Portuguese Wine

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.

Luxuriously smooth with caramel, dried figs, toasted nuts, and orange peel. A perfectly aged tawny offering richness, balance, and a long, warming finish—ideal for gifting or holiday desserts.

Winemaker Notes

Warehouse stored item - please allow two to five business days to fulfill.

More reserved, sometimes serious, and often sweet, D by Duorum Tawny Port’s aroma combines ripe fruit with dry fruits and spices, from the maturation.

Warehouse stored item - please allow two to five business days to fulfill.

Warehouse stored item - please allow two to five business days to fulfill.

The Wine Advocate 90 Points | The 2021 Prazo de Roriz is a lighter red with contained ripeness and 13.5% alcohol, designed to be drunk young, that has aromas of berries and herbs with a touch of beeswax and honey. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine tannins and clean flavors, sleek and polished with good freshness and fruity flavors in the finish.

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

Vila Santa is produced in the Alentejo region, located in the south of Portugal. Its name originates from the title given in the 15th century to the members of the ancient Priest Congregation of St. John Evangelist, known simply as Loios. Loios monks have always had a deep connection to the history of Alentejo, especially to its wines. 

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

James Suckling 92 Points | This is a youthful and fresh red with raspberries, lemons, clay and wild herbs on the nose. It’s medium-bodied, clean and mineral, with tight grained tannins and a fine and focused finish.

Warehouse stored item - please allow one to three business days to fulfill. The Wine Spectator 90 Points | A creamy, medium-bodied red, with a light sanguine edge enriching notes of crushed black raspberry and mulberry fruit. Shows dried sage and sandalwood accents, with crisp tannins firming the fresh finish. Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca. Drink now. 10,000 cases made, 800 cases imported.

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

Producer Description 

Made entirely from the grapes grown on Taylor’s own properties, Taylor’s is one of the few remaining houses which still produces a 40 Year Old Aged Tawny Port. A sublime port of very great age which shows the old olive-gold hue of its many years in cask. Decades of evaporation have concentrated this extraordinary wine to an exceptional density, with a powerful nose of dried fruit, honey and a touch of spice. Impressions of nutmeg, roasted coffee and an intense nuttiness converge both in the bouquet and on the palate. The wine´s rich, intense, voluptuous, almost viscous texture culminate in a finish of incredible length.

Expert Reviews 

Mark Squires of the Wine Advocate 95 Points | The NV 40 Year Old Tawny Port was bottled with a bar top cork in 2014. It comes in with 125 grams per liter of residual sugar. Big, weighty and mouth filling, this is an aromatic Tawny that finishes with acidity and tension. Gripping on the finish, its flavors become more interesting as long as it sits in the glass (or on your palate). It is not, perhaps, as sunny as the Fonseca, its sibling reviewed this issue, but it is denser and more gripping. Comparing to the Taylor 30 (also reviewed), I'm not sure I liked the 40 here all that much better. The 30 is a bit fleshier while this 40 is a bit more concentrated in flavor and aromatics. Perhaps some additional age also helped this 40 combat some of the aggression on the 30. They are both pretty fine, a difference of five to Midnight and five after, rather than night and day. It is still a fine experience and my favorite of the group. Don't drink it too warm. Room temperature is mostly too warm. The sweet spot for most tends to be 58-62 degrees Fahrenheit.

Expert Review - Vintage 1997

Wine Spectator 95 Points | Plum and blackberry on the nose, with hints of dried violets. Wet earth. Full-bodied, medium-sweet, very chewy and rich. Long and caressing. Still very tight. Give it time. Very layered and structured. Much better than I remember. Impressive. '77/'85/'97 blind Port retrospective. Best after 2010. 3,100 cases imported.

The Wine Advocate 93 Points | Blackberries, licorice, and melted asphalt stand out in this full-bodied, beautifully made vintage port's moderately intense bouquet. It is not one of the great Graham's ports, and is less sweet than normal, but it is full-bodied, rich, concentrated, and impressive. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025.

