#364 Tom Cannavan's 50 Great Portuguese Wines

For the third year running off I trotted to the Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh for the annual 50 Great Portuguese Wines tasting with the wines selected by Scottish critic Tom Cannavan.  One of the (if not the) wine website pioneer whose website Wine Pages was born out of his profession in computing and his passion of wine.  My first tasting was that of Jamie Goode who showed outstanding wines, and last year was Sarah Ahmed whose selections had a slightly commercial element to them.  Neither better than the other, just different.  Cannavan has straddled these two tastings well, showing a selection of both lower and higher priced wines.  Here are my favourites from his fifty wines.

2009 Valle Pradinhos Branco
A lot of sweet peach and nectarine on the nose.  There is a clean, fresh palate, more dried apricots and a bit of satsuma too. Good with an aromatic spice coming through.  91pts
www.vallepradinhos.pt

2007 Scala Coelli
Some light strawberry mixed with raspberries and a bit of cocoa.  There is a light, dried cocoa covered plumskin flavour, the alcohol builds, but so does the dried fruit making a balanced wine.  Long finish, very clean and tasty. 91pts
www.cartuxa.pt

2007 Marias da Malhadinha
A lot of dried fruit, some sweeter raisin and prune, cocoa too. The palate is good, clean with a tasty dried fruit, a lot of tannin, but they are silky. Nice cherry fruit, some fun secondaries of dusty books. 93pts
www.malhadinhanova.pt

2008 Quinta dos Roques Touriga Nacional
Simply lovely, fresh bright and pretty. Beautiful balance of lighter fruits savoury notes and floral aromas. 94pts
www.quintaroques.pt

2008 Lavradores de Feitoria Meruge
Lovely bright and light with fresh strawberry and berry compote flavour.  Tobacco with lots of dusty fruit, a bit of chocolate and a long, fruit and pepper palate. Strawberries and cream with black pepper on the finish. 91pts
www.lavradoresdefeitoria.pt

2008 Poeira
Dark, brooding with subtle chocolate, brambles and plum.  Sweet tobacco comes through with a green note. The palate is dark, savoury, coated in sweet fruit. A lot of leathery tannin and a dusty savoury note. Big but beautiful. 91pts
www.poeira.pt

2009 Quinta do Portal Touriga Nacional
Really fresh and light, lots of almost beaujolais fruit, tea leaves and rhubarb.  A dark, more tea and simply elegant. A very gentle savoury wine. 92pts
www.quintadoportal.com

2008 Quinta do Vale Meao
Beautiful, balanced, a floral note mixed with dark berries and sweet tart raspberries. Very tasty, good mouthfeel, a little dried fruit, some tobacco and a bit of leather coming through. Very tasty. 92pts
www.quintadocalemeao.pt

2008 Quinta de Tecedeiras Reserva
Soft and gentle, very pretty aroma, quite elegant and juicy.  Good dark fruit, a lot of cocoa and a bit of tar coming through. Nice balance of tannin, firm but very friendly. 91pts
www.daosul.com

2007 Quinta do Ameal Special Harvest
Only 650 cases of this wine are made.  And there is one half bottle per case!  Sweet rhubarb and ripe yellow plums. So stunning with a little bit of dark, confit lemon, old honey and a bit of pepper.  Beautifully balanced, old marmalade, some really nice bread and butter pudding with orange zest. Lovely gentle fruit with a marmalade fruit on the never ending finish. 98pts
www.quintadoameal.com

Tom Cannavan's Wine Pages
Wines of Portugal