Portuguese Wine

Winemaker Description 

Clear pale yellow this wine is extremely elegant with a crisp and fruity bouquet marked by notes of green apple lime. slightly fizzy vibrant minerality refreshing citrus fruits versatile perfect to pair the simplest moments life.Pair with cod fish cakes, marinated olives, empanadas, or grilled fish and vegetables. 

Winemaker Description 

Arinto brings bright acidity and aging potential, Azal is citric and fresh and Loureiro is aromatic and delicate. 

Clean, lively flavors of lime, ripe pink and yellow grapefruit. Slight effervescence. 

Winemaker Description

An exceptionally fine old tawny blend, aged for 10 years in oak casks. Elegant and smooth, combining delicate wood notes and rich mellow fruit, it is bottled for immediate drinking. A superb dessert wine, particularly with dishes made with chocolate, coffee or almonds, Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny may also be served at the end of the meal in the same way as Vintage Port.

Expert Ratings

93 Points Robert Parker | It is my opinion that Taylor's tawny ports are the best of their type. When tasted against other tawnys, they all exhibit more aromatic personalities, greater fruit and ripeness, and a wonderful sweetness and length. The Ten Year Old Tawny is a personal favorite, as well as the best bargain among these ports.

93 Points James Suckling | Beautiful sweet berries with walnut, toffee and caramel undertones on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with medium sweetness and a chocolate and toffee aftertaste. A richer style of 10-year-old and delicious. Drink now.

91 Points Wine Spectator | This has a nice racy edge to the mix of slightly dried red cherry and raspberry fruit, backed by red tea and singed vanilla. Shows good tension from start to finish. Drink now. 500 cases imported.

90 Points Wine Enthusiast | This ivery complete aged tawny has all the right nuts and fruit characters that show a Port that still looks back to its fruity origins. The style is ripe, full and sweet, a mellow wine that only hints at the spirit behind it.

Winemaker Description

Six Grapes has a seductive, rich aroma of ripe plums, cherries, and dark chocolate notes. On the palate, it's complex, with an excellent structure and a long, lingering finish. Six Grapes is one of Graham's original Port blends--it is a very full-bodied, luscious wine drawn from the same vineyards as Graham's Vintage Ports. Blended from two or three years' harvests, the wine is an average of five to six years old when it is lightly filtered and bottled.

Six Grapes is bottled ready to drink after about five years of cask aging. It has a t-cap closure, which means that you don't need a corkscrew to open it and that it should stay fresh for up to two months if stored in a cool, dark place or the refrigerator. Serve it in a glass with at least a six-ounce capacity so that you may appreciate the wine's aromas. Six Grapes pairs particularly well with dark chocolate, but is also fantastic on its own as a luscious dessert in a glass. 

Expert Review

95 Points Decanter | Ripe and opulent plummy fruit on the nose, big and bold. Well extracted deep fruits on the palate framed by well balanced tannins and freshness.

Winemaker Description 

Black is a revolutionary new style of port. The bright aromatics, incredible freshness and perfect balance bring it outside the stodgy "vintage-character" category. Enjoy it any time: chilled, before dinner, after, for a seductive edge to cocktails, as an indulgence with chocolate. The custom-designed bottle is distinctive, modern yet timeless, reflecting the uniqueness of Noval Black. It is simply the most beautiful port bottle we've seenn

Expert Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck 91 Points | I always love this cuvée, which offers tons of character for a great price. Classic Noval notes of spicy red and blue fruits, orange blossom, cigar, tobacco, and candied mint emerge from the NV Black, and It's round, supple, and full-bodied on the palate, with nicely balanced sugar, a layered yet elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. 

The Wine Advocate 90 Points | 'Black' is a new blend produced from classic varieties that do not make it into the Quinta do Noval vintage. There are ripe blackberries, tar, smoke and orange liqueur on the nose that takes time to open. The palate is medium-bodied, very sleek on the entry, fleshy black fruits, sloe, spice and just a hint of white pepper, leading to a very focused finish.

Winemaker Description

Made in the heart of one of the oldest wine regions in the world, the Douro Valley, the winery boasts state of the art production. 

The wine is blended with traditional grapes of the regions including Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Rabigato,Ferao Pires.

Our Professional Review 

The wine herbal with stone and tropical fruit.  Excellent balanced acidity. Medium boded, round.  Generous on the palate with richness.  Apricot and peaches.

