Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2018 vintage. Decanted and tasted after 15 minutes and 2 hours. Medium-heavy body. Polished, pretty and present. No particular component/part of the experience catapulted this into whoa territory today. 2.13.26. — 3 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

Exclusively from their vineyards in the northern part of Vinho Verde, Monção and Melgaço. I’ve been there! That’s where I accidentally got up two hours early cause my clock switched to Spain time and I thought that meant I'dn need to get up an hour early. Contacto has a little more skin contact than average, turning up with a slight texture and friendly bitter bite. On the nose, it’s fresh lemon zest, wet stone and whetstone, with a bit of white flower. The palate is utterly thirst-quenching, veering into dried apricot territory and a bit of (as I said above) fun bitterness countering the fruit. It all wraps up with a sluice of salinity. Fun, fun, fun! — 2 years ago

David D

9.0

Dolcetto d’Alba Superiore
Grown in Barbaresco territory and aged in old oak casks – a meatier Dolcetto. Angular with really bright acids, tart raspberry, steely tannins. From Astor Wines. 05/03/23 — 3 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.3

I'm in new territory and I really like the offering here. Nice smoked meat and big dark berry . Fairly approachable out of the gate and will only improved with time. — a year ago

Carlos Burger

9.2

Whoa. Spices. Reductive. Getting to white burg territory texturally. Slightly oxidized? Is that intentional? Super good but also weird! — 3 years ago

Ivor

9.0

Beautifully ageing into tertiary territory. Red fruits, cinnamon, caramel and tea leaves. Some time left but missing the 05 magic I really love. — 3 years ago

Iwan

8.9

Firmly in tertiary territory at first, with mushroom and soy sauce on the nose and palate. After 20 minutes or air time fruit came to life, still with good acidity and chewy tannin. Has plenty of life in in but very tasty right now. — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2011 vintage. Difficult vintage for Napa and environs to be sure. Usual mountain suspects seemed to fare better than valley floor stuff. All that said, more than a few properties re-releasing 2011's out into the wild and they are, generally, drinking very well. Not improving but reaching the top of their respective bell curves. This is one such story. No baby fat left. Serious mineral/earth influences throughout. The nose takes this into hello! territory. The finish signs the deed to the property. Hit this in the next 3-4 years for maximum enjoyment. 02.26.25. — a year ago

Aaron Tan

9.1

The last and probably the best bottle from a lot of four purchased from our local importer. There was quite a bit of bottle variation in our Malaysian importer’s 19’ Envinate release - the Migan’s and Palo Blanco’s were quite the rollercoaster ride - but the Vinas de Aldea seemed to have gotten the good side of the container. Like the last bottle, this was full of floral elegance and tangy energy. Super complex aromas of violets, ripe cherries, sweet herbs, pepper, and a touch of coffee and flint. All finesse on the palate, but has depth too. Sweet red fruits, bittersweet herbs, umeshu, and an absolutely lovely, Mosel-esque slatey minerality; finishing sharp with grippy, chalky tannins. For me it was firmly in that red kabinett territory, and downright perfect with our fatty Angus picanha. Loved it! — 3 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2020 vintage. Plenty of spice and fruit…needs a little more tannic structure to vault it into must-have territory. Still delish. — 3 years ago