[review]
Here at Alister & Paine we love a great bottle of Port. There’s nothing so intoxicating as the strong, intense and almost sensual sip of a truly great Port…not easy to come by. True ports seems to come with a bit of mystique and a lot of history—especially one of our favorite new bottles, the Quinta do Vallado Vintage Port Adelaide from, of course, Portugal.
Quinta do Vallado, established in 1716, is one of the oldest and most famous “Quintas” in the Douro Valley. It once belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, and still belongs to her descendents. It lies on both banks of the Corgo River, a tributary of the Douro river, near its mouth, close to the town of Peso da Régua. For almost 200 years, Quinta do Vallado´s main activity was the production of Porto wines, that were commercialized by the Ferreira Port House (belonging to the Ferreira family).
Today Quina do Vallado continues the legacy, making some of the most prestigious wines out of Portugal. In 1993, under the guidance of Prof. Nuno Magalhães, a deep restructuring of the vineyards was started, with the objective of increasing the production of high quality grape varieties.
These new vineyards were planted with the best varieties in single plots, breaking with the old tradition of planting many different varieties in the same vineyard.
The homogenization of treatment, ripening and picking times made for obvious improvements in the process and translated into a much more regular, easy to control and economically effective quality production…along with some delicious vino.
Vintage Port is one of the most expensive and sought after members of the Port family… Vintages are only ‘declared’ vintages when the quality of the fruit, the quantity available and market demand meet. We don’t mind a little exclusivity when it comes to our wine.
The Quinta do Vallado Vintage Adelaide is a full-bodied port, with deep and strong aromas of intense dark fruit. Ripe and strong, every sip is pretty bold with a sweet aftertaste and a very very long finish. It’s crimson with little purple, fresh on the nose and smells slightly of the sea. Sweet fruit, generous and with great presence. The balance is perfection and the tannins almost hidden.
A bottle of this Port goes quickly on its own but it’s even better with a seriously aged Stilton and a bowl of nuts…the perfect night in with the perfect dessert wine.
