Julia's Portuguese Marathon – Douro

Gouveio, Malvasis Fina, Viosinho, etc. 24 hours on skins. Six months in French oak. Deep gold. Rich and spicy, apricots. Rich, savoury, oxidative style balanced by high acidity. Long. (JH)

A blend of 20 different varieties. 18 months new oak.
Sweet, dark smoky plums, more sour cherry on the palate. Ripe but pretty grippy. Finishes warm and more velvety but a bit of heat at the very end. (JH)

Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca.
Bright dark crimson. Spicy red-cherry fruit and a light herbal note. Lively, fresh and moreish, lighter than I expected from the blend but balanced with good length. GV if it really is less than €4. Well packaged too. (JH)

An Enoport wine. Fermented in lagares, nine months in French oak.
Rich and dark with a balsam note. Dark on the palate too, fine grained, generous fruit balanced by the rounded tannins and a juicy finish. (JH)

80-year-old field blend of 20 varieties including Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Nacional. 12 months in French oak and 12 months in bottle before release.
Youthful bright but deep crimson. Just the most amazing aromas: there's cherry and orange and the merest hint of leather and spice. Lifted without being in the least volatile. Dry but silky smooth tannins. Glides across the palate like a practised dancer. Effortless complexity and elegance and all the while both gentle and fresh with a fine dry finish. (JH)

Field blend of Tinta Amarela, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, etc. 80-year-old vines grown at the highest point on the estate. 18 months in new French oak. Unnecessarily heavy bottle.
Blackish dark crimson. Wonderfully fragrant and lifted wild fruits and a marked thyme aroma. Dense and savoury on the palate but not heavy, counterbalanced by some oak sweetness. Effortless concentration and even with all that tannin, still glides across the palate. Pretty oaky now but at least the oak adds dark savour rather than sweetness. (JH)

Deep, dark crimson. Smells riper and darker than the Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2005, veering towards tar and molasses though the freshness of dark fruit counteracts those sweet aromas. Maybe a touch medicinal, too, certainly complex. Dense and still quite a bit of sweet oak spice on the palate, only now dying back in favour of the fruit. Firm, dense tannins, dry minerally aftertaste. Only just ready now but with food, please. (JH)

100% Rabigato from their highest parcels of 20-year-old Rabigato at 500 m in the Douro Superior on schist. Cooled for 12 hours to 10 ºC. Fermented in large oak (2,000 litres) with indigenous yeasts. Aged 14 months in foudres. pH 3.3.
Pale straw. Inviting nose of quince and citrus along with nutty and salty notes. Oatmeal too. Very crisp and mouthwateringly zesty on the palate. Pure, penetrating and lively and a salty/creamy finish. Refined and expressive but just lacks a certain persistence. Gives the impression that it will age well in bottle – and seems barely to have aged so far – though I haven't tasted any older vintages. (JH)

Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca. Douro Superior. 40- to 60-year-old vines. Eight months in new French and American oak.
Warm, ripe and spicy. Damson fruit. Then lots of vanilla and coconut and mocha on the palate, rather defeating the fruit at this stage. Too much oak sweetness for me and then the oak is drying it out. (JH)

Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Donzelinho Tinto, Rufete, Sousão, Tinta Cão. Stupid heavy bottle. Poços = wells. Lamego – Cima Corgo. 18 months in French oak, new and used.
Ripe blackberry, touch of vanilla and orange and just a little spirity on the nose. Thick and velvety, massive in the mouth. Lots of spice. Finishes dense and dry and only just fresh. Rich, chewy and generous. Not for the faint-hearted. (JH)

Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz. Douro Superior. Part of Douro Family Estates. One of the oldest estates in the Douro Superior.
Very dark black cherry colour. Restrained on the nose but much more expressive on the palate. Lively black fruit. Dry and chewy but well balanced by the savoury and dark fruit. Powerful, intense and long though the finish is a little heavy and hard. (JH)

Field blend. 'The crossing'. Douro Superior. Two to three days' skin contact and matured on lees in used oak with lees stirring.
Mineral, pine-forest freshness. Amazingly full in the mouth given the 1.8 g/l RS though the alcohol is 13.6%. Mostly citrus but also a touch of fresh pineapple. Powerful and long. (JH)

Mainly Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. Bottled 2011. From Quinta das Bandeiras, near Pocinho, opposite Vale Meão. Owned by the Berquist family but a JV with Jorge Moreira. 18 months in French oak.
Black core. First impression is delicately floral. With aeration, there's more of that Touriga Nacional typical bergamot note and small black berries. Finely aromatic without being OTT. Lively juicy and sweet-fruited on the palate. Fresher than so many 2009s. Taut, zesty and dry but the tannins are fine grained. Good length. Less savoury than many. Maybe just a little too floral as it opens up. (JH)

Celso Pereira winemaker – well known for fizz. 50% fermented in barrique.
Pale bright gold. A little bit toasty but mostly fresh apple and citrus aromas. Lively, tastes bone dry (5.9 g/l) and pH 2.92. Very very crisp, youthful and mouthwatering. Bubbles fade fairly fast and there's a slight grip on the finish. (JH)

57% Touriga Nacional. They produce 160,000 bottles of this second wine. Less Touriga Nacional than in the grand vin. Used French oak.
Deep garnet. Lots of spice on the nose. Firm, dry grip. Fresh and dry finish with a touch of heat. Flavour rather than sophistication at the moment and a nice juicy finish. (JH)

Too-heavy bottle. Barrique aged.
Deep, dark cherry crimson. Lots of sour red cherry on the nose too, quite lifted. Bags of peppery spice. Unexpectedly smooth at this young stage even though the tannins are so dense. I thought the alcohol would stand out more but that sour cherry flavour seems to undermine the alcohol's sweetening effect and there a more savoury dark finish. Needs time even though the tannins are so well managed. (JH)

Field blend of Malvasia Fina, Códega, Viosinho, Rabigato, Donzelinho. Dry white = drier style. Normal sweet white would be 110-20 g/l RS and this is 60 g/l.
Deep gold with a hint of ochre. Slighty nutty and lots of bitter orange, a bit like a Madeira on the nose. Sweet and rich but also fresh. Amazingly youthful and tangy with that orange zest finish and so long. (JH)

The Dalva tawnies tend to be more consistent than their colheitas because they are aiming for a particular house style.
Sweeter on the nose than the 1975 Colheita – heather honey – and a little spirity. Drier style but lower acidity? Very fresh and finely balanced. RS 110 g/l, TA 5 g/l. Apricots. A little bit harsher than the 1975. (JH)