Sailing away from Port - [www.yorkshirepost.co.uk - Feb2008]
Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:52 am
URL: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/wine/Sai ... 3728747.jp
Published Date: 02 February 2008
Location: Yorkshire - UK.
Sailing away from Port
Now is the time of year to sample the red wine from the Douro. Christine Austin reports from Portugal.
Readers who tackle the Fiendish Wine Quiz each year will know that there is always a Portuguese grape question. With names like fly droppings, ewe's tail, bastardo and small parrot these are clearly not your average Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay kind of grapes, although Portugal has plenty of those, too.
What sets Portugal apart from other wine growing regions is its tremendous treasure trove of local grape varieties which have been grown for centuries, adapting to their local environment and making the most of the climate to produce distinctive wines that are not just me-too versions of wines from another continent. Portuguese wines have character and variety which will wake up your tastebuds and challenge your pronunciation skills. There are also a few which are still "work in progress" as producers emerge into the international market.
Traditionally Portuguese reds have always carried a sturdy backbone of tannin and more than a healthy dose of oak, but in the last few years forward-looking producers have learned how to capture the fruit without encasing it in a wooden overcoat. It is now worthwhile to investigate those grapes and sort out the bastardo from the parrot.
At this time of year, Portuguese reds come into their own, easily capable of taking on rich casseroles and meshing with robust flavours. The Douro is leading the way in Portugal, producing some of the most modern, fruit-driven wines backed by layers of flavours which come from the traditional grape varieties and the age of the vines.
The Douro is the region where Port is made, but it produces table wines, too. In fact, many of these table wines are proving so popular that producers will sacrifice some of their best port grapes to make top-end Douro wines.
The name of the region comes from the River Douro which runs across the top quarter of Portugal, rising in Spain where it is known as the Duero and winding its way through steep-sided rocky hillsides and ending in the Atlantic.
The Douro region occupies the harsh, dry hillsides each side of this now-tranquil river between the Spanish border and the low range of coastal mountains. This is where a whole range of grapes are grown, often on terraces which curve around the hillsides like contours on a map.
There are 80 permitted grape varieties in this region and while many vineyards are still made up of a natural field selection, there is more specialisation and identification of varieties to get the best ripeness and flavour. The five most important grapes are Tinta Roriz, Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão which together make up the majority of plantings.
The system of growing grapes for port is so well established that only grapes from top sites can be used. This means that there are plenty of grapes remaining for table wine production. Coupled with the higher profile that Portuguese table wines now receive, plus a quicker turn round, many producers are now focusing their efforts on the table wine market and setting aside particular parcels of grapes.
One of the most easily accessible Douro reds comes from the Symington family who own the major port brands of Dow, Warre's and Graham's. They make the up-front, fresh-tasting Altano 2005 (Waitrose £4.99) which is stunning for its cherry-edged fruit and its amazing value. They also make a top-end Douro wine called Chryseia 2004 which, when I last tasted it, was big and brooding, needing time to come around, but it is packed with glorious fruit and perfume. Waitrose also has this wine, but only one store in the UK has it on the shelves. Instead, try Waitrose Direct, http://www.waitrose.com where it is listed at £28.50.
Dirk Niepoort is another notable port producer who has added some excellent table wines to his range. Redoma 2002 (£24.99 Harrogate Fine Wine, 01423 522270) is made from a whole basketful of grape varieties, many from vines over 60 years old which set the scene for a powerful, dense wine. Traditional foot treading extracts flavour without any accompanying bitterness and 16 months in oak rounds off the wine into a powerful blackberry-stacked monster with smooth savouriness and spicy overtones. It deserves a plateful of game to balance the weight and flavour.
Dirk is also involved in the Lavradores de Feitoria label which is a co-operation, (rather than a co-operative) between 17 young and enthusiastic Douro producers. They use their joint know-how to make a range of wines in far bigger volumes than they could individually. Lavradores de Feitoria Douro Tinto 2005 is a chunky wine, full of bright, red-fruit flavours showing depth and complexity way beyond its £6.99 price tag (Harrogate Fine Wine).
The Halifax Wine Company (01422 256333) has won the Specialist Merchant of the Year award three times for its range of Portuguese wines, and as such has the finest selection in our region. Valtorto 2005 (£5.95) is one of the best value wines in the Portuguese section, offering intense flavours of plum and cherry fruit, robust and full-bodied and totally free of any oak influence. I also enjoyed Pinga do Torto 2004 (£9.95 Halifax, also available at Field and Fawcett, York, 01904 489073) which packs succulent, ripe, spicy black forest fruits with a touch of earthy overtones and a firm, structured finish. This is another wine which could easily demand more money if it came from a better-known region.
Quinta do C'a Reserva 2005 (£8.95, Halifax) comes from family-owned company CARM based in the upper reaches of the Douro valley, not far from the Spanish border. Here the rainfall is so low that pests and diseases are almost non-existent, so it was easy to convert the estate to an organic way of life. I am always impressed by the rich, deep, dark berry fruit with touches of leather, mocha and spice. CARM Tinto is around the same price but manages to grab more savoury notes with a handful of herbal notes thrown in.
