Doug Powers

9.0

This is the third (and last) bottle of 1969 we’ve tried in the past 5 years, and the first starting to show some clear decline, with a green asparagus note that shows on the palate and into the medium-long finish, but still, 55-year-old Ramisco?!?! Wow! — 19 days ago

with Jim

Daniel Rios

10

Very crisp, fruity without being sweet — 4 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Floral, white stonefruit aromas and flavors, still very youthful, complex and very long, lingering finish, excellent Colares (Malvasia de Colares is the grape)!! — 9 months ago

with Jim

Doug Powers

8.9

Lovely Portuguese sparkler from the Bairrada AOC north of Coimbra, cepage is 5% Cercial, 30% Bical, 30% Maria-Gomes, and 35% Arinto. Loads of bubbles, not quite as fine or delicate as a fine Champagne, but really lovely for a midweek sub-$16 sparkler!! — 2 years ago

with Jim

Josh Morgenthau

9.2

Not quite “tutti fruiti”- still shows a lot of the region’s stern character (and this is not such a bad thing). The fine grained tannins could use some time to settle out though. — 2 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium ruby with quite a wide ruby pink rim . Fresh red cherry , touch of freshly cut herbs , rosemary , sage , orange rind , then a stony , mineral note. On the palate again fresh red cherry, touch herbal also . Fills out well , quite elegant fresh palate , some pretty gritty tannins but it’s the high acidity that is most arresting . Good length and balance with herbal, chalky , spice tinged salted cherry notes. Quite unique really , even within the context of a country as varied and diverse as Portugal. I would imagine it is at the beginning of a long life so will probably need another 5-10 years and last well a further 10-15 — 3 months ago

Doug Powers

8.9

This is a red blend made by my Colares producer, Adega Viuva Gomes, as a quaffer from non-Colares grapes, fruity, balanced, just a really fun quaffer with some nice complexity to boot!! — a year ago

with Jim

Vin d’Ottawa

9.4

I cannot describe how excited I’ve been for this bottle.

From Portugal’s tiny Colares wine region, this is the famed Ramisco grape, grown in vines in the sands off the coast of Sintra. Back when phylloxera destroyed most of Europe’s grapevines, these survived as the parasite couldn’t make its way in the sands the grapevines grew in. The Portuguese crown then nationalized the wine- unique to Portugal- and used it in diplomacy as a form of soft power.

The wine starts with a roughness that smooths into a beautiful, medium bodied flavour of black cherry and blackberry. Think of a juicy California Pinot Noir that manages the punch of a Rioja.

A wine worthy of its great history.
— 2 months ago

with Gillian

Andrea Soolah

9.3

John at MB. Super cheap clean really nice — 6 months ago

romo

9.3

Took ten minutes for this to show its depth of flavor and striking acid. Beautiful wine. — 2 years ago