1991 Niepoort Colheita Porto

Vivo Portugal!

In honor of Portugal’s 7-0 drubbing of North Korea in World Cup action early this morning, I am going to share with you probably the finest port I’ve ever had.

First off, I love ports. Especially tawny ports, as I really like the common caramel–vanilla profile more than ruby port’s raspberry–chocolate profile. To each their own, of course, but my favorite ports are vintage tawnys.

This one fits that description, and it’s a fantastic little dessert wine. Like many ports, the ’91 Colheita clocks in at 20% ABV. It’s made up of more than seven grape varieties (the info sheet I have includes the words “and others“), including touriga nacional, touriga franca, tinta cão, tinta francisca, tinta amarela, vinhão, and tinta roriz (a.k.a. tempranillo).

So what to expect from this 19-year-old vintage? Awesomeness, naturally. It’s gorgeous in the glass, with the wine’s core resembling iced tea, fading to basically clear at the edges. It smells of burnt caramel and peanut brittle, sweet but with an edge that keeps the aromas much more interesting than just “sweet.”

The wine is thick and syrupy, much fuller than just “full-bodied.” It tastes of vanilla and caramel, and also of kettle corn. Yes, it’s quite sweet (this is, after all, a dessert wine) but the sweetness is metered throughout by the aforementioned edge. This wine never succumbs to the easiness of “sweet,” it keeps you always on your toes, looking for the next little element.

An incredible treat, and exactly the sort of thing one could use to celebrate, say, a 7-0 drubbing by one’s ancestral nation in the World Cup. Not a bad idea…

Verdict: A

1991 Niepoort Colheita Porto

1991 Niepoort Colheita Porto

Scrumptious Spanish Sipper

2008 Altos del Cuco Monastrell / Syrah / Tempranillo

What the hell is Monastrell?

After thinking for a bit that I’d hit my 42nd variety en route to the Wine Century Club, a quick search dans le Goog reveals it instead to be a synonym for Mourvedre. The most famous such synonym, in my opinion, is Syrah/Shiraz, but I’ve discovered a few during my journey to try to nail down 100 different wine varieties, including Zinfandel/Primitivo, and Tempranillo/Tinta Roriz.

Add Mourvedre/Monastrell to the list. Which is good in at least one way: I don’t feel as bad for never having even heard of Monastrell before this wine hit my doorstep.

OK, so on to the wine itself, which, for purposes of always trying to toss as much information down your gullet as I can, hails from D.O. Yecla, Spain, and retails for damn near pennies. The varietal breakdown is 40% Monastrell, 30% Syrah, 30% Tempranillo. If the wine had a major identity crisis, that would be 40% Mourvedre, 30% Shiraz, 30% Tinta Roriz. But I digress.

The wine is very opaque in the glass, nearly black at the core but fading to a very nice ruby red at the edges. The nose is full of fruit, of black cherry jam and raspberries. On the palate, the Altos del Cuco is medium-bodied, young and vibrant. The black cherry jam makes itself known here, and there’s also a mild spice of some sort that does well to balance out the fruitiness and keep this from being a ridiculous fruitstrosity.

Not the best wine in the world, but eminently drinkable, and thoroughly enjoyable. This is party wine, frankly, and while it may not pair easily with lots of food, it’s the perfect before- or after-dinner wine to imbibe with friends.

And you can do so much worse at this price point.

Verdict: B+

(full disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample from Opici Import Company)

2008 Altos del Cuco

2008 Altos del Cuco

Purple And Greens From Rioja

2007 Altos R Tempranillo

The first time I reviewed Spanish Tempranillo it didn’t go so well, for me or the wine. However, it’s a review that Google loves, and every day someone who searches for some form of “Vinea Tempranillo” finds their way there. I figure, for the good of the grape, I’ve got to try another Tempranillo, and the sooner, the better.

This one worked out quite nicely.

The Altos R was a gift from my father. I believe it was from a wine club he’s a member of, and he thought I’d like it. He was right. The Vinea I tasted was from Cigales, and this one is from La Rioja. I think the location is making a huge, huge difference.

The 2007 Altos R is purple–purple–in the glass. Really purple. At the edges, it almost looks pastel, an incredibly pretty wine. On the nose are an interesting group of notes. There’s a greenery here, like a subtle herbaciousness that is very nice. Cedar, strawberry and something almost tropical (my tasting vocabulary is still growing, I couldn’t pin this down further) mingle together and it’s all very crisp, clean, and cool.

It’s a light-bodied, crisp wine, with soft (very soft) tannins. The notes on the palate are subtle and light, mostly of red fruit, but also a whisper of mint, a holdover from the greenery on the nose. It’s pretty great, but the subtlety almost works against it, because it leaves me wanting more.

But seriously, this is another great example of good-to-great wines from Spain being maybe the best values on the planet. $16? Yeah. Go buy it.

Verdict: B+

2007 Altos R Tempranillo

2007 Altos R Tempranillo