End of the River- The Douro Valley

Hey Everybody,

Tonight I've been packing for a trip to London and as I go I am enjoying a nice bottle of Portuguese red.  Specifically from the Douro Valley in the North of the country, along the same river known as the Duero in Spain.  Douro wine is mostly known on the international stage as the source of some of the world's most highly regarded wine: Port.  That fortified, sweet and long lived wine is the stuff of legend but in a valley so blessed with an abundance of old vines, a plethora of cultivars and prime vineyard space, it is ridiculous to assume that top quality table wine is not made there as well.

Fruit forward and full bodied, it is a wonder that Portuguese reds are not more widely known.  Perhaps they are suffering from some of the same malignancies that continuously frustrate German wine makers, with confusing terms, unfamiliar grape varieties and association with a stereotypical style.  Whereas Germany contends with the misconception that all wines are going to be sweet and sickly, it may be that Portugal has the ghost of sweet fortified Port wine looming over it.

Fortunately it does not take too long to get through the layers of retrograde pfaffery, and the winemakers are doing what they can to help.  I'm not saying that the wineries are doing what many of the Bordelaise producers have done and Parkerised (made their wines suitable for Robert Parker's palette), rather they have made an effort to be more engaging with modern style but unchanging class.  For example, Dirk Niepoort of the legendary Niepoort Port house has made a conscious effort to put more emphasis on table wines, rather than his easily respectable vintage ports.  He is putting forward excellent examples of dry table wines, such as his 'Redoma' range alongside the truly world class 'Batuta.'  Kitted out with classy but interesting labels and amazing quality it is a great first step to showing the world what Portugal is capable of.

Other Port houses are following suit with their own table wines, and really putting some good effort into what they are producing.  Quina do Portal, another well respected house is putting out an excellent dry red made from a blend of Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca that represents excellent value with a definite nod towards high quality.  Call it a sort of gateway wine into the world of excellent Douro.  Hopefully what this will lead to is the development of interest in other quality wines from the Douro.

Other producers like Quinta do Macedos are going so far as to adopt the practice of the second wine with their 'Lagar de Macedos' and in so doing they have developed a pair of excellent bottlings, both of which are remarkably capable of standing the test of time, developing into something exciting and providing us wine geeks with another means of enjoying old wine.  One of the greatest pleasures of wine is to track the development of a wine over the course of it's life.  I love Rhône wines, young or old, but truly they are different wines entirely.  The same bottle that was once deep, chunky and spicy, becomes leathery, briny and earthy.  These Douro wines are perfect for that as well.  They live for years and years and over time, the deep black fruit and intense body of youth becomes something different, refined and elegant.

So I borrowed this from Wikipedia.

Essentially, the Douro is one of those regions that stands at the top of wine.  Bordeaux, Rhône, Burgundy, Napa and Mosel are all known the world over for their ability to produce mind-blowingly delicious wine.  The Douro is right up there with the rest of them.  Hopefully soon enough the rest of the world will catch on.  Or hopefully they won't.  Just leaves more for us!

Much Love,
G

Wines of Portugal

Hey Everyone,

I know it's been a good long while since I've posted and now that I'm comfortably relocated to Brooklyn I'm happy to be writing again. One of the things that I've noticed since moving and checking out the shops here in New York, even the specialists is the complete lack of representation of one of my favourite wine-producing countries; Portugal.

Now aside from producing what is arguably one of the greatest wine styles in the world, Portugal is remarkably varied for such a small country and produces a bewildering range of wines. Beyond the noble Port houses and their legendary fortified sweet red wines, wine makers in Portugal offer nearly everything a discerning wine-lover (I don't like the word oenophile) could desire. From a range of light refreshing whites with effervescence perfect for seafood to rich, powerful reds worthy of laying down for decades, Portuguese wine is in every sense a world-class product.

Let's start with what we know. So Portugal is easily most famous for it's fortified wines from Porto and the Madeira Islands in the Atlantic. With Madeira the range is as varied as Spanish Sherry, so you are not looking at a single style of sweet dessert wines. There are dry Madeiras, sweeties and everything in between, with some very interesting aged wines. I wrote on this subject a few months ago so by all means have a look at this old posting on wines by Barbeito. Port on the other hand is a mixed bag of basic ruby ports and LBVs for under £15 right on up to some of the most reliably long-lived wines of impeccable quality.

But beyond all that familiar stuff, there is a huge array of interest for those looking for wine for the table. Lets say you're into your Sauvignon, or Grüner Veltliner or even the ever more popular Albariño from Spain and really want something refreshing and easy drinking. The north of Portugal, near the country's border with Spain is the aptly named region of Vinho Verde (literally 'Green Wine'). Here, Alvarihno grows in conditions very similar to those of Galicia to the north and results in a very refreshing youthful wine with plenty of light citrus fruits and a very enticing palate with high acidity, minerals and a slight spritz.

Other whites such as regional blends from the Tejo can be a bit fleshier and more forward with their fruit characters and can be slightly reminiscent of Australian VIognier or Rhône whites. Here the winemakers are pretty willing to try experimentation with some new world techniques and styles, so you will be likely to encounter some big fruit bombs just as you can find more traditional bottlings.

