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Winner Details

 Portugal: Red, Rest of Portugal

2019 GOLD: 3      SILVER: 6      BRONZE: 4      COMMENDED: 16
2018 GOLD: 3      SILVER: 4      BRONZE: 7      COMMENDED: 9

Given there were multiple flights of these, it’s surprising how consistent the feedback from our tasters was. To sum it up in eight words: overripe, over-extracted, over-oaked and over here.

It was all rather disappointing – particularly after last year’s high medal count and stellar feedback. Our tasters would, for sure, have expected better things from the Dao, at least.

They did have something of a saving grace, since they were pretty cheap for the most part – though not conclusively so. Even at £35 on a list, unknown regions like this would probably still be a hand sell.

So, not great, really. The winemakers need to take their foot off the flavour accelerator, ditch their fetish for new oak and let the wines glide along more quietly and with less effort.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘I was surprised with so many ripe full-bodied wines that were pleasantly drinkable. On the whole quite joyous, full-bodied wines.’ Joshua Castle, Noble Rot

‘A lot of confected “winemakers’ wines”, rather than terroir-imprinted – too much oak intervention and extraction. But some good value-for-money wines.’ Tanguy Martin, New Street Warehouse

‘We all had very different views on what to expect. Overall: rustic character, big tannins, some extraction, very ripe, fairly powerful.’ Ross Antonelli, Hawksmoor Borough

‘We don’t sell many. In terms of customers, it’s not something they’re very knowledgeable about. The flight was hit and miss, it wasn’t high quality.’ Daniel Nuttall, Adam’s Restaurant

‘The ripe fruit and oaky notes really overpowered the more craggy Atlantic characteristics I would expect, though they all performed well for the money.’ Jan Konetzki, team leader

‘At the lower price range there was a challenge to smooth the tannins and mask the high alcohol. At the very high price range the wines were more complex but too young. In the mid-range they had a balance between smoothness of tannins, integration of alcohol and the depth of flavour you’d expect.’ Savvas Symeonidis, Gymkhana Restaurant

 

Award winners

Found 29 wines

Portugal: Rest of Portugal excluding Douro & Alentejo

DFJ Vinhos, Alta Corte 2017, Lisbon, Portugal

Gold medal winner

‘Bright berry and cherry fruit, juicy strawberry and mint,’ said team leader Laura Rhys MS, summing this Gold Lister up as ‘simple but well made and great value’. Romain de Courcey of Gazelle Mayfair described it as ‘silky smooth’, and noted: ‘Simple easy drinking, serve slightly chilled.’ ‘Great for a gastropub’ thought team leader Lionel Periner, while The Royal Automobile Club’s Michael Fiducia had in mind matching it with ‘a Mediterranean tomato casserole’.

£6.62 RUDE WINES

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Reserva, Merlot 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Gold medal winner

‘This is good now but also promises more to come,’ thought consultant Leonie Loudon, as she described a ‘rich gamey, sweet spice nose’ and a ‘cherry, sweet spice palate’. Awarding a Gold medal, team leader Nigel Lister enjoyed its ‘deeply oaked nose with clove, coffee, dark chocolate and molasses backed up with richly macerated black fruits... a great match with slow-braised sticky pork ribs,’ he concluded. Michael Fiducia of The Royal Automobile Club, meanwhile, described a ‘meaty, savoury feel’ that was lifted with ‘aromas of baked plum tatin and a silky, savoury palate’.

£12.05 Casa Ermelinda Freitas - Vinhos, Lda

Pegões, Adega de Pegões, Selected Harvest Red 2014, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Gold medal winner

For team leader Jan Konetzki this Gold medal winner offered ‘blackberry and sweet smoke’ and was ‘pleasingly dry and robust’. ‘Perfect for a barbeque,’ thought fellow team leader Lionel Periner, adding: ‘It’s also really great value for money.’ Consultant Leonie Loudon enjoyed its ‘rich, ripe fruit’, finding ‘plums with macerated strawberries, lovely lively acidity, soft supple tannin and note of eucalyptus on the end’. She summed it simply and succinctly: ‘Delicious.’

£10.85 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

DFJ Vinhos, Escada 2017, Lisbon, Portugal

Silver medal winner

According to team leader Lionel Periner, this wine is ‘balanced, with some pleasant cooked fruit on a savoury finish, yet elegant with some dry, knitted tannins’.

