The Morning Claret

Simon J Woolf & Friends on Wild and Wonderful Wines

Day: 1 March 2021

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Branco 2019

Miguel Morais only makes one white wine at his beautiful estate in Cima Corgo. And it’s actually an orange wine, in this vintage 20 days of skin contact. 2019 is the freshest, most elegant year of this wine that I’ve Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Branco 2017

A fascinating comparison to its younger 2019 twin, here the skin contact is very evident (even though it was 17 days, a bit less than in some other years) with a dark amber, tea-like colour and some serious tannic grunt. Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – The Somm 2019

First vintage of a rosé at this small Douro estate, run by Miguel Morais, with winemaking assistance from Luis Seabra. (Awaiting label) It’s quite intensely coloured and flavoured – translucent purple/pink, no shrinking salmon-pink here. Concentrated and focused fruit profile, Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Peladosa 2018

From a super low-yielding old vineyard plot that Miguel once thought about tearing out, this Douro field-blend is seriously exciting if still very young. Open on the nose, filled with roasted herb, violets and ink. Velvety wild berry fruit on Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Marufo 2019

Marufo (aka Mourisco) is a tricky little number, and hardly a popular grape variety in Douro – where traditionally everyone wanted plenty of colour and extraction. This pale translucent pink wine is lighter than Miguel’s rosé – even though it’s Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Gradual 2015

Very serious stuff considering this is Miguel’s entry-level wine – and also evolving beautifully. I lasted tasted this in 2019 and it felt a lot lighter and simpler. Earthy, forest-floor like nose with a splash of Touriga’s perfumy, violet character Read more

Quinta da Costa do Pinhão – Tinto 2015

If you yearn for the typical flavours of Douro reds, but without anything overblown or lashings of oak, then this will really hit the spot. Baked plums, blueberries, roasted herbs, violets and iodine on the nose. Spicy berries on the Read more