As can be expected, the finest wines of Portugal are likely to have garnered the most of this limited load of attention, not least of all because they so happen to share the vineyard lands which yield the grapes for Port. The Douro valley (same as Spain's Duero running through that country's finest regions) is very much parallel to Bordeaux. Here wines are produced with Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira and Touriga Franca among others making for a wine with a similar tannin and acid structure to wines of Bordeaux, complimented by intricate aromas of herbs, black currants and complex rusticity. The more inexpensive wines here are approachable, fruit forward and easily paired to a wide array of foods. The best examples, however, are age worthy and interesting wines that stand shoulder to shoulder with the most serious wines in the world.

For some of these serious wines, one looks to the producers with the longest traditions. Port houses going the extra mileage to put out a range of table wines have resulted in the Batuta, Charme and Robustus wines from Niepoort, excellent examples of long lived table reds. Other producers, however are dedicated to table wines, such as Quinta de Macedos and Quinta da Romaneira. All of these and many more produce wines of impeccable quality and should satisfy the most demanding palates.

I am a huge fan of Portugal's wines and believe that they deserve far greater consideration for the qualities they exhibit. If you find yourself in a shop with an interesting selection from this gem on the Atlantic fringe, be sure to give it a try. If you're unsure, ask someone at the shop what is most likely to be to your taste, because I am sure you will be happy you gave it a shot.

Much Love,

G

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Madeira: Too Often Overlooked

Hey everyone,

Today I am trying to find out some stuff about Madeira. I know Madeira as a sweet fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name. Although I've had a bit of Madeira in the past, I never really got my head around it as a wine, and always thought of it in the same way I thought of sherry before I made an effort to understand it. As I sit down with a couple samples of quality Madeira, I have every expectation that my horizons will be suitably expanded as was true when I set my mind to sherry.

It originally came as something of a surprise when I learned that not all Madeira is sweet. I usually assume that the fortification process is intended to stop fermentation while the wine still has a large amount of sugar in solution, and thereby maintain sweetness. Oh, how wrong I was!

The very first wine I am trying is expressly dry. Made by Madeira Barbeito from a single grape variety, Sercial, being the classic ingredient for Madeira, this is very much a dry wine which reminds me somewhat of some drier Marsala. It is definitely an appealing glass of wine. It is fragrant with hints of orange peal, lemon zest and pineapple as well as a touch of vanilla from the toasty oak. The palate is far from boozy. It carries it's 19% ABV with a good bit of grace. Te palate is big and mouth-filling with plenty of almond and fig flavour. Ten years of barrel ageing has turned this bright crisp wine into a rich, dry and almost nutty bottle of very appetising wine. It would be perfect with a bowl of roasted almonds, olives or other finger foods before a big dinner.

The second wine I tried is the same age, by the same producer made this time from the Verdelho grape variety. It is somewhat darker in colour with a brilliant bronze tinge and a hint of pink. According to the label, this wine is semi-dry, compared to the last wine which was described as fully dry. Usually known as the main grape for Vinho Verde in portuguese table wine, it makes an effervescent, appetising companion for shellfish. Here it is similarly rich, with aromas of light fruits, peaches, melons, but in general, it is somewhat muted in comparison with the Sercial. It's as mouth filling as the Verdelho but the flavours aren't quite as defined. Although it is a bit sweeter, there is almost a metallic bitterness to the finish.

Now onto the third example of Barbeito's 10-year-old Madeira, this time made from the Boal grape. Labelled as semi-sweet, the nose is laden with a bit more of a floral profile. It smells a bit of lychee, lemon, furniture polish and perhaps some violets. The furniture polish and the lemon are a bit bigger than the other aspects, but the nose is appealing for sure. The palate is definitely sweeter. It is nutty, tasting of roasted almonds and has a rather more viscous texture. Not quite the accompaniment to dessert I tend to associate with Madeira, but it could definitely do nicely with some crumbly cheeses and biscuits.

The fourth and final ten year old Madeira, made from the classic grape, Malvasia, is labelled as being quite sweet. The colour is lighter than the rest, being sort of light copper in hue. The nose is quite lit and delicate with a perfume of flowers and citrus. Not as much roasted nuttiness as I got from the others, but a hint of almonds nonetheless. The palate is citric, with enough acid to go well with some heavier creamy desserts, the orange zest comes back in this one and I think it is a very complete wine. I would put it at the top of the list for today's tasting. It is a bit more viscous feeling with a nice rich palate and I think that while it is far from the big sweetness of PX Sherry or many ports, it is definitely an interesting and satisfying wine.

The main character I am getting from my educational tasting of Madeira is that the wines are consistently more-ish. They have a hint of maritime saltiness that is so appetising and makes you want to refill your glass again and again. Another nice thing is that they are really very affordable. At £30 per bottle, these can be opened and tasted and then kept as long as you like. They behave rather like ruby port in that you don't need to drink it all in one go. If you decide to go for a Madeira, I highly recommend the malvasia, as it's sweetness makes it both appetising and satisfying.

I do hope you'll get a chance to treat yourself to some nice Madeira and expand your horizons as I did today.

Much Love,

G