March 2007 Wine Tasting Notes:
2003 Barreto Cellars Vintage Port, Lodi.
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This Port is a seep, dark ruby color. The nose offers medium intensity raisin and prune aromas with notes of butterscotch, blueberry and anise. The palate consists of medium prune and raisin flavors backed by light brambly berries. A full body, alcohol and acid levels proportionate to fruit extraction make for a smooth, rich mouthfeel. A medium length finish delivers more light briary blackberry flavors backed by raisin and prune notes. Dark, bittersweet chocolate livens up the bright blackberry flavors. |
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Cumulative Score: 90 breakdown 18.0% Alcohol $35.00 Retail (from winery); 93 half-cases produced |
This Port defined by rich, ripe briary berry character. Juicy flavors are interlaced with spice and butterscotch for a multilayered sipping experience. Velvety smooth, this inviting offering made from traditional Portuguese varieties reveals more of its charm with well-chosen chocolate. Built to last, this Port should last up to 10 years in proper cellar conditions. |
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58% Tempranillo, 39% Touriga Nacional and 3% Souzào sourced from Silvaspoons Vineyard in Lodi. Aged for 22 months in neutral French oak.
While Port-styled wine can be made from just about any grape, true Port is made from a combination of eight traditional Portuguese varieties: Mourisco, Souzào, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesca and Touriga Nacional (read more). In the making of fortified wine, alcohol (typically brandy) is added to the wine before fermentation ends, the fermentation process stops and the resulting wine is sweet because of residual sugars. If the alcohol were to be added later (typically when fermentation is close to being finished or has completed), the wine will be dry and the result is called Sherry. Traditionally, Port is rich, with alcohol levels generally in the 18% to 20% range. Read more about Port.
The thick-skinned Spanish Tempranillo is believed to originate in northern Spain and some have suggested that it shares its ancestral lineage with Pinot Noir. The primary grape of Rioja wines, it has been called the Spanish answer to Cabernet Sauvignon. The name, Tempranillo, is a derivation of “temprano” – the Spanish word for “early” This is very fitting as the variety ripens several weeks earlier than other red varieties. It has almost always been used as part of a blend in dry table wines, often with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan or Grenache and the lesser know Graciano, Mazuelo and Monastrell. Tempranillo plays a minor role in Port (called Tinta Roriz in Portugal). It is typified by lower acidity and lower sugars (and, thus, lower potential alcohol). This characteristic makes it both successful in hot climates and an excellent food pairing. Although it is planted in Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Australia, California and Chile it is at its best produces its best results in cooler growing regions. Tempranillo produces deep-colored wines with tannins approachable in youth. It can also withstand a heavier oak treatment and age gracefully in both barrel and bottle. In its youth, Tempranillo offers strawberry, cherry and black currant aromas and flavors accompanied by toffee, spices, herbal and earthy characteristics such as olive and tobacco as well as leather and mineral elements. It is a grape of many names depending on location and it is believed that much of the Valdepeñas grown for California’s jug wines is actually Tempranillo.
Known as "Mortagua" in Portugal and simply "Touriga", Touriga Naçional is considered the best and finest variety for port. It is also blended with other varieties in Portugal to make rich table wines. The very small, dark berries make for small yields of deep colored, tannic wines with considerable longevity. Valued for its quality, it is grown not only in the Iberian peninsula but also in Argentina, Australia, Chile and several locations in the United States in addition to California. This grape gives structured, dark colored wine with intense berry aromas and ripe flavors of blackberry, black currant, blueberry, floral notes of roses and violets, licorice, chocolate and tea.
A vigorous variety, the northern Portuguese native, Souzào, is one of very few dark grapes whose pulp (and juice) contain pigment and is often used to impart its vivid color to blends. Currently, it is more widely planted in Australia, California and South Africa. Its high sugar content makes for higher alcohol levels. Souzào gives concentrated color and ripe, juicy blackberry, licorice and raisin flavors. Read more about Port.
Despite the challenging and testy weather in the form of unusually heavy spring rains, temperate weather in the summer and early autumn heat in 2003, there was much hope for the leaner 2003 California wine grape crop. Excessive heat affected fruit development for some growers and summer cool spells also delayed maturation in other regions. Early autumn rains followed by cooler temperatures delayed harvest for some growers. The 2003 crop was 5% smaller than the preceding year's according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture in its Preliminary Grape Crush Report. Despite the stresses brought on by weather variations, fruit from the 2003 harvest was intense in color and flavor. Juice chemistry parameters indicated a promising vintage. This was felt to be particularly favorable for Pinot Noir. Chardonnay and Syrah were also reported to be promising. Madera County experienced a relatively long and dry (and no doubt warm) growing season in 2003.
Silvaspoons Vineyard, in Lodi’s Alta Mesa sub-appellation, produces mainly Zinfandel. However it is also know for its Portuguese, Italian and Rhône varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Nero de’ Avola and Grenache – all of which it produces in small amounts. The 55,000 acre Alta Mesa AVA sits on a slightly elevated mesa (about 150 feet at most) of dense clay and gravel soils that are difficult for vine roots to penetrate. It is one of the warmest of the seven sub-regions of the Lodi AVA.
Barreto Cellars was unofficially born in 2002 when husband and wife Michael and Joey Barreto moved to the Central Coast region after leaving their jobs and selling their house in 2001 with the aim of claiming their stake in the wine boom. Michael Barreto first made home wine. As his fascination grew, he became very serious about learning the ins and outs of winemaking and went back to school, taking classes at Fresno State. In 2001, he took on a job as a cellar worker at Courtside Cellars in San Miguel and in 2003 he became assistant winemaker at Sylvester Winery and began to make wines under his own label in that facility. Making generally small lots, he approaches wine making with a minimalist philosophy of gentle handling. His wines are a New World take on Spanish and Portuguese wines and offer wine lovers partial to more extracted and expressive wines an opportunity to enjoy these varieties.
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5 points |
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Nose |
3 points |
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Palate |
3 points |
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Finish |
3 points |
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Tannins |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
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Aging potential |
3 points |
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Overall quality |
8 points |
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