"Saturated ruby-purple. Superripe, primal aromas of black raspberry, maple syrup and dark chocolate; very sweet but also highly aromatic. Lush, chewy, very sweet and rich, with outstanding depth of black fruit and spice flavor. Hugely rich and ripe but not over the top. Serious, ripe tannins are currently covered by baby fat, making this very broad, thick, slightly spirity wine deceptively approachable now." 92 pts Stephan Tanzer
The 2000 Vesuvio is rich and opulent with the classic nose of ‘violets’. This wine is dark, almost ink-purple. On the palate, the wine has layers of rich concentrated fruit, the tannins are strong, but ripe.
| Wine maker notes |
| Good climatic conditions allowed Vesuvio to produce an oustanding wine in 2000. However, the year did not start well with bad weather in April affecting the flowering which resulted in low yields. The remaining fruit however ripened under near perfect conditions during June through to August.
A welcome period of rain in August prepared the grapes superbly for harvesting, which began on Thursday 21st September. The average yield was just 720g per vine with ideal Baume graduations. Temperatures during the harvest were also mild, greatly facilitating the fermentations in the lagares.
The entire production was produced in the quintas’ large traditional granite lagares, one of the few remaining properties to do so in the Douro. A team of up to 50 people worked the lagares during the vintage. As each lagar holds approx. 20 pipes (11,000 litres), this number of people is essential to obtaining maximum extraction of colours and flavours. |
