The results of Decanter World Wine Awards were announced at London Wine Fair yesterday.

My panel awarded the competition’s first trophy for a Portuguese white wine – much to my delight, an Alvarinho from Moncoa e Melgaco!

And once again, fortified Moscatels performed brilliantly – this time two rare Roxos from Setubal bagged trophies, while the hotly contested trophy for red Northern Portugal over £10 went to a terrific 2009 Douro red.

Here are the full results, including for Port and Madeira (which panel was chaired by Richard Mayson):

White Northern Portugal over £10

Deu la Deu Alvarinho 2010, Moncao E Melgaco, Vinho Verde, Portugal

Red Northern Portugal over £10

Churchill Graham Quinta da Gricha 2009 Douro, Portugal.

Portuguese Fortified over £10

Bacalhôa 2007 Moscatel De Setubal, Portugal

Portuguese Fortified over £10

Bacalhôa Moscatel Roxo 2000,Setúbal, Portugal

Colheita Port over £10 Trophy

Barão de Vilar 1990 Colheita, Port, Portugal

Madeira over £10

Blandy’s 1996 Colheita Malmsey, Madeira, Portugal

Vintage Port over £10

Dow’s 2000 Vintage, Port, Portugal

Click here to find out the full results from Decanter World Wine Awards and click here to find out which wines glittered at the International Wine Challenge, whose results were also announced yesterday.

Tonight, I’m attending a function to mark the launch of the Madeira Flower and Wine Show hosted by Pestana Hotels at their London hotel, Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel.

Madeira’s most innovative producer, Ricardo Diogo V. Freitas of Barbeito, will be showing his wines alongside an exhibition of Madeira’s finest flora presented by His Excellency The Mayor of Funchal, Miguel Albuquerque.

Freitas was the first Madeira producer to bottle a 20 Year Old, then 30 Year Old Madeira (both Malvasias) – terrific wines.  Since then Henriques & Henriques have launched a 20 Year Old Malvasia and a 20 Year Old Terrantez, also terrific (reviewed here).  Earlier this month, I had my first taste of a 20 Year Old Verdelho.  Here are my notes:

HM Borges Verdelho 20 Year Old Madeira

Great varietal character and purity to this intense Madeira.  It shows juicy tropical fruit, especially guava, with a smokiness I often pick up  in Verdelho Madeira.  Going through, it’s very fine and precise, with bright and persistent grapefruity acidity.  A long, fruity, tangy Madeira.  Very attractive.

This month the Symington family released Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira and Quinta do Vesuvio Single Quinta Vintage Ports for sale en primeur.  Below you’ll find my tasting notes on both from The Big Fortified Tasting.  First, here’s the Symington’s summary of the 2010 vintage:

“After three very dry years, the winter of 2009-2010 saw an extraordinary change, with heavy rains of 100 mm or more recorded at Pinhão for each of six months in a row.  The viticultural year progressed well until July and August when we had not one drop of rain.  Temperatures in excess of 35ºC throughout most of August slowed the maturation cycle, as the vines cannot photosynthesise and mature the grapes properly in conditions of continued extreme heat.  As a result the harvest began 5 days later than usual, but was conducted under mostly perfect conditions with a few welcome light showers in early September and only one overnight rainfall in early October.  Paul Symington’s full Harvest Report for 2010 is available on the Graham’s Blog.”

Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira Single Quinta Vintage Port 2010

Deep velvety purple/aubergine with a bright pink rim.  And I tend to think of the estate’s ports as rich, dark and velvety.  Not this one, or at least not yet.  Though initially quite closed, once it opens up, it’s incredibly perfumed on the nose, heady with violets and rock rose.  In the mouth, it remains pretty tight, taut and mineral, with well defined fresh red fruits and lifted peppery, floral notes.  Pushes you off for now – great cheekbones though!

Quinta do Vesuvio 2010 Single Quinta Vintage Port

Vesuvio (pictured) is consistently among my pick of the vintage.   The 2010 is an extremely inky dark hue, the nose, coolly mineral.  In the mouth, it’s positively wedged with minerals, which lend a cool, firm, tensile quality – an iron fist to the velvet glove of wild blackcurrants and lacy floral notes.  There’s a hint of bitumen, liquorice and pepper too.  Long and layered, with seams on the outside tousled tannins, this is a gloriously powerful, complex and intense wine.  Terrific.

The Symingtons will also bottle single quinta vintage ports from Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais.

This week I’ve at last made it out to Lisbon to judge at the Concorso Nacional de Vinho 2012.  No problems with volcanic ash clouds this year and, with a fair wind on tomorrow’s return journey, I should be back just in the nick of time for a dinner in honour of Decanter Man of the Year, Paul Symington.

So, with Portugal on my mind, today’s blog focuses on Alentejo’s Herdade dos Coelheiros, whose wines I recently tasted for the first time.  They made quite an impression me because, without sacrificing Alentejo’s warm, earthy style, the estate makes great use of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in its blends while, flying solo, a Petit Verdot blew my socks off.   If you’re a fan of Barossa or McLaren Vale reds (of which I’ve been tasting a lot lately), you’ll like these too.