The full article contains 1060 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Last Updated: 01 February 2008 4:16 PM
Published Date: 02 February 2008
Location: Yorkshire - UK.
Sailing away from Port
Now is the time of year to sample the red wine from the Douro. Christine Austin reports from Portugal.
Readers who tackle the Fiendish Wine Quiz each year will know that there is always a Portuguese grape question. With names like fly droppings, ewe's tail, bastardo and small parrot these are clearly not your average Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay kind of grapes, although Portugal has plenty of those, too.
What sets Portugal apart from other wine growing regions is its tremendous treasure trove of local grape varieties which have been grown for centuries, adapting to their local environment and making the most of the climate to produce distinctive wines that are not just me-too versions of wines from another continent. Portuguese wines have character and variety which will wake up your tastebuds and challenge your pronunciation skills. There are also a few which are still "work in progress" as producers emerge into the international market.
Traditionally Portuguese reds have always carried a sturdy backbone of tannin and more than a healthy dose of oak, but in the last few years forward-looking producers have learned how to capture the fruit without encasing it in a wooden overcoat. It is now worthwhile to investigate those grapes and sort out the bastardo from the parrot.
At this time of year, Portuguese reds come into their own, easily capable of taking on rich casseroles and meshing with robust flavours. The Douro is leading the way in Portugal, producing some of the most modern, fruit-driven wines backed by layers of flavours which come from the traditional grape varieties and the age of the vines.
The Douro is the region where Port is made, but it produces table wines, too. In fact, many of these table wines are proving so popular that producers will sacrifice some of their best port grapes to make top-end Douro wines.
The name of the region comes from the River Douro which runs across the top quarter of Portugal, rising in Spain where it is known as the Duero and winding its way through steep-sided rocky hillsides and ending in the Atlantic.
The Douro region occupies the harsh, dry hillsides each side of this now-tranquil river between the Spanish border and the low range of coastal mountains. This is where a whole range of grapes are grown, often on terraces which curve around the hillsides like contours on a map.
There are 80 permitted grape varieties in this region and while many vineyards are still made up of a natural field selection, there is more specialisation and identification of varieties to get the best ripeness and flavour. The five most important grapes are Tinta Roriz, Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão which together make up the majority of plantings.
The system of growing grapes for port is so well established that only grapes from top sites can be used. This means that there are plenty of grapes remaining for table wine production. Coupled with the higher profile that Portuguese table wines now receive, plus a quicker turn round, many producers are now focusing their efforts on the table wine market and setting aside particular parcels of grapes.
One of the most easily accessible Douro reds comes from the Symington family who own the major port brands of Dow, Warre's and Graham's. They make the up-front, fresh-tasting Altano 2005 (Waitrose £4.99) which is stunning for its cherry-edged fruit and its amazing value. They also make a top-end Douro wine called Chryseia 2004 which, when I last tasted it, was big and brooding, needing time to come around, but it is packed with glorious fruit and perfume. Waitrose also has this wine, but only one store in the UK has it on the shelves. Instead, try Waitrose Direct, http://www.waitrose.com where it is listed at £28.50.
Dirk Niepoort is another notable port producer who has added some excellent table wines to his range. Redoma 2002 (£24.99 Harrogate Fine Wine, 01423 522270) is made from a whole basketful of grape varieties, many from vines over 60 years old which set the scene for a powerful, dense wine. Traditional foot treading extracts flavour without any accompanying bitterness and 16 months in oak rounds off the wine into a powerful blackberry-stacked monster with smooth savouriness and spicy overtones. It deserves a plateful of game to balance the weight and flavour.
Dirk is also involved in the Lavradores de Feitoria label which is a co-operation, (rather than a co-operative) between 17 young and enthusiastic Douro producers. They use their joint know-how to make a range of wines in far bigger volumes than they could individually. Lavradores de Feitoria Douro Tinto 2005 is a chunky wine, full of bright, red-fruit flavours showing depth and complexity way beyond its £6.99 price tag (Harrogate Fine Wine).
The Halifax Wine Company (01422 256333) has won the Specialist Merchant of the Year award three times for its range of Portuguese wines, and as such has the finest selection in our region. Valtorto 2005 (£5.95) is one of the best value wines in the Portuguese section, offering intense flavours of plum and cherry fruit, robust and full-bodied and totally free of any oak influence. I also enjoyed Pinga do Torto 2004 (£9.95 Halifax, also available at Field and Fawcett, York, 01904 489073) which packs succulent, ripe, spicy black forest fruits with a touch of earthy overtones and a firm, structured finish. This is another wine which could easily demand more money if it came from a better-known region.
Quinta do C'a Reserva 2005 (£8.95, Halifax) comes from family-owned company CARM based in the upper reaches of the Douro valley, not far from the Spanish border. Here the rainfall is so low that pests and diseases are almost non-existent, so it was easy to convert the estate to an organic way of life. I am always impressed by the rich, deep, dark berry fruit with touches of leather, mocha and spice. CARM Tinto is around the same price but manages to grab more savoury notes with a handful of herbal notes thrown in.
The full article contains 1060 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Last Updated: 01 February 2008 4:16 PM