Winemaker Description 

This excellent Vintage has an intense colour with a deep, purple rim. On the nose shows a luscious ripeness with attractive floral aromas and undertones of black cherry. On the palate, a typically Graham's full-bodied structure, packed with layers and layers of fruit and firm tannins. The very long, accomplished finish indicates a great Vintage for long-term ageing.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Rich and supple, offering creamy flavors of hazelnut, Christmas pudding and ripe cherry, with cocoa powder notes. Lush and spicy on the long, ripe finish. Drink now. 1,800 cases imported.

Winemaker Description 

Sandeman Porto Tawny 10 Years Old is a vibrant premium aged wine, where the balance of ripe fruit and oak aged intensity, highlight Sandeman´s quality.

The intense red tawny colour with shades of brick, typical of this style of aged yet youthful wine, anticipates the elegant and complex aroma, combining ripe fruit, jam and nuts, with hints of vanilla and raisins. In the mouth, Sandeman Porto Tawny 10 Years Old is a most flavoursome wine, full-bodied and appealing, with a persistent finish.

Our Professional Review

Debra of 67Wine.com | Fresh berry fruits, currants, really pleasant and enjoyable with many foods.

Winemaker Description 

Located one-hundred kilometers south of Porto in northern Portugal, Bairrada was once relegated to supplying grapes for Port wine when demand was high in England. The region is now in the midst of establishing its own wine making identity and young producers like Luis Patrao are using indigenous varieties in that pursuit.

Baga is the main red grape of the region and displays a firm and assertive character. In Vadio (slang for idler, dreamer), the vineyards are farmed organically and the fermentation derived from naturally occurring yeasts. This creates an atmosphere conducive for the variety to fully display its sinewy red fruits, cedary side notes and high-energy acid lift. A wholesaler's need to make room for the next vintage led to a fortuitous purchase and the following deal for you! 

Expert Reviews

James Suckling 98 Points | Loads of wet earth and grape aromas with hints of stems. Old vine aromas of bark and moss. Full-bodied, sweet and structured with a big kick on the end. Very impressive. Exceptional layers of fruit and energy. A stronger and more muscular Warre.

Wine Spectator 97 Points | Lush and inviting in feel, with a beautifully creamy texture that lets plum sauce, blueberry reduction and raspberry pte de fruit flavors glide along effortlessly. Notes of violet, anise and black tea are beguiling in the background before melding seamlessly on the finish. This shimmers with fruit, balanced by depth and spine. Best from 2035 through 2055.

Wine Advocate 96 Points | Relatively accessible, this still shows some impressive firmness to go with its fine concentration. An elegant wine this may be, as Charles Symington called it, but it is still admirable for its structure, even if the whole package is a little understated. Its fruit and mid-palate are nicely supported by moderate tannins. It evolves well with air, easily showing vivid and fresh fruit. It is beautifully textured as well. This is a fine Warre's Port, holding its own next to Dow, better than the 2016 Warre and a force in its own right. It is one of the best in a while. It is relatively accessible but not ready.

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | A ripe, floral wine that has many layers of black fruits with a fresh touch of acidity. The wine is dense while also elegant and poised with tannins and fruit already in balance. That suggests the Port will age relatively quickly. Drink from 2025.

Expert Review

The Wine Advocate 91 Points | My favorite of the three tawnys reviewed in this segment is the 20 Year Old Tawny. It offers an amber color, a spicy, tobacco, cedary, smoky, complex nose, dense, rich flavors that belie the color's aged, feeble look, and an expansive personality. It is a classic example of how delicious and complex a 20 year old tawny port can be. Tawny ports are aged in wood from essentially a solera system for the number of years indicated on the bottle. In most cases I prefer the younger ten or twenty year Tawnys to the ancient forty to fifty year old wines, but it is really a matter of taste. I tend to like more fruit rather than the oxidized and aged characteristics of the very old tawnys. 

