CHRYSEIA - PRATS AND SYMINGTON A joint venture between Bordeaux s Bruno Prats (former owner of Ch Cos d Estournel) and the Symington family.

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1 ALTANO (SYMINGTON FAMILY ESTATES) The current Symington Port and Douro wine producers are the 13th generation involved in the wines of the Douro. Altano fruit comes from the best vineyards of the Rio Torto and Pinhão valleys. The grapes for the Altano Reserva are from the Symington Estates carrying the highest vinyeard classification in the region (identified as A grade). The wines are made at emain Symington winery at Quinta do Sol, where they use automatic treading machines for punching down the fruit to get gentle but effective extraction from the skins. Altano 2005 Douro 16 Drink % Tinta Roriz, 30% Touriga Franca, from various Symington properties. Four months in used 400-litre US oak for 80% of the blend. Sweet spicy aromas, even a hint of toffee. Opens up to a much more meaty complex wine. Tannins are rounded but clearly present. Just enough freshness. Good value. 13% (JH) 5.49 Waitrose Altano Reserva 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink % Touriga Franca, 25% Touriga Nacional - selected from the best, A-graded vineyards. Fermented in stainless steel, aged 10 months in first and second year 400-litre US and French oak casks. Sweet smoky spice, rich black fruit, firm and rounded but lacking a little flesh in the middle - though this may emerge in time. Elegant and fresh to finish. More impressive than the straight Altano but less appealing at the moment. 12.9% (JH) 9.99 CHRYSEIA - PRATS AND SYMINGTON A joint venture between Bordeaux s Bruno Prats (former owner of Ch Cos d Estournel) and the Symington family. Post Scriptum 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink % Touriga Franca, 30% Touriga Nacional, 20% Tinta Barroca, 10% Tinta Cão mainly from Quinta da Perdiz, which was bought by Prats and Symington in Aged 8 months in used 350 and 400-litre French oak. Very meaty, slightly raisined fruit but still elegant, cool and fresh with violet notes. Fresh powdery tannins and moderate fruit weight. 13% (JH) 12 Chryseia 2005 Douro 17.5 Drink Very dark and dark chocolate orange aromas. Chocolately black fruit. Fine, fresh, deep and dark. More perfumed than meaty. (JH) 30 QUINTA DO CRASTO Dating back to 1615, owned and run by the Roquette family, and located in the heart of the Cima Corgo, mid-way between Régua and Pinhão. The estate covers 130 hectares from the banks of the river up to an altitude of nearly 600 metres. Grapes from the newer vineyards (now over 15 years old) are fermented separately from the different plots of older mixed wines. Miguel Roquette made a point of saying We are Douro not Portugal. Crasto 2006 Douro 16 Drink Contains a high proportion of Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional, all varieties vinified separately. Ripe quite jammy fruit, with a touch of baked rubber (reminds me a bit of overripe Syrah). Smooth rich and juicy. Soft in the context of the Douro. 14% (JH)

2 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Vinhas Velhas 2005 Douro 17 Drink Mixed planting of up to 30 different varieties. 18 months in French and US Oak. Dark and quite closed now. Pepper, spice and celery seed, plus a lot of black fruit. Starts peppery then becomes more aromatic - violets - on the mid palate. Flattering and rounded even though the tannins are pretty firm and dry. 14% (JH) Quinta do Crasto, Touriga Nacional 2005 Douro Drink % Touriga Nacional, foot-trodden for 24 hours in stone lagares before fermentation in open stainless-steel tanks. Then run off to French oak barrerls to finish fermentation. Black core and dark cherry rim. Deeply fragrant - violets and sweet dark fruit. Rich, desne and concentrated but perfumed to the very end. Very pure. 14.2% (JH) Quinta do Crasto, Vinha Maria Teresa 2005 Douro 18 Drink Made in some vintages only, from vines aged 100+ years. Sweet chocolate-textured plummy fruit. Modern and still with a firm, tight structure under all that seduction. % (JH) 35 QUINTA DA GAIVOSA Domingos Alves de Sousa s family have been making wines in the Douro for generations