Winemaker Description 

Bin 27 shares the heritage and style of the great Fonseca Vintage Ports, as well as much of their depth and character. However it is bottled when ready to drink and can be served by the glass directly from the bottle. Blended for consistency of character and quintessentially Fonseca in style, this reserve blend provides reliable and affordable value. 

Deep youthful ruby colour. Intense rich fruity nose crammed with pure blackberry, cassis, cherry and plum aromas interwoven with notes of spice. The palate full bodied and round, with a smooth velvety texture balanced by firm mouth filling tannins. The juicy black fruit flavours linger into the rich luscious finish. 

Expert Notes

Jim Gordon writes:  This smooth and sleek Port combines fresh fruit with good, mature nut, honey and fig flavors to be enjoyed before a meal if chilled and for dessert at a warmer temperature. Plenty of ruby in the color, with less amber than many tawnies, and accompanying fruitiness that is characteristic of Noval. Drink now.  - James Suckling 92

Jeb Dunnuck writes:  Quinta Do Noval's NV 10 Year Tawny offers up a semi-opaque ruby hue as well as a tons of cigar wrapper, chocolate, espresso, and candied black olive aromas, just to name a few. It's complex, medium to full-bodied, and rounded on the palate, with plenty of fruit as well as complexity. Aged in oak in a solera system for multiple years, this is in a sweet spot for me, with a solid mix of sweet fruit and some complex, spicy, tertiary nuances.  - Jeb Dunnuck 92

Richard Mayson, Rod Smith MW, Demetri Walters MW write:  Warm aromas of coffee, red fruit and cocoa, followed by soft yet rich and spicy flavours of nutty red fruit, flowing onto a gently spirity finish.  - Decanter 90

Mark Squires writes:  The NV 10 Year Old Tawny was bottled in 2016 with a bar-top cork and 106 grams per liter of residual sugar. Medium in body--well, it's a 10, not a 40--this has fine freshness and perfect balance. The juicy, delicious finish is irresistible and has more intensity of flavor than most 10 Year Olds. Although I tend to look first for freshness in this category, it is also nice to find some complexity and intensity of flavor, too, as here. This is nicely done. This showed way better at 58 degrees Fahrenheit than it did at 70.  - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 91

Winemaker Notes

The 10 Year Old Tawny port shows outstanding intensity of color, complexity, concentration, and depth of flavor. Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Tinta Barroca predominate among the traditional grape varieties. 50% of the grapes come from the estate (a large part of these now coming from the replantings at Noval in the mid nineties) and 50% from traditional suppliers of "A" category grapes. 100% of grapes are trodden by foot in lagares, a traditional, costly and rare approach, and the wine is aged in oak barrels of 640 liters until bottled. 

A favorite of restaurateurs because it remains fresh for weeks after opening, the Noval Tawny Port has beautiful complexity with vibrant young fruit that blends with the attractive and characteristic dry fruit and nut aromas. It is rich and smooth on the palate, with an elegant structure and long finish. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description 

Selected from the lighter Porto of each year, these wines are chosen for ageing in small oak casks to develop their style. Sandemans Original Fine Tawny has the fruit and style of great Porto - but with an added finesse.

Pale in colour and light in body this Port is superb as chilled aperitif, yet satisfying when served at the end of a meal. 

Expert Reviews

James Suckling 95 Points | The aromas to this beautiful tawny port are saturated with burnt orange peel, caramel, candied fruit and hints of honey-coated nuts. Full-bodied, very fruity and dense with intense nut and mahogany flavors. Hints of sultanas, chocolate and coffee. Extremely creamy, long and flavorful. Delicious all the way. Better served slightly chilled.

The Wine Spectator 93 Points | Rich, with a spicy nose, this offers flavors of fig, dried apricot, mango and ginger. Complex and elegant, delivering concentrated crème brûlée and tropical fruit notes that linger on the vibrant and buttery finish. (KM)

The Wine Advocate 93 Points |  On first taste, this was simply Taylor: big, concentrated and serious. It was all that and a bag of chips, but over a couple of day it also demonstrated far more elegance. It seemed arguably better balanced than the 10 year old Tawny this issue. Simply filling the mouth on first taste, this shows fine complexity for its age and it does everything else rather brilliantly. Succulent and inviting, it finishes with waves of concentrated flavors. The fruit remains lifted and and it has a bright, transparent feel. It is hard to resist, often seeming like a bit of an overachiever. It's not the best tawny Taylor's submitted this issue, but it might be the best intersection of quality and price.

