened one the other day and while it was enjoyable it didn’t seem to have the complexity it did when younger. Nice but linear. I do agree better with food but with an older wine I’m not sure that’s a good thing overall. Considering this is typically substantially more than Crasto’s Reserva at retail I don’t see the value in it, unfortunately. For the record I was in the 89-90 point range for my bottle (bought on release and stored in temp/humidity controlled cellar since).

The 2009 Crasto Reserva tonight blows this wine away.

[David Spriggs]

OK... but we only paid $25! I think that a wine that works with food is a bonus. The other wine I had open was a 2011 Pride Mountain Claret Reserve. Great wine on its own, but food was not helpful.
I just bought the 2015 Vallado Reserva last week and it was only $30.

[Andy Velebil]

OK... but we only paid $25! I think that a wine that works with food is a bonus. The other wine I had open was a 2011 Pride Mountain Claret Reserve. Great wine on its own, but food was not helpful.
I just bought the 2015 Vallado Reserva last week and it was only $30.

Hah, yeah what we paid it's a good deal for a daily drinker. But generally retail is around the $50 mark. A big mark up compared to Crasto's Reserva that, in my opinion, is a far better wine for ~$15+ less. For $30, buy what you can as at that price it's a good deal.

I drink a fair amount of Pride. They do better with about 11-20 years of age from my experience. Had a 2004 Pride Cab (non-reserve) yesterday and it was rocking with a couple hours of air.

[David Spriggs]

I drink a fair amount of Pride. They do better with about 11-20 years of age from my experience. Had a 2004 Pride Cab (non-reserve) yesterday and it was rocking with a couple hours of air.

Agreed about the aging. This was the first of the 2011 Pride Reserves that I have opened. Way too young, Big and still a bit unformed. Absolutely clashed with the steak.

[David Spriggs]

Oh... and about that 2009 Crasto Reserva... rock star! Great stuff! The 2009s are very flashy right now . I'm planning to open more 2009 Ferreirhna Quinta da Leda as well.

[Andy Velebil]

I'm planning to open more 2009 Ferreirhna Quinta da Leda as well.

I've got just shy of a case left and I'm hording them for later drinking, LOL. Last one I had, 5 hrs of decant and it still could have used more. Don't hesitate to go long on the decant with this one. Here's my note on it from Nov. 2015 and I have no doubt the score will go up if it continues on the track it showed back then.

Decanted 4.5 hours. I last had a full bottle of this about a year and a half ago. The nose is somewhat similar with blackcurrants and tar, but it has shed the esteva and oak since then. The very noticeable acidity and tannins are still there however. Pepper, spices, graphite, and black fruit interweave to make a nicely complex and filling body. At no time does the intensity of this slow down and the palate seamlessly continues into a long finish. I did take a small taste when I decanted and it was far simpler then. This is a wine that, at this stage, needs a really long decant to show its best. I suspect this will be a very long lived wine and I look forward to tasting it as it ages.
93 Points

[David Spriggs]

Nov. 2015

That's 3.5 years ago. My current opinion is that these 2009's need to be tasted to see where they are at. I expect that they are rockin'

[Andy Velebil]

Nov. 2015

That's 3.5 years ago. My current opinion is that these 2009's need to be tasted to see where they are at. I expect that they are rockin'

3.5 yrs isn't much give how good it showed then. But....Let me know when you try yours. When I go to my offsite next I'll pull one and give it a go again as well.

[David Spriggs]

Day 2 - A big change. Much darker color. Much more depth. A bigger wine. Bigger in fruit and certainly more balancing structure. All-in-all a more complete wine. I clearly did not decant this wine long enough. 93+ points

[Eric Ifune]

Tasted the 2015 Vallado Field Blend Reserva a few days ago. Might be the best Vallado wine I've had.

[Andy Velebil]

Tasted the 2015 Vallado Field Blend Reserva a few days ago. Might be the best Vallado wine I've had.

I’ve been very happy with 2015 Douro wines this far.

[David Spriggs]

Tasted the 2015 Vallado Field Blend Reserva a few days ago. Might be the best Vallado wine I've had.

I’ve been very happy with 2015 Douro wines this far.

I agree with both of you. So far, I think that 2015 is better Douro year than a Port year - at least for what I have tasted. Not that the Ports aren't good ... They are, but the 2015 Douro are so well balanced.

[Eric Ifune]

Yeah, the few I've tasted have been stellar.