but it was Domingos who decided to start producing, bottling and marketing wines under their own label. All the grapes come from their own estates of Gaivosa, Vale da Raposa, Caldas, Estação and Aveleira. Alves de Sousa Reserva Pessoal Branco 2005 Douro 15 Drink Arinto, Malvasia Fina, Verdelho and Rabigato. Starts fresh and citrussy but has a slight bitterness on the finish. (JH) Quinta do Vale Raposa 2005 Douro 14.5 Drink Four months in used oak. Meaty and quite aromatic on the nose but then burnt rubber notes, which come through more strongly on the palate - which is a shame because it is silky and has attractive fresh acidity. (JH) Quinta da Gaivosa, Lordelo 2005 Douro 15 Drink 20 Field blend of 100 year old vines. Eight months in a mix of new and 2nd-fill French oak. Lots of cassis and some eucalpytus. Dense but rather bitter on the finish. Noticeable alcohol. 15.5% (JH) Abandonado 2005 Douro 14.5 Drink Dark, raisiny fruit and sweet vanilla oak. Like the Lordelo, bitterness on the finish suggests over-extraction of very ripe fruit. 14.5% (JH) QUINTA DA GRICHA - CHURCHILL ESTATES Quinta da Gricha is the principal vineyard of Churchill Estates and provides the basis for these single estate table wines. Churchill Estates 2005 Douro 16 Drink % Tinta Roriz, 40% Touriga Nacional. Sweet violet-laced dark. Chewy dry tannins but still fresh. Very pure and pretty goog length. 13% (JH) 6.99 Christopher Piper, Lea and Sandeman, Tanners. Majestic

3 Quinta da Gricha 2005 Douro Drink % Tinta Roriz, 60% Touriga Nacional. This is only the second vintage, although the first was in and 2005 were not produced because the alcohol was just too high. Smoky violets on the nose, then sweet rich fruit in the middle. Very fresh, good acidity and length. Tannins are ripe but still have a pretty firm grip. 13.5% (JH) 25 Christopher Piper, Lea and Sandeman, Tanners. Majestic LAVRADORES DE FEITORIA Lavradores de Feitoria produces wines on 15 estates, spread all over the three sub-regions of the Douro Valley. (There s a good deal more about this interesting set up on their website.) Lavradores de Feitoria, Três Bagos 2005 Douro 15.5 Drink Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. A small portion aged in French and US oak. Very peppery on the nose and palate. Dry, firm tannins, very young and maybe a little too dry for the fruit density, but it might well flesh out with time. 13.5% (JH) 10 Lavradores de Feitoria, Três Bagos Grande Escolha 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink A blend of gour port varieties, especially Nacional. Aged in a mix of new and used French oak. Savoury smoky black fruit, very very fine but compact tannins. Tightly furled but very good freshness promises well. 14% (JH) 35 (available March 2008) QUINTA DA LEDA - SOGRAPE Sogrape s 105-hectare outpost in the Douro Superior (Upper Douro). Callabriga 2005 Douro 15.5 Drink Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, aged in French and US oak (30% new). Sweet and toasty with some vanilla/coconut spice. Soft and quite light, juicy and fresh. Easy and approachable. (JH) Callabriga Reserva 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink is the current vintage. Darker and smokier than the straight Callabriga. Soft velvety tannins, modern and less distinctively Douro than many but there is that telltale minerality and freshness. (JH) Quinta da Leda Speciality 2005 Douro 17 Drink Touriga Nacional. Silky, fresh and elegant - glides over the palate. A little herbal and spicy but also some savoury notes. Complex, long and deliciously fresh. 13% (JH) NIEPOORT Established as a port house in 1842, Niepoort first acquired their own vineyards - Quinta de Nápoles and Quinta do Carril - in 1987, when Dirk van der Niepoort joined his father Rolf. Some vines have been replanted but many are over 100 years old. The wines are very distinctive and clearly stood out at this tasting for their elegance and subtlety. When I asked Dirk what he thought was different about his winemaking, he said My colleagues try to keep the fruit, I try to get rid of it (by leaving the wines longer on the skins and frequent racking, for example). But far from obliterating the fruit, he manages to enhance it by bringing out minerality and elegance of his wines so that the fruit is a perfect partner rather than an oppressive dictator. He was generally reluctant to tell me which varieties were in the wines (I

