Portugal’s Douro Valley – home to some of the world’s top red wines


Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo Unoaked Douro 2008 (£10.99 The Wine Cellar, Oakley Wine Agencies)
Joyful young wine, all about bumptious, bouncy bramble and plum flavour, with hints of black pepper and brown sugar adding further interest. Ripe but fresh with it, very tasty. S-

Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo Tres Pomares Douro 2007 (£9.59 The Wine Cellar, Oakley Wine Agencies)
A more serious and structured wine, firmer and more backward, but still with tasty chocolate ginger and berry flavours and the slightly earthy/ashy edge of Touriga Nacional. B+

Cedro do Noval VR Duriense 2007 (£13.99 Tanners from ~Feb 2010)
Potent young wine, still a bit reduced, but opening up to show notes of sage, gingerbread and citrus peel on top of the generous plummy berry flavours. Promising earthy finish too. S(-)

R de Romaneira Douro 2007 (~£16 Liberty Wines)
Lovely heady, aromatic wine, with red berries amid the black fruit flavours, an almost meaty, leathery core and hints of iron. Structured but still charming, with an ethereal sweet fragrance. S(+)

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