Very smooth ripe, rich nose. It's elegant and full with a nice chocolatey depth, with a hint of wood. The palate is smmooth and ripe with a nice spicy elegance. Smooth, with some tannic structure. Very fine and brilliantly elegant.
95/100 points (= excellent)
I felt that I had begin to understand what Dirk is trying to do with his red wines a little more from this evening. There are other wines from the Douro that are now gaining critics' plaudits with their more immediate impact, but I feel Dirk's are that little bit more serious - if you like, a more authentic expression of the Douro with the potential to develop with age. The style has moved around a little, but I suspect with the 2001 vintage that Dirk is more happy with the direction they are taking, and that this is the way that he will probably be going. But that's just a hunch. To finish with we had three impressive Ports.
[af]
