Wine & Soul, Chocopalha and the excellent Pintas Ports

2011 Chocapalha Reserva White:
Pale lemon yellow. Lilies of the valley, apples, some minerals and vanilla nose, very slight butter note behind. Fresh acidity, elegant texture, fruity, somewhat rich but balanced, lemony mineral finish, good length. Unfortunatelly the summer is over, this is a terrace winner. 89

2012 Wine & Soul Guru White:
Pale lemon yellow. Some yellow fruits, lemons, floral notes, minerals, grapefruit and some smoky notes. Fresh acidity, fresh, almost creamy texture, lemony minerality, fresh and lively, needs air to open, good length. 89

2010 Mar de Lisboa:
Ruby. Dark and red berries, slightly spicy and peppery nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fairly soft, slightly lean, but hey, it doesn't cost much. A quaffer. 82

2008 Quinta de Chocapahla:
Ruby. Scented, minty, dark berries, ever so slight floral note, subdued minerals below. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, bit tight, fruity, red berries, good length. 86

2009 Quinta da Chocapahla:
Ruby. Rich, ripe, scented and fruity nose. Some mint. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, ripe, not quite as rich palate as nose, good length. I preffer the cooler 08 personally. 86

2009 Chocopalha Vinha Māe:
Deep ruby. Dark berries, ripe and fruity, some vanilla and coffee on the nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, slight rustic note mid palate before a smoother finish, rich finish. Good length. 88

2010 CH by Chocapalha:
2000 bottles made. Deep ruby. Dark berries, liquorice, almost extracted blackberries and vanilla nose, spicy. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, ripe and sweet, rounded, vanilla, smooth texture, bit warm finish, long. 89

2011 Wine & Soul Manoella:
Deep ruby. Ripe, rich,fruity, blackberries, spicy, vanilla, intense nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, less rich than the nose, fairly smooth, not that long. 89

2011 Pintas Character:
Deep ruby. Ripe, fruity, blackberries, some spices, vanilla and alcohol notes on top. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, alcohol shines through on the palate, sweetish, rich, quite smooth fruit, but even if tbe alcohol shines through, the finish is more balanced and not that warm. Good length. 89

2011 Pintas Douro Red:
Dark ruby. Ripe blackberries, ripe morellos, touch of anise, spices and vanilla with just a ever so slight herbal note on top. Freshish acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, anise and some stone from stone fruit, slightly woody, long. 91

2011 Wine & Soul Quinta da Manoella VV:
3000fl Deep ruby. Rich, fruity, blackberries, floral notes, vanilla, scented and ripe nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, rounded and fruity, vanilla, more together than last bottle last week, this one got two and a half hours in decanter that really rounded it off, long. 91

Wine & Soul 10 Years old Tawny:
Ruby with thin garnet rim. Dried fruits, figs, quite intense ten years old tawny, touch of nuts and Christmas spices nose. Fresh acidity, elegant, fresh and fairly fruity tawny, elegant, lovely and long. 90

2009 Wine & Soul Pintas Vintage Port:
3000 bottles made. Deep ruby. Rich, dark fruits, scented and slightly floral over the quite massive wall of dark fruits. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, pure feel, fresh and lively, intense, I think it's layered behind all this fruit, very long, I wish I had a case of this. 94

2011 Wine & Soul Pintas Vintage Port:
4000 bottles made. Deep ruby. Dark berries, even a red berries note on top, layererd, rich yes, but also nuanced nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fresh and lively, quite playful, quite gorgeous, smooth and very long, I can take two cases of this since I'm at it. 95