Here are my notes:

Herdade dos Coelheiros Tapada dos Coelheiros 2008 (VR Alentejano)

An earthy blend of Aragones, Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon.  A rich mid-palate shows toasty raspberry and blackberry fruit, with savoury black olive and tobacco leaf notes.  Ripe but grainy tannins and well balanced acidity make for a persistent finish.  Very well done.  14.5%

Herdade dos Coelheiros Tapada dos Coelheiros Garrafeira 2007 (VR Alentejano)

Lots of lift – eucalyptus and violets – to this firmly structured, youthful blend of Aragones and Cabernet Sauvignon.  In the mouth it shows tight knit red cherry and blackcurrant fruit, with bayleaf spice, well supported by ripe but present tannins.  Very much a food wine and one which would benefit from a couple of years in bottle to loosen up.  14%

Herdade dos Colheiros Tapada dos Coelheiros Petit Verdot 2006 (VR Alentejano)

This deeply coloured, well structured red is immensely rich and complex for a single varietal wine.  Black berry & currant fruit is seamlessly integrated with layers of bay leaf, spice, woodsmoke, tapenade, dark chocolate and vanilla.  Long and lingering, it’s a hugely satisfying yet balanced wine with powerful ripe tannins.  A really successful segue of fruity and savoury characters.  14.5%

Herdade dos Coelheiros Branca de Almeida Tinto 2006 (VR Alentejano)

This time, Merlot gets a look in, here blended with Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet.  Deeply coloured with a rich, warm, spicy, earthy nose and palate with a ripe core of velvety blackcurrant and plum.  Plenty of nuance too – bay leaf, cassia bark, liquorice, leather and cooler menthol note.  The finish is long, well structured and spicy.  Very good indeed.

Mention South Africa and seals and the first thing that springs to mind is a particularly memorable walk around the stunning Robberg Peninsula, off the Garden Route.  It’s home to a vocal colony of fur seals who delight in quitting the waves split seconds before they crash into the rocks off the point.

As South African fur seals delight tourists, the South African wine industry seeks not just to delight consumers with what’s in the bottle, but also to inform them with wine bottle seals which identify ethically produced wines.

First, there was the Sustainability Seal (pictured below), introduced in 2010, which can only be used by producers who are certified as sustainable by Sustainable Wine South Africa.

Last week, a new seal was launched (pictured, top) which guarantees that wine has been produced in line with the fair labour practices outlined and audited by the Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association (WIETA) – click here for details.

Commenting on the new drive, Linda Lipparoni, CEO of WIETA, said: “By introducing the seal we want to acknowledge and accredit wineries and farms that follow ethical practices, and protect them from potential negative publicity resulting from those who flout the law.”  

No doubt Lipparoni had in mind last year’s Human Rights Watch report about the fruit and wine industry on which fellow wine writer Tim Atkin MW wrote a thoughtful and balanced article here.

So it will also be reassuring for consumers to know that, in order to ensure significant industry participation, the launch of the seal will be combined with a programme to fast-track the implementation of fair labour practices on wine farms and in cellars.

It’s expected that the first seals will be granted later this year to currently compliant producers.

Banbury wine merchant SH Jones’s South African Variety Show tasting next Thursday, 17 May looks unmissable.

Winemakers (including young gun Craig Hawkins, pictured), estate owners, winery representatives and importers will be showing around 80 wines (and no Coca-Cola!)

Wineries represented include :-

• Rustenberg (Murray Barlow, proprietor)
• Paul Cluver (Paul Cluver Jr)
• Klein Constantia (Iain Phillips, MentzendorfUK, importer)
• Meerlust Estate (Marni Laurent Trammell – Maison Marques et Domaines)
• Spice Route (Charls du Plessis, winemaker)
• Catherine Marshall (Catherine Marshall)
• Bouchard Finlayson (Peter Finlayson)
• Kaapzicht Estate (Yngvild Steytler, proprietor)
• Seven Springs (Tim Pearson, proprietor)
• Glenelly Estate (Luke O’Cuinneagain, winemaker)
• Thandi (Vernon Henn, general manager)
• Ernie Els (Lynton Kaiser, marketing manager)
• Warwick Estate (James Dare, EU market manager)
• Lammershoek (Craig Hawkins, Winemaker)
• Sadie Family (Andrew Higgs, Richards Walford)

Wines will also be on show from A A Badenhorst Family Helderberg, Slowine and Reyneke

I’m told there will be special offers, including a limited number of subsidised ‘Discover the diversity’ mixed cases during May on a first come first served basis.

The ticket price (subbed by Wines of South Africa) is a very bargainful £5 per person. The event runs from 7.00pm to 9.30pm.

Contact SH Jones on 01295 251177  about ticket availability.

Last week I wrote up my first stand out ports from the Big Fortified Tasting – two outstanding mature examples – Graham’s 1952 Single Harvest Tawny & Warre’s Private Cellar 1963 Vintage Port.

Today’s example is a vintage port which fair bristles with youthful energy.  How I wish I could press the fast forward button to taste it in all its mature glory!  It is the third consecutive release of Niepoort’s single vineyard vintage port (known as Pisca, after the vineyard, in its maiden release).

