Recent Douro Reds
I have a regular penchant for a glass of good Douro red. It has become nearly as familiarly satisfying to me as a good glass of Claret. But the Douro has yet to define itself in the way that Bordeaux has. Like Bordeaux it is a large region with varying terroirs, defined by distance from the coast and also by altitude. Douro soils are based on schist (with the occasional outcrop of granite) and that in itself defines the Douro and separates the region from the remainder of northern Portugal. It is important to remember that Douro wines are relatively ‘new’. Although the demarcation dates back to 1756, the region has only been demarcated for unfortified ‘Douro’ (as opposed to Port) wines since 1979. I recall the early tastings of those wines in the 1980s which were nothing to write home about: lean, fruitless, often over-extracted reds that merely served to confirm why Port wine was Port and not a Douro red. But that was forty years ago and, since the millennium, Douro reds (and whites) have become taken more seriously by producers and increasingly by consumers. The Port shippers who looked on Douro wines with disdain in the 1980s (they called it ‘consumo’) have mostly invested considerable amounts in getting their Douro wines right. With their history and considerable marketing prowess the Port shippers have quickly made the Douro a presence on international markets alongside Port. The only major Port shipper to refrain is the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor, Fonseca and Croft). There are now also plenty of independent growers riding the wave and challenging the established shippers with their own Douro wines.
This tasting is something of an omnium gatherum of samples, some that I lined up to taste just before Christmas 2022 and others (Sogrape’s Legado) from an earlier tasting. It is a diverse range of wines, reflecting perhaps the fact that the Douro is still ‘work in progress’ for many producers and that stylistically the wines are still evolving. There are some very fine wines here. But some, made in tiny quantities, are especially pricey – but are they worth it?
1. Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo Reserva, Terroir Blend, 2020 ***
From an extensive property on the north bank of the Douro, between Régua and Pinhão, belonging to the Amorim family (of cork fame and fortune): deep youthful colour with lovely, up-front floral aromas very characteristic of the Douro, a touch green and herbaceous in style with sappy fruit and a light dusting of tannin. Very Douro in style if a little unbalanced. Around £17. 16
2. Quinta Nova, Unoaked 2020 ***/****
I respect this wine for the word ‘unoaked’ as it allows the Douro’s fabulous fruit to express itself: open, fragrant and floral with a fresh raspberry character both on the nose and on the palate, simple, sappy and satisfying with an attractive gravelly tannins on the finish. Reasonably priced at £10 – 15. 16.5
3. Quinta Nova, Vinha Centenária P28/P21, 2020 ****
Two wines from centenarian vineyards, in this case a blend from a plot of Touriga Nacional and interplanted old vines including Donzelinho Tinto: very deep in colour with deep, dense aromas combining liquorice and herbal-floral fruit; dark chocolate concentration and firm, dusty-gravelly tannins with spicy grip on the finish. 17.5
4. Quinta Nova, Vinha Centenária Ref. P28/P21, 2020 ****
From a blend of two plots, one Tinta Roriz and the other interplanted old vines with Donzelinho Tinto: very deep in colour; open, foral on the nose but with underlying weight and density; solid, ripe and foursquare in style with rather raw tannic fruit and a big heady-spicy finish, almost vintage Port in style but for a hint of new oak! 17
5. Quinta do Ventozello, Loci, 2020 **/***
Made from five grapes (50% Tinta Amarela) grown in eight different plots in this huge vineyard, just upstream from Pinhão on the south bank of the Douro: mid-deep and very youthful in colour; floral but green on the nose with a pronounced herbaceous character (green tea) on the palate with sappy green tannins. Seemingly unbalanced and harking back to the old days. Hard as I tried, I really couldn’t get excited by this! 14.5
6. Ferreirinha, Castas Escondidas, 2018 ****
A blend of four ‘hidden’ indigenous grape varieties: Bastardo, Tinta Francisca, Touriga Femea, Tinta Amarela and 10% of vinha velha (old mixed vines). Dense and quite closed initially on the nose but opening up to reveal ripe berry fruit with a touch of new oak; lovely full, ripe wild berry fruit on the palate with classic Douro profile, backed by fine grained tannins with a good streak of acidity giving an overall impression of style and finesse. Just short of £40 a bottle and worth it – I a dozen and served one or two to family happily over Christmas. 18
7. Urtiga, 2018, (Ramos Pinto) ****/*****
Ramos Pinto’s Duas Quintas is one of the most established Douro brands and is one of my ‘go-to’ reds wines on restaurant wine lists in Portugal. This is its very senior sibling from Quinta da Urtiga, a 3.4 ha vineyard with 63 indigenous varieties, now subject to organic and biodynamic cultivation. The average age of the vines exceeds 100 years and yields are consequently tiny. Foot trodden in granite lagares and aged for 16 months in French oak vats with 10% in new oak barriques. Mid-deep in colour as is to be expected from old vines, a bit raw and disjointed initially in the nose with herbal, spicy fruit, stalky too; big, ripe cherry-berry fruit on the palate, dusty-gravelly tannins, still a bit disjointed but showing great finesse and should come together beautifully with time in bottle. Potentially one of the best reds in the Douro but undeniably pricey at around £300 / bottle. 18.5
8. Legado 2014 ****/*****
This is Sogrape’s ‘Legacy’ wine and a tribute to Fernando Guedes, the second generation to head Sogrape who died in 2018. It originates from Quinta do Caêdo near Ervadosa do Douro, a small property with seven hectares of centenarian vines. Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional make up about half the vineyard, with Donzelinho, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, Tinta da Barca and Rufete making up the rest. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in new French oak barriques (they are thinking about using 500 litre oak in future), bottled without fining and a light filtration: deep but not opaque in colour, rich and dense on the nose, still a bit angular but wonderfully fresh with well defined, upfront berry and plum fruit, pure with integrated oak and a wonderful streak of acidity. Great finesse. £150 a bottle. 18.5
9. Legado 2011 **** +?
An outstanding year in the Douro, universally declared as a Port vintage: deep in colour ripe and rather lacking definition on the nose, perhaps not giving its all as yet; muscular in style wit liquorice-like concentration and firm, dusty tannins, a big wine with the ripeness offset by acidity. 18 +?.
10. Legado 2010 ****
From a high yielding year with hot dry summer which led to a long harvest with the last grapes picked in November! Open and perfumed on the nose with a beautifully expressive, floral character (rose petals); gentle on the palate with soft summer fruit, slightly toasty oak, fine grained tannins and an elegance that verges on delicate, at least for the Douro. 18
11. Legado 2009 ****/*****
From a hot year in the Douro, made from three separate vinifications: not that deep in colour (those old vines), open and very fine on the nose with lovely berry fruit and well integrated oak, soft and supple with fine grained tannins, marked by good acidity for such a hot year, elegant with a long, soft yet spicy finish. 15% abv though this really doesn’t show. 18.5
