Caves São João
Porta dos Cavaleiros Dão Red Blend
Dão, Beiras, Portugal
It’s amazing what fifty bucks can get ya. Leather and spice and very nice fruit. Special stuff.
It’s amazing what fifty bucks can get ya. Leather and spice and very nice fruit. Special stuff.
Aug 19th, 2019This is fun. So much fruit for a 30 year old wine.
This is fun. So much fruit for a 30 year old wine.
Sep 3rd, 2015
Very herbaceous, well-matured and quite special
Very herbaceous, well-matured and quite special
Jun 16th, 2015
Enjoyed at cellar temp, or a touch under
Enjoyed at cellar temp, or a touch under
Oct 16th, 2022
Other than vintage port, this is the only Portuguese wine in the cellar. First encountered in a small wine shop in Vancouver BC about 5 or 6 years ago. I’m so happy to enjoy it again. Wonderfully mature, with a bouquet of forest floor, saddle leather, coffee... you get it. The wine is just where I want it to be. Low alcohol 12.5 percent or so. It’s just what happens when the winemaker builds a well defined structure that allows for graceful aging of an adolescent wine into something wizened, full of character.
Other than vintage port, this is the only Portuguese wine in the cellar. First encountered in a small wine shop in Vancouver BC about 5 or 6 years ago. I’m so happy to enjoy it again. Wonderfully mature, with a bouquet of forest floor, saddle leather, coffee... you get it. The wine is just where I want it to be. Low alcohol 12.5 percent or so. It’s just what happens when the winemaker builds a well defined structure that allows for graceful aging of an adolescent wine into something wizened, full of character.
Feb 19th, 2021
Opens up incredibly. Starts clunky and rubbish. But with a couple hours has a generous aroma of blackberry and spice and herbaceousness. But with loads of freshness still and an acidic lift.
Opens up incredibly. Starts clunky and rubbish. But with a couple hours has a generous aroma of blackberry and spice and herbaceousness. But with loads of freshness still and an acidic lift.
Nov 27th, 2016
Delicate right off the bat -- I mean this is a bottle that, based on harvesting seasons, is older than one of the people who drank it... So our sommelier had to Ah-so it open and decant due to sediment but the resulting #wine was clean and clear... But that was just the start.
The beauty of this wine is that it started off highlighting the obvious things -- some ripe fruit and some earth, not quite integrated but just you wait, just you wait... And we did... We hung out with this wine for 2 hours and I swear, every 20 mins or so we found ourselves discovering a new element in the glass.
The moderate plus acidity suddenly blended in well with the fruit that resembled a creamy raspberry and strawberry texture that combined with a chalkiness of a forest floor covered in dried leaves and rocks.
It kept going...at times bumping up the pepper and then shrinking back into a light, rose petal-y drinker that made me happy. Needless to say, this thing ended pairing well with anything we had -- duck, charred octopus w molé (especially this), a funky version of spaghetti carbonara. Its age gave it versatility that it never realized it had.
Overall it's like a Grenache-based blend that managed to not only settle in and play well with its friends but also unexpectedly invited new kids to join in but only for a few minutes until they had to go back home.
Delicate right off the bat -- I mean this is a bottle that, based on harvesting seasons, is older than one of the people who drank it... So our sommelier had to Ah-so it open and decant due to sediment but the resulting #wine was clean and clear... But that was just the start.
The beauty of this wine is that it started off highlighting the obvious things -- some ripe fruit and some earth, not quite integrated but just you wait, just you wait... And we did... We hung out with this wine for 2 hours and I swear, every 20 mins or so we found ourselves discovering a new element in the glass.
The moderate plus acidity suddenly blended in well with the fruit that resembled a creamy raspberry and strawberry texture that combined with a chalkiness of a forest floor covered in dried leaves and rocks.
It kept going...at times bumping up the pepper and then shrinking back into a light, rose petal-y drinker that made me happy. Needless to say, this thing ended pairing well with anything we had -- duck, charred octopus w molé (especially this), a funky version of spaghetti carbonara. Its age gave it versatility that it never realized it had.
Overall it's like a Grenache-based blend that managed to not only settle in and play well with its friends but also unexpectedly invited new kids to join in but only for a few minutes until they had to go back home.
Wow that's f*cking dry. Great nose
Wow that's f*cking dry. Great nose
Dec 10th, 2015