The 2009 GRANDE RESERVA is 60% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz and 10% Touriga Franca, all aged in new French oak for 12 months. If the oak was too obvious on the first look, this wine is making it pretty clear now that it will pull itself together. Dense and concentrated, it is both full bodied and nicely structured, with the potential still for notable improvement in the cellar. It is quite unevolved and you would be well advised to hold it a few years. It will likely round into good form around 2015-2017. It should be a nice prize in time and may eventually deserve another uptick in score, becoming a contender for the best Grande Reserve Portal has made. There were 20,355 bottles produced. Drink 2014-2024.
The Auru, Reserva and Grande Reserva verticals from 2009 on back were poured at the winery in Douro. The Reserva vertical showed improvement and then consistency, making this wine a really fine value point in the Portal lineup—although as time goes on the Grande Reservas overall certainly generally surpass them and age better, e.g., 2000 and 2003. Notes on wines omitted in the Reserva vertical (particularly the ‘04 and ‘08) are in the database. The Grande Reserva lineup had few surprises. The wines generally showed quite well and my winery notes and scores were pretty much in line with what was originally published and predicted. It is, however, good to confirm that the wines fulfilled their promise and developed well. The Auru vertical also demonstrated the winery’s improving skill. There can’t be much doubt that Portal is a serious player in Douro, competing well with most anyone. The only problem with Auru is the pricing. The wines are certainly pretty fine, but the question there does become whether it justifies the big price spike considering how good many of the “l(fā)esser” bottlings have become. The Grande Reservas have really become a sweet spot in the lineup, not that they are cheap. NOTE: I am not publishing a tasting note on the 2009 Auru as it was rather closed and needs to be reevaluated, but it certainly seemed to have at least 92-94 point potential. Note that the prices for the library wines were simply taken from the last releases. The older vintages may not in fact be readily available and thus prices may vary widely.
Importer: M Imports, Coppell, TX; tel: (214) 505-0616.
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