Winemaker Description 

This superb example of aged tawny Porto is made from selected grapes from the best vineyards of the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. Taylor Fladgate is an area leader in winemaking technology, as one of only three Porto producers to pioneer the development of piston fermenter techniques, called Port Toes, that extract significantly greater flavor and aroma than conventional pump-over fermentation.

Fermentation is halted by the addition of grape spirits before all the residual sugar has been fermented, creating a sweet, fortified wine. Individual wines produced in different vintages are aged in 600-liter oak casks for years, over which time they will lose their young, dark purple-black color to gain the distinctive “tawny” hue from which the wine takes its name.

As tawnies age, the wines take on increasingly more nutty flavors and become more concentrated as the barrels lose 3% of their volume every year (the “Angels’ Share”) to evaporation. The 20 Year Old Tawny is a blend created using tawnies with an average of 20 years of aging.

Winemaker Description 

This wine is a remarkable example of the Noval style. Treated exactly like a Vintage Port with only noble grape varieties from the Quinta, trodden by foot and unfiltered. Its main difference is that it is aged for five years in casks instead of the two years typical of Vintage Ports. Definitely an LBV with a difference, with fine structured tannins, great freshness and purity of fruit. It is delicious to drink today but will age beautifully in its bottle.

OUR DIFFERENCE
An unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage made only with grapes from our vineyard, trodden by foot in the Quinta do Noval "lagares".

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VINTAGE

2016 was a year of extremes: a warm winter with high rainfall, at 618 mm twice as much as in an average year. After a wet spring, summer was very hot and dry, with some peaks of heat in August and September. By the end of August, the harvest looked extremely good, in excellent sanitary condition, but ripening began to slow down due to the very hot and dry conditions.

Fortunately 17 mm of much needed rain fell on 13th September, and maturation continued in ideal conditions from this point onwards. The main part of the harvest began on 19th September in dry and sunny weather, and the fruit continued to ripen throughout the harvest period. We were able to harvest each plot in ideal conditions as ripening continued.

In spite of the unusual and extreme climatic conditions of the year, the end result is of an excellent quality. The Port wines are exceptional, with excellent structure, very intense bright fruit, and aromatically very expressive.

TASTING NOTES

This 2016 LBV Unfiltered is a delicious Port, rich and complex with gorgeous notes of blackberry and blackcurrant fruits and hints of spice as well. A minty freshness and dark chocolate add to the mix. This concentrated wine presents a broad, rounded texture that leads to a long aftertaste.

Carlos Agrellos, Technical Director

GRAPE VARIETIES

Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Sousão

Winemaker Description 

Deep chestnut with golden highlights. Bouquet of dried fruits, spices, honey and candied fruit. Sweet, soft and complex, with a long aftertaste of roasted dried fruits.

Expert Review - Vintage 2023

James Suckling 93 Points | This has aromas of sliced green apples, orchard fruit, fennel and a touch of flint. Medium- to full-bodied and fresh, with texture and pleasant phenolics. Long and persistent. Incredible value. A blend of multiple vineyards in Douro Superior. 60% rabigato, 15% gouveio, 15% codega and 10% viosinho. Made from 30- to 45-year-old vines. Aged for 12 months in used barrels.

The Wine Advocate 92 Points | 2023 was not as warm as 2022, and the 2023 Xisto Ilimitado Branco feels very fresh and clean, with a shy nose and balanced palate with purity and precision. It was produced from the zone of Meda in the south of Douro Superior, close to Beiras, from purchased grapes, mostly Rabigato with 20% Arinto and 5% each Gouveio and Codega from 35- to 60-year-old vines at 500 to 700 meters above sea level on schist soils (hence the name!). The bunches were pressed and the juice let to settle and fermented with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 228- and 500-liter oak barres for 10 months with the lees, with full malolactic but without bâtonnage. It has 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.35 denoting freshness and comes through as balanced and elegant. Excellent!

