Last week
ViniPortugal – an organization that is promoting Portuguese wine – invited to a
Master Class with Rui Falcão at Restaurant Årstiderna in Malmö. Unfortunately
it seems like ViniPortugal has stopped their efforts to convince Danes about
the quality of their products, so I have to go to Sweden instead. And so I did.
Rui Falacão
is among the most respected wine journalists in Portugal. He writes for the daily newspaper
Público and the magazine Wine – Essência do Vinho. Besides that
he has published several books about wine, one of which is the annual Guia dos Vinhos. Because of this
involvement he tastes more than 4000 different wine per year and is often
giving lectures about Portuguese wine.
The aim
with the Master Class and the tasting was to show the variety of Portuguese
wine production. The variety has more than one cause, Rui Falcão explained. First
of all it is a fact that more than 300 of the known grape varieties in the
world are represented in Portugal,
and some of them only grow there. Of course you can find Chardonnay, Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot, but not as often as in other European countries and in
the New World. The identification and
registration is not finished. It is hard work because it is common in Portugal to
have mixed varieties in the same vineyard. The reason for that is historical. Portugal has
many small growers, and they did not want to risk that the whole harvest was
spoiled due to weather etc. If they mixed the grapes, some of them might fail,
but the rest would be ok. Today about 20 % of the vineyards are still mixed varietes.
Because of
this single grape wine is not that common, even than more producers has started
to make some. Recently I tried both Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz from
Quinta do Crasto e.g. But normally the wines are a blend of different varieties
blended either in the field or after fermentation.
Another
reason for the variety is the climate or more accurate the microclimate. Portugal is situated between the Atlantic Ocean
and Spain
and has hills and mountains which cause big differences. An example is in the
North where there is a huge difference between Minho at the coast where it is
cool and wet – and the Douro Superior close to Spain where it is hot and dry. That
gives more freshness and acid in the grapes for Vinho Verde, and more fruit and
ripeness for the grapes for red and port.
On top on
that the soil is very unlike as well (granite, schist, clay etc.) which gives
different terroir. A variety as
Touriga Nacional e.g. is not the same grown in the Douro
as in the Alentejo, where you can find lemon in the taste, Rui Falcão
explained.
After the
lecture we tasted eight wines – two white, five red and one fortified – to
illustrate the differences and the high quality of course.
We started
with a Vinho Verde made of Alvarinho – in my opinion one the best of the white
grape varieties. Quinta de Soalheiro Primeras Vinhas 2011 was light and golden,
with exotic fruit like pineapple and peach in the nose. Fresh and full bodied with
a long, great aftertaste.
The second
white was a Bairrada, FP 2010 from Filipa Pato, made of a blend of Bical and
Arinto. Lighter in the colour and the nose – a bit like a Riesling. Some
apple, lemon and pinenotes. Full
bodied, fresh and with a nice and balanced acidity. Some notes of cask, but not
too much.
The first
red was a Quinta do Saes Reserva Estágio Prolongado 08 from Alváro Castro in Dão.
Dark with a white rim. Powerful with dark berries and a bit liquorice in the
nose. Soft tannins and a long tail with good acid. The wine was a proof that
Dão today is apple to make more elegant and not just harsh wines. It was a
blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen
og Aragonez.
Next stop
was Alentejo with two different wines. Herdade dos Grous 23 Barricas 2008 represented
the more international style, which the region has a lot of success with. A mix
of Touriga Nacional and Syrah gave a slightly spicy nose with some pepper, but
a hint of lemons as well. Very straight, a lot of fruit but a bit grandiose. I
preferred the Quinta do Mouro 2007, which was more classical in its style. A
deeply red, powerful and very potential wine made of a blend of Aragonez,
Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and a bit Cabernet Sauvignon.
From the Douro we had two different wines as well. Duorum Vinhoas
Velhas 2009 from Douro Superior is made of grapes from old vineyards, a blended
field mixed with 45 % of Touriga Nacional. It was deep red with purple hues,
but surprisingly soft and straight. A typical character of Touriga Nacional and
nice tannins. Quinta do Vale Meão 2010 from the hands of Fransisco Olozabal was
made of a blend of the grapes known from port. Still too young and closed, but
with more fruit and a nice tempting smell of blackberry. A long complex
aftertaste with a lot of acid and fruit and a very good potential for developing
into a great wine.
Finally Rui
Falcão served a Moscatel Roxo Bacalhöa 2002, a red variation of the well known
fortified wine from the area around Setúbal. Beautiful orange red with peach
and some mint. Very sweet and delicious and with enough acid to make it well
balanced. As a wine served to desserts it is a fine alternative to Port and Madeira, I – as a port lover – has to admit.
The
variation of grapes and wines in Portugal
is huge and deserves more attention in Denmark as in the rest of the
world. Hopefully Rui Falcão Master Classes and the efforts of ViniPortugals
will succeed. And hopefully they will include Denmark in their program again
soon.