Winemaker Description 

Producer Description 

Like the rest of Quinta do Noval, the Nacional parcel ripened early in 2020 and was harvested in one day on 17th September. Deepest inky crimson-black colour; sullen and dense on the nose but with underlying opulence; amazing depth and concentration, nothing raw about this despite its youth. Broad, ripe, gravelly tannins, focused with glorious spice and richness. Big and broad on the finish but with remarkable freshness and finesse for a hot year. A ‘wow’ of a wine with a lifetime or more in bottle ahead.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 99 Points | A bird of a different feather, this shows remarkable purity for the vintage, along with a rippling tension that sets it completely apart. Delivers a mix of cassis, plum sauce and açaí berry compote on the fruit side, along with bramble, salted licorice, cast iron and bittersweet chocolate notes filling in throughout. Massively structured, too, and there's even a flash of violet at the very end—which takes a while to get to. A special wine. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Best from 2040 through 2070.

Decanter 99 Points | Like the rest of Quinta do Noval, the Nacional parcel ripened early in 2020 and was harvested in one day on 17th September. Deepest inky crimson-black colour; sullen and dense on the nose but with underlying opulence; amazing depth and concentration, nothing raw about this despite its youth. Broad, ripe, gravelly tannins, focused with glorious spice and richness. Big and broad on the finish but with remarkable freshness and finesse for a hot year. A ‘wow’ of a wine with a lifetime or more in bottle ahead.

Vinous 99 Points | The 2020 Nacional was picked from 1 to 22 September, a relatively short harvest. It has a magnificent, exquisitely defined bouquet with a purity that bowls you over, perhaps even more intense than the 2019 Nacional tasted alongside. The palate is extraordinarily pure and intense, slightly viscous in texture, with layers of cassis, black cherries, blood orange and a dab of spice. Seamless on the finish. This is a worthy follow-up to the stellar 2019 Nacional. The two will fight between themselves for supremacy. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London.

A full-bodied red wine with intense aromas of ripe red fruit and a hint of spice. Enjoy its smooth, velvety texture and long finish. Perfect for any occasion! Buy now and experience the unique flavor of this exquisite Portuguese wine. 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | Enticingly tawny offering mulled red currant and cherry fruit flavors with dried wood spice red tea and incense notes through the long and racy finish. Thoroughly delicious. Touriga Nacional Touriga Franca Tinta Cão Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Drink now.

Winemaker Description

Quinta de Santa Eufemia is a Portuguese Port house whose history begins in 1864 when Bernardo Rodrigues de Carvalho acquired vineyards in the Duoro and began producing and selling Port wines. His skills and passion have been passed down from generation to generation

The wine is quickly fermented in traditional lagares (treading tanks) before being fortified. After fortification, the wine is aged for nine months in stainless steel where it is naturally decanted, the transferred to 550 liter oak barrels where it ages for a further 4 years before bottling.

It pours a brick tawny color and has aromas and flavors of red currant, plums, caramel and toffee. Great on its own, this tawny also pairs nicely with smoked ham. 

Winemaker Description

Typical blackcurrant and lavender aromas with traces of fennel, whose fragrance is often carried by the breeze in the vineyards at Vesúvio. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-filling ripe black fruit flavors; opulent and velvety, although with substantial volume and weighty structure. Very polished tannins provide a satisfyingly long, silky finish.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 96 Points | This is really vivid, with a beautiful range of cassis, cherry purée, boysenberry coulis and plum reduction notes unfurling across the palate while succulent licorice, warm fruitcake and enticing red and black tea.

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points | One of the Douro's grandest quintas has produced a powerful, structured wine that shows concentration and density. The aromas and dark fruits speak to the Touriga Nacional in the blend, giving a Port that is destined for long-term aging. Drink from 2030. Cellar Selection.

