Another problem with cork

2008 Casa de Santar, Dão

On the way out to Lisbon I have a brief chat with Fiona Beckett, the Guardian's wine correspondent who was also headed out to Lisbon but not on the same flight. Fiona was on a cork press trip, which doubtless aims to convince those on the trip that cork is the best closure for wine, that the problem of TCA has been solved and that if we don't continue to use cork it will be an ecological disaster as the native lynx, llamas, red squirrels and probably the real Loch Ness monster will be driven to extinction if the cork forests cease to be. I'm sure that Fiona will recognise this clap-trap for what it is.

I arrived in Lisbon in time to pop down to the local supermarket to buy a few things for dinner including of course some wine. Unfortunately when I came to try to open the bottle of 2008 Casa de Santar it was impossible to move the extraordinarily tight cork. Worried that if I tried too hard that I would break the top of the bottle, I started to cut small sections out of the top of the cork until eventually I was able to ease the cork out with a corkscrew.

Although it was worth effort as the 2008 Casa de Santar has very attractive round herbal fruit, it would have been much easier if it had been closed with a screwcap.

Casa de Santar – Dão

See here David Cobbold's polemic against the PR tactics used by the cork industry that he posted on Les 5 du Vin on Monday.

Dão trip: photos from yesterday morning

Olives

Yesterday was a lovely early winter day in the Dão. Quite cold and misty early in the morning – the region is quite high. Soon after 10am much of the mist cleared, although leaving a few pockets in the valleys, and giving way to some warm sunshine with a beautiful soft light. The rest of the group went to visit an artisanal cheese factory while I stayed outside and took some photos. Many of these photos were taken of a field that reflected typical polyculture – olive trees, vines and orange trees all together.

Although not well known internationally, especially compared to Italy and Spain, Portugal does produce some very good olive oil.

Old trunk and green shoot

Once a bunch of grapes

Not really the best type of rot

Olives and vines

Vines and stone posts

Orange tree, vines and olives

Shady, secluded bower

The photographer as shadow

 

Alvaro de Castro: Dão

 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