I’ve always found this port to be quite singular and this is no exception.  Though it’s plenty powerful, it has a vinous (table wine like) “slim” quality about it.  The fluid way that it moves in the glass.  Its pools of fruit – black currant and berry – very pure, with a scent of violets.   The fine, powdery tannins.  Plus there’s an old vine intensity and glow, a melded minerality, which it currently wears to the fore, armour-like.  But it radiates potential.  I’m already looking forward to seeing how this intense port unravels over time.

I like to think I’m reasonably ahead of the curve on my areas of focus, but I have to admit I was surprised to receive an email about The Wine Society’s new Aussie label, Blind Spot.

Why? The range retails for under £9 and is made by Mac Forbes, one of Australia’s most go ahead winemakers.  And when I say go ahead, I should be specific.  Forbes has an unerring eye for great parcels of fruit with a sense of place.  And he lets both do the talking with his uncluttered, hands off approach to winemaking.

My curiosity fired up,  I shot off an email to The Wine Society’s Australia buyer Pierre Mansour to find out more about the project.  This is what he told me. “This is the culmination of a long project I’ve been involved in for our Australian range. Basically, I felt that we were missing out on some decent “everyday” Oz wines: the geography makes it so tough for us to crack unless I lived out there! So, Mac’s brief is to intercept some great wines that may have been otherwise destined for the bulk market and just blended away to oblivion. As you know his connections are superb. We then taste together, make some tweaks to final blends & Mac oversees the bottling.”

The Blind Spot range currently comprises a Mornington Peninsula  Chardonnay (£8.50), Gundagai Sangiovese 2010 (£8.25),  Rutheglen Grenache Shiraz Mataro (£7.95) and Grampians Shiraz Cabernet (£7.95).  Assuming members like it, it will be an ongoing feature of The Wine Society’s range, though the styles/grapes may change in line with whatever catches Forbe’s eye.

This member of The Wine Society liked the current range.  These two really shone:

Blind Spot Sangiovese 2010 (Gundagai, NSW)

In case you’re wondering, Gundagai is an elevated region, located between 500-1000m above sea level in Southern New South Wales.  Pale ruby with a garnet rim, this take on one of Italy’s best known grapes (think Chianti) is exactly as a should be.  It has the variety’s typical bright red cherry fruit to nose and palate, with hints of leather, spice and refined ripe tea leaf tannins.  Though it has lovely fruity acidity – well-integrated – it’s plumper than your average Italian expression, which makes an attractive proposition with or without food.  14% abv.

Blind Spot Shiraz Cabernet 2010 (Grampians, Victoria)

A great example of Shiraz Cabernet – as broad as it’s long – with a cool climate peppery twist.  On the nose, the Shiraz comes to the fore, showing hints of smoky charcuterie/bacon fat and black pepper (very Grampians), which follow through in the mouth.  The Shiraz fleshes out the juicy and generous red and black berry mid-palate, while the Cabernet lends line and length of black berry and currant.  Great length  and drive for this price.  Very good indeed.  14%

The Big Fortified Tasting (the b.f.t.) lays claim to being the single largest wine fair in the world which is solely dedicated to fortified wines.

In its third year, founders Danny Cameron and Ben Campbell-Johnston promised a truly outstanding line up, the best yet.  And they were right.

This (trade) event is unmissable and I was only sorry not to attend any of the seminars which, by all accounts, were excellent – next year!

To lift off the page just how good the line up was, here are my notes on two absolutely outstanding mature Ports which I’d challenge anyone to spit:

Graham’s 1952 Single Harvest Tawny

From the year in which the queen ascended the throne, this 1952 Single Harvest Tawny (Colheita) has received the Palace’s approval to offer the wine to the public “To Commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”  Is it worthy of the honour?  I have to admit, I was a little sceptical about the timing but, of course, coming from the Symington Family stable, I should have known better.  It is terrific.  Rich mahogany in hue, the first clue as to its power and authority lies in its colour – deeper than the 1969 Graham’s Colheita shown alongside it.   Both nose and palate exhibit remarkable concentration – a real charge of dried fruits and citrus peel – with liquorice and spice to its long, intense, finish.  Lovely precision and freshness too and, in this, quite different from the sweeter, moreish 1961 Single Harvest Tawny.  The first release of  Graham’s 1952 Single Harvest Tawny (just 1,000 individually numbered bottles) is being sold exclusively by Berry Brothers & Rudd for £275. Additionally ten jeroboams (4.5 litre bottles) will be released.  You can read more about this wine on Graham’s blog here.

Warre’s Private Cellar 1963 Vintage Port

Paler than many a tawny, it’s hard to believe just how intense and lingering this is and, after nearly 50 years, how smooth.   It’s a seamless flow of deliciousness, with layers of liquorice, esteva, demerara, cafe creme and macaroons.  With wonderful depth and resonance, its softly crooning finish hums for minutes.  Fabulous.  Click here to find out more about this wine, which comes from the Symington Family’s own private cellars, hence the name.