Quinta da Romaneira, Douro Tinto
Douro, Portugal 2011 (750mL)
Regular price$32.00
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Quinta da Romaneira, Douro Tinto
If I told you this was an exquisitely built, nearly decade-old red from a region-defining estate, where would you start the pricing? $50…$75…$100+? You’d be spot-on for most classic producers/regions—except one: Quinta da Romaneira in the ancient Douro Valley. Their long-aged 2011 is among the most complete bottles of wine out there, in the sense that it delivers pure authenticity and incalculable depth, not to mention that it is as elegantly stunning as it is affordable. Truly, it's wines exactly like this—there aren’t as many as you’d think—that get veteran sommeliers on the edge of their seats and keep them captivated from first pour to last sip.
When we offered their entry-level “Sino da Romaneira” last year, an astounding amount of you stepped out of your comfort zones and discovered a beautiful bottle of wine—some of you even went as far as writing back glowing reviews. That compelled us to get right to work securing Romaneira’s even-more-impressive flagship red. And while it took 10 months, we’ve emerged with their soul-stirring 2011, a wine that delivers profound levels of wisdom and deep, muscled savor for $32. Put it against your similarly (or higher) priced wines from Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rhône, California, etc., and prepare to be shocked. Furthermore, this exquisite bottle is in no hurry whatsoever to be consumed: While perfect now, it’ll remain in that flawless state for the next decade and well beyond. It hardly gets better than this, folks!
“I am convinced that the Douro can also produce great unfortified red wines, capable of long ageing and capable of taking their place among the great wines of the world,” says legendary Romainera owner Christian Seely. I’m right there with him. Having worked in the Douro Valley during my early years and tiptoed along its vertiginous, vine-covered hillsides, this place and their wines hold a dear spot in my heart. I firmly believe they remain some of the finest undercover values in the world.
Vines have been planted at Romaneira since the mid-1700s and their inaugural vintage of Port wine was 1872, but due to the rigmarole of wine politics, their name wasn’t displayed on a bottle until 1986. Since that time, many other changes have come: Bordeaux and Portuguese expert Christian Seely, along with winemaker António Agrellos, purchased the estate in 2004 and immediately began a massive undertaking that involved re-energizing their old vines and building a brand new, mostly underground winery. Also owners of neighboring Quinta do Noval, another benchmark or Douro, they are a powerful duo that creates some of the region’s best reds and Ports.
If you were to take a peaceful cruise along the winding Douro River, there would at some point come a continuous two-mile stretch of vines solely owned by Quinta da Romaneira. Their estate includes some of the largest tracts of land anywhere in the Douro. Like report cards, vineyards in the Douro are simply classified from ‘A’ down to ‘F,’ and all 86 hectares that Romaneira owns hold esteemed ‘A’ classifications. In 2011, their range of indigenous grapes—Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tina Roriz, Tinto Cão—were picked throughout September, and vinification occurred in conical, temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats. The resulting wine was then transferred into French barriques, 20% new, for 14 months. Bottling occurred in mid-2013 and further aging was allowed.
In the glass, Quinta da Romaneira’s 2011 Tinto pours a powerful ruby with garnet hues and erupts with the deep, expressive power of Touriga Nacional (60% of the blend) within minutes. A cascade of dark berry fruit marches out of the glass followed by richer notes of lush plum, black cherry, and black raspberry liqueur, but I assure you—it comes in at a moderate 13.5% ABV—this smells more intense and rich than it is. The palate is all about layers of finesse and freshness that are filled with plush black/red fruit, garrigue, vintage leather, cracked pepper, crushed stones, and delicate baking spice. The finish is long and luxurious, offering up multi-dimensional flavors that speak to you on more than a gustatory level. For me, it evoked emotions from my 20s, drinking a delicious glass of red over a home-cooked meal deep in the hillsides that held the snaking Douro River. Although there’s plenty of delicious flavor in each glass, today’s wine was a powerful reminder that wine is so much more than an alcoholic beverage. Enjoy in Bordeaux stems, around 60 degrees, and savor throughout the next 10+years. Cheers.
