Quinta Vale D. Maria
Quinta Vale D. Maria
When the van Zeller family sold Quinta do Noval in 1993, Cristiano van Zeller took over Quinta Vale Dona Maria in 1996, which has belonged to the family of his wife Joana, the Lemos family. The first written information of this quinta is from 1868 when José António Teixeira de Carvalho Vaz e Sousa, great-great grandfather of Joana van Zeller, presented papers in the land register, proving ownership of this property. The Quinta has supplied wine to the blends of port wine companies such as Feuerheerd and Graham's but the first Single Quinta Vintage Port declared was 1997 (bottled by Niepoort). From 1999 Quinta Vale D. Maria has produced its own Vintage Port. In 2017 the Van Zeller family decided to sell the quinta to Vinho Verde wine company Aveleda. Christiano Van Zeller remained as executive director of Quinta Vale D. Maria.
| Quinta Vale D. Maria Vintages: | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
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Vintage Port tasting notes:
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 1997 |
| Colour | Still quite dark ruby but yellow mature in colour. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Cacao, dark chocolate, some mint. some herbs but bitterness in the nose. | Score range | 16.40 - 16.40 |
| Taste | Medium body. Round tannins and will probably develop. Balanced and quite complex and tasty with a quite long and quite attractive but maybe bitter finish. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 15th May 2022 | Point this date | 16.40 |
| Comment | Tasted at home with the family.
This port was bottled by Niepoort.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 1999 |
| Colour | Dark blue in colour with a yellow rim. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Mulberry and black berry in the nose. | Score range | 15.75 - 15.75 |
| Taste | Medium body. Mulberry and dried fruit in flavour. Rather mature but still some soft tannin. Dry. Easy to drink and a nice finish. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 3rd May 2011 | Point this date | 15.75 |
| Comment | At the Danish Port Wine Club est. 1981 tasting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2001 |
| Colour | Still almost black in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Mulberry, black cherry and black currant in the nose. | Score range | 15.50 - 15.50 |
| Taste | Medium body. Loaded with fruit but modern port with no tannin left. Sweet. Very tasty with black cherry in flavour. Elegant and very easy to drink and enjoy with a nice finish. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 22nd December 2014 | Point this date | 15.50 |
| Comment | At home with the family
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2002 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Very fruity and juicy in the nose. | Score range | 14.90 - 14.90 |
| Taste | Medium body. Immature and full of tannins. A light port with fruity flavour. Nice finish. | Average score | 14.90 |
| Last tasted | 3rd November 2008 | Point this date | 14.90 |
| Comment | At the Port Wine festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2003 |
| Colour | Blue almost still black in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Dark berry, black cherry and mulberry in the nose. | Score range | 14.90 - 14.90 |
| Taste | Medium body. Immature and still tannic. Black cherry and mulberry in flavour Balanced with attractive and quite nice finish.. | Average score | 14.90 |
| Last tasted | 3rd November 2014 | Point this date | 14.90 |
| Comment | At the Port Wine festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2005 |
| Colour | Still dark ruby in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | An elegant bouquet of soft dark berries, fudge, toffee and chocolate in the nose. | Score range | 15.00 - 16.00 |
| Taste | Medium body. Taste of toffee and chocolate. Quite mature with some round tannin. Balanced and quite sweet. Quite elegant with a rather short but interesting finish. Modern port in style. | Average score | 15.50 |
| Last tasted | 22nd September 2023 | Point this date | 16.00 |
| Comment | Tasted at the O-Porto-Unidade event at Niepoort’s Quinta de Nápoles.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2007 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Juicy and dark berry in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Immature and lots of tannin. Quite good to swallow and very fruity flavour. Nice finish. | | |
| Last tasted | 1st November 2010 | Rating this date | Very good |
| Comment | At the Port Wine festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2009 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Black cherry, mulberry and fruity almost juicy in the nose. | Score range | 15.50 - 15.50 |
| Taste | Medium body. Immature and with soft tannins but easy to drink. Black cherry in flavour. Balanced and quite elegant. Attractive finish. | Average score | 15.50 |
| Last tasted | 3rd November 2014 | Point this date | 15.50 |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria | Vintage | 2011 |
| Colour | Still very dark ruby in colour. | Number of tastings | 4 |
| Bouquet | Still lots of dark berries such as mulberry, black berry and cherry and just a hint of cacao and chocolate in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Lovely body. Immature with lots of round and elegant tannins but quite easy to drink and enjoy. Dark berry still dominate flavour. Lovely, quite long, attractive and tannic finish. What an exciting port. | | |
| Last tasted | 5th May 2023 | Rating this date | 15 .75 |
| Comment | Tasted at home with the family.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale D. Maria
Touriga Franca | Vintage | 2013 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Black cherry and fruit in the nose but still juicy. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Soft and integrated tannin. Sweet. Easy to drink already even if tannic. Black cherry In flavour. Nice finish. | | |
| Last tasted | 3rd November 2014 | Rating this date | Good |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI |
| House | Quinta Vale Dona Maria | Vintage | 2014 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Lots of fruit, fresh and juicy and black berries in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Soft and integrated tannin. Sweet. Easy to drink already. | | |
| Last tasted | 22nd April 2016 | Rating this date | Very Good |
| Comment | At the Big Fortified Tasting in London.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | JB |
| House | Quinta Vale Dona Maria | Vintage | 2016 |
| Colour | Dark ruby in colour. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Dark berry especially mulberry, black berry and dark cherry with some spiciness in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Immature of course but lovely tannin and nice balanced. Rather complex with taste of dark berry, mulberry but also spiciness with pepper in the mouth. The finish has lots of tannins and is quite intensive. | | |
| Last tasted | 30th November 2018 | Rating this date | Impressive |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Festival in Leverkusen, Germany.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Quinta Vale Dona Maria | Vintage | 2017 |
| Colour | Very dark ruby but with a yellow edge in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Mulberry, blackberry, dark cherry, blueberry and spiciness with pepper but also flowers in the nose. | Score range | |
| Taste | Medium body. Balanced but is already today easy to drink and like. Dark berries, flowers and spiciness in taste. Balanced and very easy to drink and like. Elegant finish with promising tannins. Will be exciting to follow this port! | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 4th November 2022 | Point this date | 15.90 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Port Wine Festival in Leverkusen, Germany.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |