Cortes de Cima Incognitó 2002

Wine Spectator
89/100
‘Full-bodied, lush and ripe. Delicious, filled with ripe yet lively red fruit flavors, including raspberry, blueberry, cherry and boysenberry. Loaded with spice and cream on the finish. Syrah. Drink now through 2010. 2,200 cases made. (KM)

Wine Behind the Label 2005
***/*****
( a very good, even fine wine. In the case of many reds repaying lenghty cellaring)
”A powerfull varietal Syrah, Incógnito, is concentrated and adequately balanced despite being high in alcohol. It has lot’s of caracter but is at the very ripe end of the spectrum and lacks the finesse of a top Rhône sample.”

Wine Spectator, June 30 2005
89/100
Full-bodied, lush and ripe. Delicious, filled with ripe yet lively red fruit flavors, including raspberry, blueberry, cherry and boysenberry. Loaded with spice and cream on the finish. Syrah. Drink now through 2010. 2,200 cases made. (KM)

Cortes de Cima Incognitó 2003

AD Magazine, 26 maart 2005
“ Incognito? Dat valt wel mee. Het achteretiket maakt er geen groot raadsel van. Selected fruit from Young vines, well Ripened And hand Harvested.
Puur syrah dus. Met een citaat van Bob Dylan: To live outside the law, you must be honest.
Vijftien (!) procent alcohol, een dot hout, heel rijp, bijna likeur zo vol zwoel dik fruit. Like a rolling stone, maar niks te zwaar of over de top, alles prachtig in harmonie.’
- Nicolaas Klei

Wine Behind the Label 2005
***/*****
( a very good, even fine wine. In the case of many reds repaying lenghty cellaring)
”A powerfull varietal Syrah, Incógnito, is concentrated and adequately balanced despite being high in alcohol. It has lot’s of caracter but is at the very ripe end of the spectrum and lacks the finesse of a top Rhône sample.”

IWSC 2005 International Wine & Spirit Competition
Gold Medal
‘Deep opaque black cherry with a tiny purple rim. Huge nose giving black bramble fruits, vanilla, pepper spice and toasty oak. The palate is fresh, juicy and grippy, the sweet fruits spiced up with a lick of pepper and the tannins chocolaty and smooth. Syrah appears very at home in the Alentejo in some very expert hands. Fantastic wine made in a clever modern style.’

Perswijn, december 2005
****
Fruitige syrah, lekker zoet fruit en confiture, kersen en bessen, levendig, heerlijk sap.

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate no. 169
88/100
The 2003 Touriga Nacional was raised for nine months in French oak, and is the most successful of the single-varietal wines Cortes de Cima produced. This might be the most sedate, traditionally-styled wine in this lineup, with hints of game on the nose, perhaps a bit of an herbal component. The palate has some distinctiveness to it, and it seems like wine, rather than a candied concoction. Ditching the American oak perhaps helped in that regard. There are light tannins around the edges, and the wine has a smooth, round feel. It is not particularly intense, but it has some backbone, and drinks well. It is of medium weight, and the fruit gained flavor as it sat in the glass. This is not a particularly profound presentation, and in fact it often seems a little simple, but it drinks nicely and has charm. There were approximately 525 cases produced. Drink now-2012.

Perswijn, februari 2007
***(*) / *****
‘Kersen en bessen, confiture, sap en frisheid, peprig, tikje alcoholisch, kruiden.’