Winemaker Description 

Bright straw yellow. On the nose, stone and orchard fruit abound, with flinty wet stone and white pepper laid over the dominant aromatics. On the palate, impressively bright and mineral driven, with a great balance between power and lift. Lemon, green apple, bosc pear flavors comingle with a touch of floral tone and slate minerals. Juicy and mineral-driven all at once. 

Winemaker Description

Dark ruby in color, it offers aromas of crushed herbs with hints of black pepper. Silky smooth mouth feel with concentrated smoky black fruit and earthy flavors, with silky tannins and a long finish.

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | This is alluring, with whiffs of warm date, green tea and walnut backed by juicy fig bread and salted caramel flavors. The racy, focused finish lets a singed juniper note glide through. Drink now.

Wine Enthusiast 94 points | The wonderful old-gold color of this tawny leads into a generous, rich wine that has retained fruits while also showing a woody character that is typical of wines this old. With spice, dried raisins and intense acidity, it is a beautiful wine that deserves to be drunk just by itself.

Wine Advocate 94 Points | The NV RP 30 Year Old Tawny Port comes in with 119 grams per liter of residual sugar and was bottled in 2015. This is the new release. This mingles complexity of flavor with a fresh and surprisingly elegant feel (relative to the category, of course). The finish is very long, complex and persistent, adding new flavors as it lingers. Beautifully constructed and balanced, this is a 30 that starts with a bit of understatement and keeps getting more impressive. It's fun to just smell, but you expect that with long-aged Tawnies. The lift to the fruit and the sunny demeanor aren't always as guaranteed. It has a surprisingly supple and fresh style that I rather appreciated, delivering those old Tawny flavors while also seeming remarkably elegant. Then, it finishes with that big acidity. It was notably better a few days later, no longer seeming quite so understated, particularly in regards to its concentrated flavors and intense aromatics. Note that this comes with a bar top cork. If you're wondering, this is their oldest NV Tawny; Ramos Pinto does not make a 40.

The Ramos-Pinto 30-Year old Tawny is amber colored with orange and garnet tones. The delicate green highlights of the meniscus are characteristic of old cask-aged wines, and illustrate the quality and advanced age of this fine port.

This complex, perfectly balanced port shows rich aromas of dried fruit and vanilla. Agitate the glass and spice aromas of cinnamon and cocoa are liberated. In the mouth, the attack is fresh, fine and delicate. Ripe, dried fruit softly merges with almond and hazelnut, culminating in vanilla flavors which linger gracefully on the palate. Winemaker Description.

 

Expert Review

The Wine Spectator 94 Points | A very inviting, open style, with butterscotch and caramel notes framing the core of glazed pear, caramelized peach, golden raisin and warm fig flavors. The lush finish lets crème brûlée and ginger cream details hang, showing a flash of honeysuckle for lift.

Winemaker Description 

If time is marked by special moments, Kopke’s history is written in exceptional years.
Years that are worth keeping, so they can be relived and celebrated any time. When we retrieve years from Kopke’s history, we are creating more history: the age on the label of this Kopke Port wine is the average age of all the wines in the blend.

The wine should be stored in a cool and dry place, sheltered from light and temperature uctuations, and the bottle should remain in an upright position. Over time, it is natural that sediment will form at the bottom of a bottle of Port wine.

• Hand-picked at the optimum time, the grapes are then destemmed, crushed and converted into wine through a process of careful maceration to extract their colour, tannins and aromas, enhanced by constant churning during fermentation. This takes place in vats (lagares) at a controlled temperature (between 28-30°C) until the right degree of sweetness (baumé) is achieved. At this point, grape brandy is added to create the final fortified wine. A wine of high quality, made by blending wines of different harvests to achieve the array of sensory qualities that are typical of these aged tawny Port wines. These wines have each matured in oak casks for varied periods of time, with the average age of all the wines in the blend defining the age on the label. The resulting blend expresses the characteristics given by the ageing in wood.

Warehouse stored item - please allow one to three business days to fulfill.

Citrine yellow color. Intense and exuberant aroma, dominated by citrus fruits, where floral aromas are also noted. The acidity well present and involved in the volume of the wine that together with the retronasais aromas, give it a fresh and persistent finish.

Warehouse stored item - please allow one to three business days to fulfill.

Golden yellow color. Intense aroma dominated by the fruit, highlighting the peach and grapefruit. It has an easily noticeable acidity, involved in the volume and body of the wine. These taste sensations, together with the retro nasal aroma, give it personality and a long final persistence.

