Do we ship to you?.
Also Recommended
Picture
Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2011
$103.75
Red Blend
Portugal
Douro
750ml
N/A
Better Price, Better Score
2013
$85.72
Red Blend
Portugal
Douro
750ml
More wines available from Quinta Do Vallado
More Details
Winery
Quinta Do Vallado
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Region: Douro
From their beautifully rich Bordeaux style wines, to their famous fortified wines, the wineries of Douro in Portugal have long been recognized as being amongst the finest of the Old World. For over two thousand years, Douro has been an important center of fine wine production, and it isn't difficult to see why the earliest attempts at viticulture led to an ever expanding wine industry in the region. The beautiful Douro river provides the vineyards with all the moisture and nutrients they need in order to grow fruit of real character and flavor, and the long, baking hot summers help ripen the grapes and intensify their juices. Today, Douro wines are popular all over the world, and wineries are producing more bottles than ever before to keep up with demand. Although the region is still most famous for the fortified wines of Porto, the still wines have centuries of tradition, and a whole set of distinctive flavors and characteristics that simply cannot be ignored.
Country: Portugal
Benefiting from both the hot, dry Iberian climate as well as brisk Atlantic winds, Portugal is a perfectly situated country for vineyard cultivation and wine production. With a wine making history which stretches back thousands of years, it comes as little surprise that wine plays an important role in the cultural identity and practices of the country. The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks and the Romans all had a hand in forming Portugal as an important center for wine production, and over the millennia, this resulted in each region of this beautiful part of Europe producing its own distinctive wines easily identifiable and separate from neighboring Spain's. Today, the varied terroir and climate across Portugal allows a great range of wines to be made each year, from the fresh and dry Vinho Verde wines to the famous and widely drunk fortified Port wines, and many in between.