Quinta Das Bandeiras (Quinta de la Rosa & Poeira) Reserve Passagem

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The 2009 Reserva “Passagem” is a blend of 40% Touriga Nacional , 45% Touriga Franca and 15% Tinta Cao aged for 18 months in French oak. This will likely not hit the shelves until around March, 2012. Overly tinged with oak in its youth, it came around nicely with aeration, absorbing some of the early oaky nuances, but never losing it all. There is some astringency on the finish, and I was surprised by the power this has. I had to laugh at the winery’s statement that it intends to make fruity wines from this estate. Well, it is fruity, but the implication that they’re all soft and easy without much going on?well, sometimes. Not always. Not this year. After integrating some of the oak, this began to show some steel and minerality as well. I really liked the 2007 and 2008, different vintages but nice wines – but this may yet be the best of the trio, mingling sweet and delicious fruit with an initially stern demeanor and that tannic burst. It is still not at peak as yet. You can approach this now if you wish, but it will be better in 2013 when, I expect, the hard edges have softened. It does need to integrate the oak. Drink now-2019. This is the relatively new joint venture between Quinta de La Rosa (the Bergqvist family) and its winemaker Jorge Moreira (also the owner-winemaker of Poeira). The winery says that the wines from Passagem (i.e, “The Crossing”) tend to be fruitier and more aromatic while the wines from La Rosa tend to show more minerality as the Passagems are sourced from the Douro Superior at Quinta das Bandeiras (hence the corporate name). Bandeiras is, says the winery, “near Pocinho right opposite the famous Vale Meao.” The red this year is a Reserva, but note that there is no regular wine. They make but one. Sophia Bergqvist said: “As we don’t produce much from this vineyard, we have followed the policy of either having a Reserve or a non Reserve depending on the year...It all depends on the quality. Also, I don’t want to start making tiny quantities of wines that nobody then can get hold of.”Importers: Tri-Vin Imports, Mt. Vernon, NY; tel. (914) 664-3155; William-Harrison Imports, Manassas, VA; tel. ( 703) 815-9463; Masciarelli Wines, Weymouth, MA