Expert Reviews

The Wine Advocate 90 Points | The NV 10 Year Old Tawny was bottled in 2013 with a bar top cork. It comes in at 106.7 grams per liter of residual sugar. Some Ports emphasize flavor, others emphasize structure. This starts out with perfect focus, elegant but increasingly intense on the tight finish. Early on, it was all about the structure, with a haze of velvet. The flavors were a bit muted initially, but it unfolded into an elegant and graceful whole with a flavorful finish. Its bright, clean feel always remains as it fleshes out and puts on weight. 

The Wine Spectator 90 Points | Refined, with bright flavors of dried berry, plum compote and cherry tart that are long and lush. Very creamy on the finish, which features chocolate mousse.

The Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | In the full Fonseca style, this aged tawny shows both rich fruit and a more serious wood-aged character. Good acidity follows the sweet initial taste, broadening into ripe flavors of nut, plum jelly, and a final crisp acidity.

Winemaker Description 

Expert Reviews 

James Suckling 98 Points | Made from old vines and blended from casks of Port averaging 40 years of maturity, this is a rare treat with which to finish an evening. The color is tawny brown, with a light orange-amber rim and mahogany center. Fully developed aromas of cinnamon, cedar, nutmeg, vanilla, dried apricots and hazelnuts lead to layered, rich, sweet and creamy flavors and a long, long finish.

Decanter 97 Points | Terrific stature and visceral intensity. Tightly wound acidity, a touch of volatile acidity and Cognac-like spirit drive to the kaleidoscopic palate, unleashing a never-ending panoply of flavors: black cardamom, spicy fruit chutney, salty praline, mocha, dried mango, marmalade and walnut. Ultra-long, well-focused and resonating.

Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points | The NV 40 Year Tawny is a blockbuster Tawny! Coming all from the estate vineyard and aged 40 years or more in 640-liter oak barrels, it has a touch of ranico-like character as well as beautiful caramelized fruits, toasted spice, cigar, and walnut/nuttiness. Ripe, heady, full-bodied and beautifully complex, it’s going to be perfect for sipping at the end of a meal over the coming couple of decades.

Wine Spectator 95 Points | This is exotic, with a wide range of baked peach, dried cherry and fig, singed cinnamon, warmed praline, hazelnut and green tea notes all swirling around together. The long finish is rich and  thoroughly comforting.

Winemaker Description

Brilliant appearance with a dark purple rim and concentrated depth of colour. The aroma is fine and subdued with only a hint of primary dark fruits and some spice. The true potential and style of this wine really comes together on the palate with wonderful integration of dark fruits with a grainy tannic structure, pairing volume with amazing balance and elegance and an impressive finish. In conclusion, the primary fruit on the palate is appealing at this stage, but it's the balanced tannic structure which indicates great ageing potential for the future. 

Expert Review - Vintage 2022

The Wine Advocate 92 Points | The 2022 Reserva Tinto was produced with a multi-grape blend of Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional, Aragonês and Cabernet Sauvignon from granite and schist soils that fermented in stainless steel, concrete vats and marble lagar, with malolactic in stainless steel, and matured in French and American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 12 months. It has a serious nose that is Mediterranean, spicy and smoky, with notes of dry hay and straw, ripe fruit and a hint of iron. It's medium- to full-bodied, with abundant tannins and some oak flavors. It comes in at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.61, finishing very dry. Wait a bit. 500,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2024.

Winemaker Description 

Winemakers: Sandra Alves and João Ramos

Color: Intense Ruby.

Aroma: Deep and complex, dominated by red fruits and spicy notes.

Palate: Lively and complete. Solid body, fine and vibrant tannins. Red fruit and  dominate spices. Persistent and balanced finish.

Esporão Reserva is the wine that captures the essence of Herdade do Esporão. It was the first wine made by Esporão in 1985. A classic obtained exclusively from our organic grapes. The diversity of Herdade do Esporão, together with the different characteristics of the grape varieties, the soils, the maturity of the vines and the character of those who make this wine consistently over the years, results in a rich, intense but always harmonious wine.  Label by Eduardo Aires. 

