Douro Boys: Niepoort - the last visit

3 November 2009

View from Quinta de Nápoles towards Douro

And so to Niepoort at their Quinta de Nápoles – the last visit of our brief tour of the Douro with the Boys. Dirk was away in Germany, so we were received by winemaker Luis Seabra. Unfortunately due to our decidedly late start it was impossible to hold the impressive vertical of Redoma Tinto before lunch but instead run it during lunch. A shame for inevitably it was more difficult to judge a long flight of wines while eating. The vertical started with the 1991 and ran virtually uninterrupted through to 2007.

The Redoma vertical: 1991 to 2007

Before starting out on our red flight, we were served the 2007 Redoma Branco – as ever with the Niepoort white a fine balance of rich fruit and freshness in the finish. A young Dirk was just starting when he persuaded the company to let him make a red Douro wine. "This was clearly made to impress," said Luis. "It was aged for two years in a mix of very old vats and barrels." Given that this wine is nearly 20 years old and it was a first effort to make a red by a company used to making Port, this 1991 was showing impressively well with sweet, evolved fruit although drying a little in the finish.

1992 and 1993 were missing from the line up so next up was the 1994 showing spice and pepper and agreeably fresh in the finish. The 1995 was bottled in May 1998 and with its sweet fruit, silky power and length was the best of the early bottles. The 1996 tasted older than the 1995 lacking freshness and drying in the finish, while the 1997 was well past its best.

Luis Seabra

No 1998, so onto 1999. "This was the first year there was any investment in winery equipment for making reds," explained Luis. "This saw the start of a more modern style." The powerful 1999 has chocolate and prune flavours with quite grainy tannins – a good bottle and drinking well. The 2000 was another big wine with rich power but quite drying tannins in the finish – not as successful as the previous vintage. 2001 had power and balance with sweet, attractive black fruits, quite a grippy structure and length. 2002 was also a success – again sweet, powerful fruit also with a liquorice character.

As with other 2003s tasted on this trip, I found that the hot summer had produced baked flavours to this dense, powerful wine – an excess of heat. 2004 saw a return to freshness to offset the sweet, concentrated quite tannic fruit. Although the 2005 had good silky fruit with some chocolate character I wasn't sure that the bottle I tried was fully clean – a cork problem perhaps. 2006 is a big Porty style wine with liquorice tones, which works surprisingly well. 2007, the latest Redoma Tinto in bottle, really needs plenty of time – still very youthful with aromas of violets to the fore.

Lunch and the vertical

It would have been good to have been able to appreciate this very generous vertical with more time and without the pressure of being aware that there were some of the group needing to catch flights early evening from Porto. Somehow everyone in the group eventually got on the coach and we did make the airport in time, although had traffic been heavy around Porto it would have been very tight. Among those catching flights back were Andrew Barrow (the wine scribbler - spittoon) and Douglas Blyde (intoxicating prose) who had travelled down to Lisbon from the UK by train. Douglas is remarkable as he appears 'box-fresh' every morning – immaculately dressed with trouser creases so razor sharp that they could slice pata negra thinly enough to satisfy the most exacting gourmet.

The immaculate 'box-fresh' Douglas Blyde

It was only a few days later that a number of the participants developed a vicious flu-cold – a real swinish bug!

My thanks to the Douro Boys for generously making this trip possible.

•••

Christian Seeley@lunch at Pichon Longueville

Christian Seeley, md of AXA Millesimés, has just launched a blog (www.christianseely.com). It aims give visitors 'a real feeling of accompanying me to the vineyards and an idea of what goes on, and what is involved in the elaboration of a Great Wine'. Quinta do Noval is one of the jewels in the AXA portfolio. Christian used to run it before being moved to Bordeaux and promoted to grand fromageof AXA's wine division. Furthermore Noval used to be owned by the Van Zeller family until AXA bought it in 1993. This meant that Cristiano van Zeller left Noval and helped to grow the nascent Douro red wine movement.

Richard Kelley: assessment of the 1989 vintage and continued work on Douro reports

Richard Kelley has just published on his site an assessment of the 1989 vintage based around a tasting in several flights of 70 wines from this fine vintage. Click here.