4 had to look them up on their excellent website) - partly because most of his vineyards are still a field blend of different varieties but also because he believes that the sum is far more important than the parts and the expression of the terroir is more significant than any specific fruit expression. Niepoort, Redoma Branco 2006 Douro 16.5 Drink The main variety is Rabigato, plus Codega and some other varieties but no Malvazia Fina. Vineyards are all at metres and all more than 60 years old, some over a 100. Fermented and aged in French oak, no malo. Minerally with a touch of citrus, nutty, subtle and quite soft - reminds me a bit of some Roussillon whites. Classy and just enough acidity. 13.5% (JH) 14 Niepoort, Redoma Branco Reserva 2006 Douro 17.5 Drink Mainly Rabigato, Codega, Donzelinho, Viosinho and Arinto. Fermented and aged in French oak. No malo. Gently honeyed, minerally citrus, subtle, firm but no edges. Powerful and dense but still light on its feet. 13.5% (JH) 25 Niepoort, Vertente 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink Vertuta s younger brother. Mainly Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela and Touriga Nacional. 15 months in French oak. Peppery, spicy, mineral-rich and fresh. Tissue paper tannins. Elegant. 13% (JH) 15 Niepoort, Redoma Tinto 2006 Douro Drink Mixed planting including mainly Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela and Tinto Cão. 18 months in French oak. Dirk Niepoort s aim here is to create a wine that is extreme and with a rigorous character, like the Douro itself. Spicy but also slightly perfumed by violets. Rocky but ripe dense, carpet-like tannins. Finishes fresh. 13.5% (JH) 25 Niepoort, Batuta 2006 Douro 17.5 Drink Quite closed at the moment but already elegant. Velvety with violet notes and restrained black fruit. As with all Niepoort s reds, lovely freshness. 14% (JH) 45 Niepoort, Charme 2005 Douro 19 Drink I first tasted this wine during the Bordeaux 2005 primeurs tastings when Dirk Niepoort poured the wine at the end of a tasting at Cos d Estournel. I remember being enchanted by it and this time, poured from magnum, was equally special. The only way I can describe it is as a double Pinot - ie with some Pinot Noir characteristics but like two wines laid on top of each other, like a double layer of silk - firmer and deeper than a single layer but with the same silky elegance. Mainly 70 and 100 year old Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, harvested early September to avoid high alcohol and retain acidity. Includes 100% stems to reduce the dominance of fruit since the aim is elegance. Fermented in granite lagares and casks and aged 16 months in French casks. Wonderfully aromatic gentle red fruit, especially on the mid palate. Soft, silky and long. Finesse incarnate. Double layer Pinot-like silk. 13.5% (JH) 50 PINTAS - WINE AND SOUL Wine & Soul belongs to Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges, both winemakers, who decided to make a wine together in (Sandra is winemaker at Quinta do Vale Dona Maria and at her family estate Quinta de Chocapalha; Jorge is winemaker at Quinta do

5 Passadouro.) The fruit comes from 70-year-old south-facing vines with more than 30 different indigenous grape varieties. In 2003 they first the Pintas Vintage Port and in 2004 the first Guru white wine. Guru 2006 Douro White Drink Made from a 44 year old vineyard with a field blend of Viosinho, Códega, Rabigato and Gouveio. Barrel fermented in new French oak, 7 months on the lees, with bâtonnage in the first few months. Initial impression is smoky oak but it is much more complex and attractive than that, waiting for the oak to retire further. Slightly herbaceous and long Pintas Character 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink A field blend of more than 30 varieties. Fermented in lagares and 18 months in oak (50% new). Fresh, herby but very sweet black fruit. Tannins are rounded and as yet pretty firm. 14.5% (JH) Pintas 2005 Douro 