Winemaker Description 

Pale, straw colour. A superb balance of ripe fruit, delicate acidity and elegant notes of wood aging. Full and fruity on the palate this wine has a glorious lingering finish and an attractive, refreshing crispness.In most countries, Ports is traditionally enjoyed at the end of the meal. 

The exception is white Port, especially the drier style which makes an excellent aperitif. It is a blend of classic white Port grape varieties, predominantly Malvasia Fina with smaller proportions of Gouveio, Viosinho, Rabigato and  Arinto, grown on the cooler, higher vineyards of the Douro Valley.

 Winemaker Description 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2017

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

The Wine Advocate 95 Points | The more backward 2022 Pintas has the nose of a dry Port, all violets, ripe plums and aromatic herbs, with plenty of spices, toast and smoke from the élevage in French oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 20 months. It needs time to integrate the oak and polish the tannins. 

James Suckling 95 Points | Abundant dark fruit with touches of blueberries, delicate violets and graphite on the nose. On the palate it is fleshy and medium- to full-bodied, perfectly balanced by a refreshing spark of acidity that carries through to a clean, bright finish. Supple tannins. This is an old field blend of more than 40 varieties. Versatile and delicately structured. Drink now or hold.

The Wine Spectator 94 Points | Bursting with brambly boysenberry and blueberry fruit flavors and fragrant notes of mountain herbs, graphite and woodsy spices, this fresh, focused red shows concentration and length in an appealing, medium-bodied frame. There's a chalky feel to the integrated tannins, providing fine structure through the finish, which echoes fruit and spice elements, with a salty, iron-laced tang. Classy. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Rufete. Drink now through 2035.

Winemaker Description 

Full-bodied and deep, Pintas shows spicy and floral aromas and flavors of blackberry and dark chocolate. Ripe, round, and balanced with notable acidity, it has fine tannins and a long, persistent finish.

The harvest was planned for the second week of September in perfect weather conditions. All grapes previously selected and de-stemmed were foot trodden in stone lagares during all the fermentation process (10 days). The aging and malolactic fermentation was developed in french oak barrels during 20 months.

Varietals - Tinta Amarela, Rufete, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca 

Winemaker Description

Very fresh and delicate nose with citric and floral notes. On the palate, the wine shows great texture and minerality, with excellent acidity and complexity.

Because of the Arinto grape’s natural high acidity, this wine is fantastic for food pairing. The best pairings are richer seafood dishes such as Portuguese bacalhau (salt cod), scallops in citrus butter sauce, oysters, lobster or crab dishes. Japanese food, spicy food, curry and grilled vegetables are also wonderful pairing options.

Expert Review - Vintage 2023 

The Wine Advocate 92 Points | I was able to taste the just-bottled 2023 Manoella Branco. This was a very balanced vintage, the growing season was almost perfect, and yields were good. The wine was a little closed for such an expressive year of wines with purity and freshness. It has notes of white flowers and fruit and a balsamic touch with the balance and harmony from the old vines.

Winemaker Description 

Vibrant and fresh wine with intense citric, floral and mineral notes. On the palate shows pure flavors and nice balance.

Varietals - Gouveio, Viosinho, Rabigato and Códega do Larinho.

Established in 2001 by Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges, both winemakers and couple, that have been investing and acquiring old vineyards and properties at Pinhão Valley. “Our goal is to create wines that express all the characters of the traditional vineyards and varieties from Douro Valley. Balanced wines between concentration, complexity and elegance.

Wine & Soul is one of the most exciting and dynamic producers in Portugal today, consistently earning high praise from international critics for both their still and fortified wines.

The harvest was planned for the first week of September in perfect weather conditions.

All grapes previously selected and de-stemmed were pressed on a pneumatic press and fermented on stainless steel tanks at low temperatures during 4 weeks, after which was aged sur lies during 6 months.


Winemaker Description

A tribute to freshness, Lyma refers to the sub-appellation of Lima in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal, as well as honoring the Lima river that runs west from Galicia though the entirety of Vinho Verde to the Atlantic Ocean.

From legendary winemaker João Portugal Ramos, Lyma shines a light on Vinho Verde’s crisp, citrusy charm. Slightly fizzy, ultra-refreshing.

Expert Review - Vintage 2023

The Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | A fine, beautifully crafted wine with ripe tannins and jammy red fruits. With its red berry aroma and its juicy acidity, it is developing well. Drink from 2026.

Winemaker Description 

Ruby red in color. This wine displays aromas of ripe red fruit and dried herbs. It is soft and robust with complex tannins. On the palate, the wine is spicy with a long finish.

This hand-crafted wine is a blend of native Alentejo grapes Trincadeira and Aragonez plus a touch of Syrah for added body. The fruit is sourced from 1,000 ft high schist and limestone vineyards surrounding the J Portugal Ramos Vila Santa winery. Unoaked, it is fresh and fruity while maintaining a plush mouthfeel.

Pair with sausage and peppers, herb-roasted lamb, or beef stew. 

Winemaker Description 

Cartuxa red is a blend of Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Castelao, planted in the Eugenio de Almeida Foundation vineyards.

When the grapes are judged to be perfectly matured, they are carefully picked and brought into the winery for de-stalking, gentle crushing and fermentation in temperature controlled steel vats.

There follows an extended maceration period followed by maturation in vats and barrels for 12 months. The wine is aged in bottle for 12 months prior to release

Winemaker Description 

Forest aromas, a precise and discreet barrel note, red, enveloping and complex fruit, is a radiant wine that pairs well with the fruit with the acidity and leaves a delicious spicy trail as an aftertaste.

Winemaker Description 

Nat Cool is the brainchild of Dirk Niepoort. Besides Dirk’s activities as owner of Niepoort Wines and Ports, he also owns a small wine distribution company in Portugal.

He created Nat Cool as a response to a market (both in Portugal and abroad) that wanted fun, easygoing, Naturally-made wines that could be enjoyed every day - at home, by the glass in restaurants, out on a fun picnic, etc. The project started in the appellation of Bairrada, working with the indigenous varietal, Baga. As a rule, this varietal produces, big, dark, tannic reds, but Dirk found a way to produce fresh, easy, glou-glou Baga in One-Liter bottles with 12% alcohol and minimal Sulphur added.

Bingo…he was onto something!

Now Nat Cool includes several wines!

The first extension was a white wine from Vino Verde. But not just any Vino Verde. In essence, it is a “Pet Nat”, but at very low pressure, sort of like a Txakoli. Here, the wines are bottled with a touch of sugar that is left to ferment inside the bottle to create a light fizz. It is a historic method that was practiced in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the region. Since the wine is not disgorged, there are also some lees in the bottle. You can let the sediment settle in the bottom of the bottle, or as Dirk likes to, mix it all up for a yummy, leesy, complex version. Alas, Vino Verde with a fun, adventurous attitude!

The next addition was Primata. This is a red wine from the Douro. Dirk challenged his cellar master Luis Pedro to make a Douro red to fit in the NatCool line. Primata is his baby. The high elevation, largely north-facing vineyards give it freshness and crunch. It is foot trodden in lagares where it continues to ferment and then finished in steel where it naturally stabilizes. This is a Douro red like you have never had!

We hope the Nat Cool spirit will continue to grow! But remember, here are the NAT COOL RULES:

RULE NUMBER ONE…THERE ARE NO RULES!
ALWAYS RESPECT THE FIRST RULE
LESS IS MORE
COOLER = LESS EXTRACTION, LESS MESS
AUTHENTIC, COOL ATTITUDE
ONE LITER BOTTLE
COOL PRICE
THE INCREDIBLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

Producer Description 

The fruit for Croft Reserve Ruby is sourced in the traditional way, from the highest-quality individual growers in the Douro Valley, where the varying altitude and aspect of the vineyards creates the potential for a complex wine of great character. In the winery, the newly developed, robotic “Port Toes” technology for treading allows the winery to maximize the quality of the fruit by imitating the traditional action of human feet and avoiding damage to the bitter grape seeds.

Fermentation is halted by the addition of grape spirits before all the residual sugar has been fermented, creating a sweet, fortified wine. This vintage-character Porto is blended from wines aged for three to four years in neutral oak barrels to achieve greater complexity than in younger wines.
Tasting Note

A powerful, rich blackcurrant bouquet with subtle hints of cedar and spice. In the mouth black, woodland fruit and chocolate flavors dominate. The wine has good weight and structure with a fine finish.
Food Pairing

Can be enjoyed on its own after a meal, or paired with fruit-based desserts or a rich cheese plate. Made to be enjoyed immediately.