Cristiano van Zeller@the Douro Boys tasting, Lisbon 30th October 2009

I'm still continuing to write up the trip to the Douro and have now finished here my report on the excellent vertical of Cristiano van Zeller's Quinta Vale D. Maria vertical from 2001 to 2007. Niepoort yet to come but in a separate post.

Douro Boys: Day two – Quinta do Vallado and Quinta do Vale D. Maria

The swimming pool@the Aquapura Hotel

3 November 2009

Having arrived at the Aquapura Hotel just outside Regua well after midnight it was perhaps not surprising that things were decidedly slow to get underway. This may not have been helped by the time we all spent working out how the hotel's lighting system worked. The Aquapura is apparently the best hotel in the Douro and indeed the bed was enormous and extremely comfortable. However, much of the rest of the hotel is a triumph of design over practicality and comfort.

Although according to our schedule we were due to leave at 9am we didn't finally leave the hotel until after 9.45am. Irritating for those of us who were ready to depart on time and who, had we known we were going to leave 45 minutes late, could have spent another half hour or so working in our rooms. But, more importantly, it curtailed the time we had at our last visit at Niepoort, so the spectacular, generous and almost complete vertical of Redoma Tinto had to be combined with lunch.

If the 3rd European Wine Bloggers Conference includes a wine tour (tours) timekeeping is an aspect that will have to be tightened up. The problem had also arisen the previous evening when we were late leaving Crasto to drive to Regua meaning that our driver was in danger of falling foul of the strict laws that regulate the number of hours a driver can work in a day. It would be unfair to blame our two guides, who I fancy had little experience in leading a group of this size.

Quinta do Vallado lies just to the north of the town of Regua. There are 70 hectares of vines – 20ha of old vines between 50 and 80 years old and 50ha of new plantings. In addition there is a new project, which started three years ago in the Upper Douro close to the new Crasto vineyard (see details here). Here Vallado has acquired 40 ha of land from some 37 different owners.

Francisco Ferreira

Vallado is run by Francisco Ferreira, who like the Ozabals, is related to the famous Dona Antonia Ferreira. The winery is in the process of being expanded. Nobody builds cathedrals these days instead they choose to build wine temples.

Vallado: the barrel temple

Although the Vallado wines are widely available in Portugal and garner their share of praise from wine critics, I find that this estate is very much the weakest link in the Douro Boys combo. This was painfully apparent both at the Douro Boys tasting on 30th October in Lisbon and at the vertical tasting of reserva wines from 1999 to 2007 that was kindly put on for us. The 2008 Branco Reserva (15-17€ retail ) shown at the Lisbon tasting was thin and lacking flesh and was knocked into a cocked hat by the very fine Niepoort 2008 Redoma Branco (12€). The wines in the flight of 2007 reds were rustic and over-extracted.

Unfortunately the Vallado Reserva wines have a thread of bitter, dry tannins running through them, although the tannin management does improve from 2005 onwards with 2006 with its sweet, herbal fruit the best of the vintages shown. Sadly 2007 appears to be over-extracted with dry tannins again appearing in the finish.

••

Cristiano van Zeller

Cristiano van Zeller (Quinta do Vale D. Maria) then took over showing a very impressive vertical of the Quinta wines from 2001 to 2007. Cristiano is both an imposing figure and a great story teller and presenter, so this vertical was both instructive and highly amusing. Following his departure from Quinta do Noval in 1993, he was one of the midwives of the red wine revolution of the Douro. First at Quinta do Crasto and then at buying his own vineyards. The first was Quinta do Vale da Mina in 1995 and the next year, 1996, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria in the Rio Torto near Pinhão from his wife Joana’s family. There are now some 21 hectares of vines mainly planted with old vines – 41 different varieties have so far been identified – with 80% of vineyard north facing so shielded from the full blast of the Douro summer.

The first commerical vintage was 1997, which was made at Crasto as were 1998 and 1999. Cristiano reached 10,000 bottles in 2000 and build his own winery with four lagares where he made the 2001 and subsequent vintages. Production has now reached 25,000 bottles.

