2003 Portal - Vintage Port

Saturated dark ruby. Deep aromas of black cherry, cassis, walnut and chocolate. Concentrated, dense, broad and superripe but also quite pliant; hugely rich and chocolatey if a bit youthfully inelegant. Impressively dense and glyceral young port that really clings to the glass. Seems very 2003 in style without being at all cooked. Finishes with big mounting, spreading tannins and a pungent herbal note reminiscent of mescal.

This producer has been revitalised (and renamed) since the late 1970s when Quinta da Abelheira was added to Quinta dos Muros. In 1991 old Sandeman properties Quinta do Confradeiro and Quinta do Portal were acquired and an ambitious building programme including new winery, cellars and a visitor’s centre embarked on. Today Pascal Chatonnet of Bordeaux supervises table wine production and Jeremy Bull, chief winemaker at Taylor Fonseca for 40 years, oversees the port side of the business – with some pzazz, it would sees. This bottling is the house’s main vintage port, based substantially on the 25 year-old Touriga Nacional vines on which their vintage port is usually based . Blackish intense purple – one of the deepest colours of all. Obviously lots there but very little on the nose other than alcohol at first sniff. Some sweet tea emerged on the nose. Masses of weight of fruit and then very dry tannins but acidity well managed. Lots of alcohol on the finish plus some black pepper. A wine full of promise. Masses of character there. Douro in a bottle. Hint of putty. Later note: The darkest colour. Very round and confident – livelier than Quinta do Portal II. Enormously ripe and bumptious and easy to enjoy even at this stage but there is tannin there underneath it all. (JR)

The 2003 Tinto was presented in a bottle, although labeled a cask sample. It is forward and fruity, but has nice structure, including a hit of tannin on the finish. It does not seem like a simple, little fruit bomb in any way. It should mature quickly, but it has nice depth and a nice mouthfeel, together with fine flavor and a mid-palate that expands with air. It is quite tasty, and an excellent value for the price. Drink now-2011. Feb 2007, www.robertparker.com