Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2008;

Wine Spectator, juni 2011,
91/100
This sweet, fruity and refined Port displays pure, supple flavors of raspberry ganache, red plum and dark cherry. Finishes with plenty of cream and spice. Best after 2018. 750 cases made. – K.M.

Perswijn, mei juni 2011,
17/20
Intens, zeer krachtig, chocola, krentjes, een klasse op zich, pittig, rijp, tannines, pruimen, heel fraai.

Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2007;

Roy Hersh, 28 november 2009
96-98+/100
2007 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Cask sample. From the property that is still associated in consumer’s minds, with the legend that is Barca Velha comes this brilliant youngster. When I tasted my way through the first bottle in mid-May this was showing very well and I was pleased to have another bottle to try back at home, once it settled down a month later. Expansive and sublime earthy perfume and fresh berry laden aromas soar out of the glass as this is not your ordinary young Vintage Port. It’s loaded with herbs and spices, anise/licorice and tobacco along with the brooding dark berry scents that sex it up. As enormous as this VP is, and make no mistake about it: the concentration here is of epic proportions for a 2007 (akin to the finest in 2003) … there is precision that delivers that rare combination of power and elegance which I only occasionally find in Vintage Ports. I’ll skip over the list of flavors and focus on the exactitude and balance, with near perfect harmony between the massive waves of fruit, the core of seductive acidity and the iron-spined tannic structure. Along with Niepoort, Meão is tied for 2nd place near the pinnacle of the entire 2007 pyramid. An admirable achievement and kudos to the Olazabal family.

Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2004;

Perswijn oktober/november 2006
16.5/20
‘Rijp en zacht, fluwelen tannines, intens en machtig, fraai door zijn mooie fruit en zuren.’

Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2003;

Wine Spectator Online, 18th May 2005
92-94/100
Single-quinta Ports shone in my second tasting of 2003 Vintage Port barrel samples. Three in particular—Cockburn Canais, Quinta do Crasto and Quinta do Vale Meão—showed the most concentration and best tannin structure in the small group of 11 Ports I reviewed last week in a blind tasting at my office in Tuscany.

‘Big and juicy with lots of grapey fruit and firm tannins, yet it's refined and classy. Full-bodied, medium-sweet with a long finish. Impressive.’
- James Suckling

Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2002;

Sommeliers.net, 10 november 2003
****(*)
’ metalige cassisgeur, krachtiger en complexer dan de vorige, veel spel, machtig concentraat in smaak en finale, complete wijn ‘
- Paul op den Berg

Revista de Vinhos, Novembro 2003
17/20
’ Metálico, químico e austero no aroma, cheio de notas silvestres e pouca fruta (por enquanto). Na prova de boca surge-nos mais exuberante do que imaginávamos, com boas notas de uva fresca e taninos que nos dizem que pode evoluir bem em cave.’

WineAnorak.com
95/100
Knockout open nose of explosive sweet liquoricey, herby fruit: forward and nicely defined. The palate is sweet, ripe and open with amazing fruit quality. Breathtaking. Savoury, spicy, tannic edge. Very forward and appealing. Maybe not a long term wine but fantastic now. Excellent 95/100
- Jamie Goodle

Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port 2000;

Wine Spectator Weekly, 30 May, 2002
94/100
”A new single-Quinta Port that used to go into the Ferreira blends. Glorious aromas of crushed berries, raspberries and cherries. Full-bodied, sweet and very round, with good tannins and a long, sweet and fruity finish. Lingers on. A beauty.
- James Suckling”

Robert M. Parker Jr.
91/10
'Potentialy a sleeper of the vintage, this offering displays a wickedly kinky nose of wild mountain flowers, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The striking aromatics, saturated purple color, medium body, and sensual, soft, seductive style make for a disarmingly fine vintage port. It will provide consirable complexity as well as caracter.'

Wineloverspage.com
91/100 points
Historically this Quinta was owned by the Ferreira family for over 120 years and was the mainstay grower for their VPs. Francisco "Xito" Olazabal is the winemaker of this up and coming family owned property. I have only tried a few wines from this property in the past. Dark inky purplish-black and fully opaque. Essence of freshly chopped herbs, crushed autumn leaves and fully ripe, sweet red berries. I like this earthy style and attractive aromatics. Fruit forward and deeply extracted, albeit soft and gentle on the palate. In synch now with a medium body and the moderate tannins are nearly obscured by the sweet, youthful fruit here. Great length on the finish with a bit of spirity heat which slightly detracts from the overall pleasure. Vale Meão is one of the new Single Quinta VPs that we'll be hearing lots more from if the 2000 is any indication. This bottling has mid-term aging potential.
- Roy Hersh

Revista de Vinho
18/20
É uma estreia desta quinta em vinhos do Porto vintage. Preto na cor, extremamente vegetal e químico, notando-se ainda um pouco a aguardente, está rico de aromas, sem a fruta a aparecer mas isso não é defeito. Encorpado mas sem exageros, está um vinho de boa estirpe, mais em elegância que em força, taninoso e que precisa que o deixemos em paz na garrafeira.

Portuguese Wines, March 2003
18/20 (very good, superior character and potential)
The debut Vintage Port from this estate. Inky, extremely vegetal and chemical, a trace of brandy still showing, rich aromas where fruit is not apparent but this is not a fault. Full body but not overly so, this is a wine of good stock, but elegant rather than strength, tannic and needing to be cellared in peace for a while.

Wine Enthusiast, November 2003
92/100 Editors’ Choice
’ This lush fruity Port folds in enough intriging floral aromas to be more than a simple fruit bomb. Briary notes add another element to the creamy boysenberry flavors that are incredibly rich but not cloying or syrupy. Likely to mature early but hold well, thanks to masses of supple tannins.
- J.C.

Vinhos de Portugal 2003 Os Melhores do Ano
“Mais um caso de sucesso à primeira. Esta Quinta, que sempre forneceu uvas à casa Ferreira, produz Porto há muitos anos. Já se sabe que, por norma, os melhores vintages resultam de lotes de vinhos com origens diversas. É essa diversidade que confere complexidade aos vinhos. Por vezes acontece que, mesmo numa só Quinta, é possível conseguir um vinho num patamar de qualidade muito elevado, como se conclui de uma leitura desta listagem dos melhores generosos. O que se aplaude neste vinho é a alta qualidade e a procura da perfeição. Assim continue.”
- Joao Paulo Martins

Vinhos de Portugal 2003
Best of the Year
“A success again. This Quinta, that always supplied grapes to the house Ferreira, produces Port for many years. It is already known that the best vintages are the results of lots of wines with diverse origins. It is this diversity that confers complexity to the wines. In only one Quinta it has been possible to obtain a wine of a very high quality for many years, as is concluded after reading this listing of the best generous ones. We applaud the high quality of this wine and the search for perfection. Thus it continues.”
- Joao Paulo Martins