Expert Reviews

The Wine Spectator by James Molesworth writes 92 Points | An alluring hint of singed hazelnut husk leads off, followed by dried cherry and red currant notes, plus a flurry of wood spice. Shows nice zip and length. A textbook version.

Winemaker Description 

With an attractive, tawny color and amber rim, this wine shows full, complex aromas of mellow spices along with walnut, butterscotch and fine oak notes against a background of rich, jammy fruit. On the palate, the wine is silky and round, full of ripe fig flavors.

An excellent choice for the end of a meal or at the end of an evening, this wine can be served slightly chilled on its own or with walnuts or roasted almonds, or nut-based desserts. Made to be enjoyed immediately.

Winemaker Description 

Bright straw-yellow. On the nose, fresh orchard and stone fruit commingle with apple skin and faint herbal notes. On the palate, good concentration and weight, with bright fresh fruit and clean acidity. Nicely focused on the finish with a pronounced chalkiness to the mineral cut.

Winemaker Description

Rescuing and resistant, Queen Isabella has ensured since the attack of phylloxera, in the 19th century, the continuation of vineyards and wine on the islands until the present day. For many...it's not part of the customs.

This "Isabella" the Forbidden, highlights the history of the last 200 years, in an elegant, aromatic, authentic and...simple wine, like all that is good!

A fresh, elegant, spicy and saline red like few others. Ideal partner for grilled and seasoned red meat dishes. Signature of the winemaker António Maçanita.

An Isabella Forbidden and super appetizing.... Another great wine from the Azores Wine Company! 

Winemaker Description

A deep ruby color, with a garnet rim. A classic bouquet, on which the liveliness of young fruit produces a delicate balance. Firm and powerful in the mouth, it shows flavors of fresh fruit and delivers a long and harmonious finish. 

Founded by a German family of the same name in 1638, Kopke is likely the oldest Port house in existence today. Aged in oak casks before bottling, this is a young, fruity port with a vibrant, sweet feel. This crowd-pleaser features plum and bright cherry flavors.

Winemaker Description

Incredibly rich amber colour with golden mahogany reflections, this 10-year-old Tawny emanates from the opening of the bottle a superb aromatic bouquet: with initial notes of almond, walnut, fig, dried fruit, currants, candied orange, then evolving for roasting and wood notes. In the mouth the same complexity, a rich, concentrated, deep structure supported by a magnificent acidity. It evolves with energy and firmness and as an exceptionally long finish. Winemaker Description.

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 91 Points | From old, field blend vineyards, this Port has a fine nutty character. It shares that with red fruits, gentle spice and a fine balance between sweetness and a drier core. This wine, rich and with toffee flavors, is ready to drink.

Winemaker Description

The Churchill flagship quinta has produced a serious style of Port. Dry and richly structured, it also has jammy red-berry fruits that will cushion the firmness.

Churchill’s purchased the estate of Quinta da Gricha in 1999, and it quickly formed the spiritual heart of the house, and is where all the wines are made today before being sent downriver for aging in Vila Nova de Gaia. Winemaker Description.

Expert Review

93 Points Wine Enthusiast | The Churchill flagship quinta has produced a serious style of Port. Dry and richly structured, it also has jammy red-berry fruits that will cushion the firmness. Drink the wine from 2029.

Expert Review 

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points | This delicately perfumed wine opens to reveal power combined with elegance. The wine has great ripeness—a soft texture on the surface masking the severe tannins at the center.

Winemaker Description 

A fragrant aroma of well ripened fruit; supple and polished tannins give structure and length on the palate, with a rich sweet flavour and crisp mineral freshness. Herbal and dark fruit notes on the aftertaste. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description 

Still family owned, D’Oliveira date back to 1850, working with cellars built in 1619, so they know a fair bit about making madeira.

The wine has an average age of five years, leading to an inviting, nutty, slightly toasty nose, with flavours of grapefruit, lime, hazelnuts, and orange peel.

The high acidity makes the wine taste dry on the palate, with a smooth, long, and memorable finish.