17 Drink Twenty months in French oak, 70% new. Very dark purple rimmed black cherry colour. Smoky black fruit overlaid with fragrant violets. Very good acidity, subtle, smooth and elegant. Concentrated but with a very attractive lightness of touch. % (JH) RAMOS PINTO - DUAS QUINTAS Founded by Adriano Ramos Pinto in 1880, and part of the Roederer Group since For more information, see These wines won t be available until the end of 2008, or early 2009 for the Reserva. Ramos Pinto, Collection 2006 Douro 16 Drink % Touriga Nacional and in an elegant style. Quite gentle. (JH) 10 Ramos Pinto, Duas Quintas 2005 Douro 15.5 Drink Mainly Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca. Lots of black juicy fruit, fresh and rounded. Softer than many of the 2005s tasted and good value. 13.5% (JH) 8 Ramos Pinto, Duas Quintas Reserva 2006 Douro 16.5 Drink Mainly Touriga Nacional, fermented in traditional lagares and 14 months in new French oak. Smoky violets, savoury, peppery soft mid palate. Sophisticated and smooth though there is still plenty of tannic grip. (JH) 15 POEIRA Quinta da Terra Feita de Cima is located at Provesende on the right bank of the Pinhão river, on the slopes of the Pinhão valley. The slopes are predominantly north facing north, which in Jorge Moreira's opinion is fundamental to the style of table wine he wants to make because the grapes ripen more slowly, preseerving aromas, flavour and acidity. He emphasises acidity over tannin as the key to the wines longevity. The wines are foot-trodden and fermented in granite lagares and then transferred to French oak barrels for malo and 15 months ageing. His freshest and unoaked wine J had run out, but he describes it as his most food friendly wine. Passagem 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink This wine is a joint venture between Jorge Moreira and Quinta de la Rosa (where Moreira is winemaker). It comes from Quinta das Bandeiras, a single vineyard in the Douro Superior (ie

6 the easternmost and harshest part of the Douro valley). Dense with violet and clove-laden dark fruit, chocolatey texture, soft (in the Douro context), seductive and lingering. (JH) Poeira 2005 Douro 17.5 Drink Dark and smoky and slightly reduced at the moment. Manages to be both very dense and very elegant. Wonderfully fresh acidity and very good length. Elegance but with underlying power. (JH) QUINTA DE RORIZ - VAN ZELLER AND SYMINGTON A historic estate with a brand new winery for table wines, completed in Roriz is jointly owned and operated by João van Zeller and the Symington family. Prazo de Roriz 2005 Douro 16 Drink A blend of five different varieties including 35% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca - all estate grapes. Eight months in 2nd-fill French oak (400-litre barrels). Sweet dark plummy fruit. Very firm but fine, cool on the mid palate. Spicy oak evident. 13% (JH) 9 Quinta de Roriz Reserva 2005 Douro 17 Drink A blend of four different varieties including 55% Touriga Nacional and 35% Touriga Franca - all estate grapes. 12 months in new French oak. Very dark with a black core. At the moment, not surprisingly, pretty closed, smoky and dominant oak but the tannins are still fresh. A serious wine, yet manages to be silky even with this much tannin. 13.5% (JH) QUINTA DE LA ROSA A small family company producing port, table wine and olive oil very close to Pinhão. The Berqvists have been making port since 1815 (under the name of Feueheed until the 1930s) and Quinta de la Rosa was bought as a christening present for Sophia Bergqvist s grandmother in Sophia and her father Tim relaunched the family company in 1988 and were some of the first to take seriously the production of red table wine. Jorge Moreira has been full time winemaker and viticulturist since Quinta de la Rosa 2005 Douro 17+ Drink From a single 50-hectare vineyard. Slightly herbal on the nose, then minerally dark and cool. Tight, firm, fresh tannins. Very pure dark and savoury on the finish. (JH) Quinta de la Rosa Reserva 2005 Douro Drink I tasted the two components that went into this blend, the first was from from higher altitude, younger, block-planted vines, north facing, producing fresh, quite delicate