Alvaro tasting 2009 white from tank
We had an interesting visit to Alvaro de Castro yesterday afternoon. This included a bone-shaking ride in a little truck along rough tracks to see some of his vineyards and the old family house. Then tasting both 2009s from tank and barrel (400 litre) and some finished wines.
I thought the whites were particularly successful, while the reds were more variable. Castro has 65 hectares of vines, which include some over 100 years old. We tasted the 2008 Branco Reserva from Quinta de Saes with its lovely combination of quite rich fruit and minerally acidity in the long finish. This was followed by Primus (a field blend) from Quinta de Pellada, whose fruit is more opulent with a touch of sweetness in the finish. This also has some minerality but it is less marked than the Saes. For this reason my preference is for the Saes but, of course, it would also depend upon what you were eating.
For the reds my preference was for the 2007 Saes Reserva (10-12€) and the 2007 Pellada. Both are field blends, which will include Alfred Shearer, which is probably related to the now retired Newcastle footballer, Alan. Saes has some Touriga nacional and Tinto Roriz added. The last wine we tasted was the 2008 Doda, which is a blend of wine from Alvaro in the Dão and Dirk Niepoort in the Douro. I found this 2008 to be a little too green at the moment.
Alvaro's daughter
Alvaro's son in law
Their winemaking dog supervising barrel tasting
Barrel of Touriga Nacional with 100 points or from 100 year old vines (you decide!)
Some of the stock
View from old family house across to the hills
Alvaro
Met (probably anno 2000) Alvaro only once at the winery, then in the process of being actively constructed, wires and pins and concrete sprouting from the ground all over the place. Also saw a nice modern-looking villa, with wooden balconies of a sort around a swimming-pool if I remember well, not a « family house » by any means. I think it was Saes, whereas you probably visited Pellada. Only tasted cask and barrel samples, besides a pair of bottled wines. All the wines impressed me by their rather strict, metallic (you say mineral) structure, by their power and by their “need for time”. They were all rather reductive, as opposed to the tons of oxidized Dão I had been offered during the same trip then. Not a lot of alcohol either, I felt. Was not lucky enough to be introduced to his daughter (a young teenager at the time, I suppose), nor to the son-in-law (don’t care), nor the dog. Didn’t see his maid either, but the buttler said hello and the gardener shyly smiled. Oh, though I shot the sheriff who wanted to test my breath on the way back, I didn’t kill his deputy.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Jim, I’m a naughty bastard. But I’m so pleased you pay attention to these great Portuguese wines, and Dão is certainly a wonderful area. Here, in southern France, they are virtually unknown. Moreover, the huge Portuguese colony only drinks the worst examples. Yet, I easily find acceptable pastéis de nata in Moyen Vernet, caldo verde, torta de laranja ... yes, even your occasional queijo da serra (albeit at a price).
Jim, glad you enjoyed the visit. I like Alvaro and the range of wines produced are high class. We will continue to write more and more about white wines from Portugal. Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster.
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