£7.93 RUDE WINES

DFJ Vinhos, Francos Grande Escolha 2015, Lisbon, Portugal

Silver medal winner

‘This is ripe and rich, with jammy fruits, super juicy. The palate is oak driven and the tannins polished,’ thought team leader Laura Rhys MS. Meanwhile Romain de Courcy of Gazelle Mayfair described a wine with ‘smoked wood character, black berries and black cherry notes and a meaty flavour’.

£13.80 Ellis of Richmond

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Reserva, Vinha do Torrão 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Silver medal winner

Team leader Jan Konetzki found ‘red and black fruit aromas, with notes of cocoa, smoke and chocolate’, while consultant Leonie Loudon found it ‘rich, sweet, with supple tannin and elegant mouthfeel’.

£14.70 Casa Ermelinda Freitas - Vinhos, Lda

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Vinha do Torrão 2017, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Silver medal winner

‘Very deep ruby colour’ describes this wine perfectly, according to Paola Giraldo of Wiltons, who found it to be ‘rich and intense with balanced tannins’.

£10.42 Casa Ermelinda Freitas - Vinhos, Lda

Casa da Passarella, Somontes, Colheita 2016, Dão, Portugal

Silver medal winner

Paola Giraldo of Wiltons found this wine to be ‘great, with lovely notes of spice, cacao and lavender; yet on the palate it’s powerful and masculine, but still very young’.

£11.67 Davy's Wine Merchants

Quinta da Espinhosa, Reserva 2016, Dão, Portugal

Silver medal winner

‘The wine is ruby port-like, showing cooked red fruit, with an intense, aromatic palate and robust but well-integrated tannins,’ said Romain de Courcy of Gazelle Mayfair, while team leader Laura Rhys MS thought it was ‘big, with stewed, baked fruits, sweet spice and oaky notes’ with ‘sweet tannins on the palate’.

£11.72 QUINTA DA ESPINHOSA

Juvenal Franco, Boneca de Canudo 2016, Madeira, Portugal

Bronze medal winner

‘This wine is big, bold and well made,’ commented team leader Martin Lam. ‘It has a good fresh character, medium weight on the palate and nice toastiness. Will mature well.’

£17.05 Juvenal Franco

DFJ Vinhos, Jag, Shiraz 2014, Lisbon, Portugal

Bronze medal winner

Michael Fiducia of The Royal Automobile Club described this wine as having ‘essences of fresh cherry, light nuances of spice and distinct floral notes’.

£8.58 DFJ Vinhos, S.A.

DFJ Vinhos, Jag, Alicante Bouschet 2014, Lisbon, Portugal

Bronze medal winner

‘Flavours of dark chocolate, plum and smoke’ dominated the aromas for Markus Dilger of Dilger Sommelier Selection, while ‘chocolate and sweet spice come through on the finish to balance’.

£8.58 DFJ Vinhos, S.A.

DFJ Vinhos, Jag, Touriga Nacional 2014, Lisbon, Portugal

Bronze medal winner

‘Bright ruby in colour, perfumed with ripe cherries, yet a bit rich on the tannins, though with a touch of generous pleasant spices on the finish,’ thought Paola Giraldo of Wiltons.

£8.58 DFJ Vinhos, S.A.

DFJ Vinhos, Paxis 2015, Lisbon, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Vinha do Rosário, Syrah 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Sauvignon Blanc/Verdelho 2017, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£10.83 Atlantico UK

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Vinha do Rosário, Touriga Nacional 2017, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Dona Ermelinda, Reserva 2016, Palmela, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£9.25 Atlantico UK

DFJ Vinhos, Point West Tinto 2016, Lisbon, Portugal

Commended medal winner

DFJ Vinhos, Bigode, Quirky 2017, Lisbon, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Quinta da Mimosa 2016, Palmela, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£9.09 Atlantico UK

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Rocksand, Syrah 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£6.20 Direct Wines

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Vinha da Valentina, Premium 2017, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Carménère, Reserva 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

Casa Ermelinda Freitas, Baía de Tróia, Castelão 2017, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£7.67 Direct Wines

Quinta do Pinto, Vinhas do Lasso, Colheita Seleccionada, Tinto 2014, Lisbon, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£8.25 Boutinot

Casa da Passarella, Abanico, Reserva 2015, Dão, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£11.55 Enotria&Coe

Casa da Passarella, Villa Oliveira, Touriga Nacional 2014, Dão, Portugal

Commended medal winner

£29.46 Enotria&Coe

Pegões, Touriga Nacional 2016, Península de Setúbal, Portugal

Commended medal winner