The
wines of Quinta do Convento
From Portugal's Lisboa region
Website: www.quintadoconvento.pt
The full name of this wine estate is
Quinta do Convento de Nossa Senhora da Visitação. It’s a 50
hectare property, with 16 hectares of vineyard in the Lisboa
(formerly Estremadura) region of Portugal, some 70 km north of the
capital.
Average vine age is
young at 6 years, although wines have been made here for 500 years. It's
a family property. There’s
clearly been some investment here in recent years: the winery looks
very smart, and the labels have a very modern feel to them.
Soils are clay limestone, and a
combination of altitude (500 m) and proximity to the Atlantic helps retain
freshness in the wines. The wines? They are good, but I’d like to
see just a little more fruit expression and elegance here.
THE
WINES
Quinta do Convento Pinot Noir 2007 VR
Lisboa, Portugal
14% alcohol. Sweet ripe cherry and berry fruits nose is quite
seductive with a spicy green
herby edge to it. The palate has a subtle savoury medicinal twist to
the sweet cherry and plum fruit. It’s an intriguing wine: I like
the elegant Pinot fruitiness, but I’m perhaps less keen on the
savoury spicy character that adds a little too much sternness.
88/100
Quinta do Convento 2005 VR Estremadura,
Portugal
13.5% alcohol. Spicy, fresh and earthy with some grippy tannins and
hints of tar. It’s an attractrive, structured savoury wine with
good acidity. Nice freshness, but also showing some signs of
maturity. 87/100
Quinta do Convento Reserva 2007 VR
Lisboa, Portugal
Fresh and bright with a combination of plum/damson fruit (slightly
bitter, in an Italian style) with high acidity and a balsamic edge.
There’s some savoury, spicy earthiness, too. A well structured,
satisfying, food-friendly wine. 89/100
Quinta do Convento Merlot Touriga
Nacional 2005 VR Estremadura, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. Deep coloured. Spicy, earthy, rich cedary nose
with some balsamic notes. The palate shows warm, sweet, spicy earthy
qualities. Rich and warm with a combination of sweet and savoury
characters, but perhaps a little mushy. 86/100
Quinta do Convento Reserva 2004 VR
Estremadura, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. Warm, sweetly spicy, earthy, medicinal nose. The
palate is savoury and spicy with some earthiness, grippy tannins and
high acidity. A bit difficult. 83/100
See
also:
The
wines of Quinta de Sant'Ana, Lisboa, Portugal
Wines
tasted 04/12
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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