cherry flavours. The second was from Vale do Inferno, which, as its name suggests, is very hot and south facing and planted to older field-blend vines. This component was very intense and concentrated with aromas of eucalyptus, sage-roasted chicken. The finished Reserva wine combined the freshness and the ripe intensity of the two components, though is currently dominated by the second. (JH) QUINTA DO VALE DONA MARIA Cristiano van Zeller bought Quinta do Vale Dona Maria in The 15 hectares of vineyard, planted to a wide range of traditional varieties, are located in the Rio Torto valley (a tributary of the Douro), facing south-south-east. Since then he has carried out major renovations and added a further 5 ha. All the red wines are foot-trodden in lagares before fermentation in temperature-

7 controlled stainless steel tanks. Robotic lagares were introduced in 2004 to improve extraction. Maturation in French oak for months. Oenologist Sandra Tavares da Silva. VZ 2006 Douro White 15.5 Drink Creamy citrus aroma and flavour, noticeable oak and slightly astringent on the finish. (JH) Casa de Casal de Loivos 2005 Douro 16+ Drink Both perfumed and meaty with dense deep-pile tannins. Rich, deep sweet fruit. (JH) Quinta Vale Dona Maria 2005 Douro 17 Drink Fragrant but slightly spirity on the nose. Firm yet silky tannins. Lovely fresh acidity, long and pure with a reticent cool dark core. (JH) CV Curriculum Vitae 2005 Douro 17+ Drink Sweet blackberry and cassis fruit, with freshness increased by north- and west-facing slopes. Serious, cool, fresh and very concentrated with thick deep-pile tannins that need some time in bottle. 14.5% (JH) QUINTA DO VALE MEÃO This estate was planted by Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira on 270 hectares of barren common land purchased in It s now owned by her great-great grandson Francisco Javier de Olazabal, whose son, Francisco Olazabal Nicolau de Almeida, is in charge of the winemaking. Vines cover 65 hectares of the property, and are planted in a variety of soils schist, granite and alluvial gravel. The vineyards were replanted in the 1970s so no field blends here: Touriga Nacional (40%), Tinta Roriz (30%), Touriga Francesa (15%) Tinta Amarela (5%), Tinta Barroca (5%) and Tinto Cão (5%). The firest table wines were from the 1991 vintage. Quinta do Vale Meão, Meandro 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink Meaty and spicy, lots of pure dark fruit and a touch of liquorice. Modern in its rounded density but still shows the Douro character in its firm dry tannins. 14% (JH) 14 Quinta do Vale Meão 2005 Douro 17 Drink Slightly more herbal than the Meandro, but still with plenty of black fruit. A little spirity on the nose but good freshness. Dry, long and firm. Again more modern than many but still very Douro. 14.5% (JH) 45 QUINTA DO VALLADO The first references to Quinta do Vallado date back to 1716, when it belonged to Josefa Taveira. In 1818 her descendants sold the estate to António Bernardo Ferreira and has continued in the Ferreira family, belonging now to the sixth generation. It spreads up along both banks of the river Corgo, close to its confluence with the river Douro. In 1998 the vineyards were completely restructured and the total area under vine is now 64 ha, of which 38 are new vineyards and 26 ha are the best parcels of the old vineyards. The new gravity-run winery, completed in Quinta do Vallado is now managed by Joao Ferreira Alvares Ribeiro and Francisco Ferreira, with Francisco Olazabal responsible for winemaking. They opened a small hotel in Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 2005 Douro 16.5 Drink Just bottled. Soft cassis and hedgerow fruit with a clear overlay of violets. Soft tannins, rich and smooth and quite approachable even though it had 40% new oak. 14% (JH)

8 Quinta do Vallado, No Name -Vinhas Velhas 2005 Douro 17+ Drink The first vintage of this their top wine made from vines aged 100+ years, producing a minute average yield of g per plant. Into new French oak for malo. Very pure and fresh and remarkably rounded considering its density. Good acidity and fresh powdery but compact tannins. The fruit is extremely ripe but not at all raisined. (JH)