Quinta do Vallado Vintage Port 2019
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Robert
Parker -
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Winemaker Notes
A full-bodied port, with ripe and soft tannins, excellent structure, and complexity.
A classic vintage Port from the region, it is perfect served on its own, and also delicious when served with aged Stilton or other blue cheeses and nuts.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This is a dark and gutsy-style Vintage Port, with loads of fig, black currant and blackberry fruit flavors melding together with waves of ganache, roasted applewood, licorice snap and bramble notes. Everything seems to kick into another gear through the finish too, all while keeping a sense of detail. Impressive. Best from 2040 through 2060.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Vintage Port (formerly called "Vintage Port Adelaide," now rebranded, but it's the same wine) is a field blend from old vines aged only in stainless steel. It was bottled in August 2021 with 96 grams of residual sugar. If I thought the 2017 LBV this issue was tight, this demonstrates another level. Of course, that's not surprising because this is actually a Vintage Port and a younger vintage at that. Intense, pure and a bit astringent right now, this young Vintage Port is precise and finishes with a bang. The rich fruit rolls over the palate and coats it. Considering the lack of wood, this has remarkable texture. What it needs now is some time to evolve and become more expressive. I'd come back around the end of the decade, although that might not be enough. It took about four days to become interesting. The LBV shows better today, but that will certainly change as the years go by.
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Wine Enthusiast
From old vines in the Rio Torto valley, this Port, fermented in open top lagares, is just starting out. It has dense tannins and massive black-fruit flavors. There is the hint of a floral element, blackberry jelly and dark spice. At the end, there is a touch of sweetness. That and the tannins will lead the wine forward. Drink from 2030.
In the heart of Portugal’s most famous wine region – the Douro Valley – near the historical center of Regua, the Quinta do Vallado vineyards, winery and guest house spread across both banks of the Corgo River at the very point where it meets the Douro. With winemaking references that date back to 1716, the Quinta belonged to the legendary Portuguese vintner D. Antonia Adelaide Ferreira, and has remained in the family through modern times.
The current owners, Joao Ferreria Alvares Ribeiro, Francisco Ferreira and Francisco Olazabal, are the sixth generation of this remarkable family, and the family’s mission to produce some of the best still wines of this fertile valley continues with the red blends and varietals that are exported worldwide. Of the 38-hectare Estate, 26 hectares are filled with vines 60 years and older. It is from these vines that Quinta do Vallado’s Red Reserve and Touriga Nacional wines are made, so it is no wonder that the wines are often found to be rated and reviewed among the best wines from the Douro.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.