Coudel Mor Reserva 2016

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Growing up in Portugal in the 90s has brought with it a sort of general obsession from cities and villages from all over the country to be recognized as capitals of something. In the case of the place where I was born, it became known as the Gothic capital due to the considerable amount of early Gothic churches spread all over the city.

About 14km away there is Cartaxo which in 2002 has gotten the denomination of Wine Capital.

I have to confess that at the time I was rather puzzled and skeptical about such thing. Being at college at the time I had developed a tremendous passion for the Douro region and the complexity and maturity of its wines and have always been suspicious of the wines produced around the place where I was born. 

Slowly my opinion started changing and I was already living in Germany when I have finally fallen in love with the Tejo wines and with the tasting worlds that they offer.

This Coudel Mor is a good example of how you can intensively dive in a noble and elegant wine where strong berries and chocolate are perfectly embraced by a predominant vanilla which makes it a pretty round wine with a long ending.

The 8 months French oak barrel give it a very good intensity and deepness making it a perfect wine for these cold winter days.

Definite a wine to come back to rather soon.

With it a winter poem by Robert Frost which also manages to warm us these days.


Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,   
And miles to go before I sleep.

18,5/20
Country: Portugal
Region: Tejo
Grapes: Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Tinta Roriz, Trincadeira

14,5%
Winemaker: Pedro Gil
 Website: https://adegacartaxo.pt/vinhos/coudel-mor/coudel-
mor-reserva-tinto/ 
Location: Hamburg, Germany

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