Cristiano's wines have a great balance of power, fruit and freshness. We started our vertical on a real high with the 2001. Cristiano is now down to the last eight bottles of this vintage, so it was very generous of him to share this stunning wine with us. It has ripe herbal, quite rich fruit with lovely soft, silky tannins and long lasting flavours. "We are so used to tasting young wine, so that it's wonderful to taste a mature one," observed Cristiano. Strong candidate for the wine of the bloggers' conference and this Douro trip.

There wasn't a poor wine amongst the six wines that followed. 2002 was very good for a difficult year with some of the herbal fruit of the 2001 and attractive texture with prune and fig flavours but without the precision and balance of the previous year and slightly dry tannins in the finish. None of the 2003s Douros I tasted on this trip really impressed – the fruit always has a baked quality. The D. Maria is dense, powerful with figgy chocolate flavours and must have been a beast when it was young. OK but not in the same class as some of the others in this vertical.

The complex 2004 was another of the highpoints of the tasting with concentrated, dense sweet prune and figgy fruit plus hints of chocolate. Rich and powerful with a long finish and balancing acidity. Impressive structure and tannins that will allow this wine to age further.

2005 was the one wine that was not decanted the day before and perhaps suffered because of this and perhaps this just needs more time. Herbal fruit with some toasty wood influence currently showing and quite a tannic structure. The rich and smoky 2006 showed well with concentration, texture, length and balance. 2006 would have been a big crop but on 14th June they were hit by hail which considerably reduced the crop.

2007 is a big beast but promising with very rich concentrated black fruits as well as prune, fig and chocolate. Needs plenty of time.

Cristiano's favourites were 2001, 2004 and 2007 – I'd be more than happy to go along with that.

Our visit to Niepoort will be in a separate posting.

Douro Boys: Day one (part two): Quinta do Crasto

2 November 2009

Quinta de Vargellas station on the way from Pocinho to Ferrão

(Progress on writing up last week's visits to Douro Boys has been slowed by catching the EWBC virus/germs. No not a computer virus but an old fashioned, low-tech fluey-cold.)

Following the tasting at Vale Meão we headed to Ferrão, which is the station after Pinhõa. Beside the Douro this small halt is in the middle of nowhere. Just the station and a track leading off up the hill. We were met here by the Crasto Boys. Most of us got to ride up the hill in an open truck to Crasto in the darkness, while a pampered few got a lift in a car.

During the 1990s I'd visited Crasto a couple of times and, although it was dark, it was clear that the winemaking facilities have expanded very considerably.

Ready for the vertical tasting of Old Vine Crasto

We had a vertical tasting of Crasto's Old Vines Reserva from 2001-2007. This spends 16-18 months in barrique – 60% new with some 10%-15% made from American oak. My favourite vintages were 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007. 2002 was a difficult year but despite this the wine was successful with herbal, Indian spice and cedar notes and good texture and balance. 2004 was a very dry year and gave a very concentrated wine full of black fruits with a decidedly tannic grip. Currently it's as tight as a duck's arse but has a lot of potential.

2005 is similarly dense with concentrated black fruits and length and power but softer and may be ready before the 2004. 2007 was bottled in early June 2009 and is not yet fully knit together but has aromas of violets and sweet youthful fruit and appears to have considerable potential.

The winemaker enthuses

...marvels@the quality

Along with the 70 hectares planted at Crasto, they now have a 150-hectare property in the Upper Douro that they bought in 2000, which has 90 hectares of red varieties planted. There are also ambitious plans to develop the tourist potential of Crasto to cater for day trips from Porto with a restaurant and shop. There will also be rooms where press and friends can stay.

Over dinner we drank several wines. The 2005 straight Quinta do Crasto with its soft and supple fruit I found to be the most delicious and enjoyable to drink – also certainly the cheapest wine on show, although the 2005 will have long sold out.

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Douro Boys: scenes from day two

3 November 2009

Views from Quinta do Vallado (above and below)



Entrance to Quinta do Vallado

Francisco Ferreira: Quinta do Vallado

Cristiano van Zeller: Quinta do Vale D. Maria

Some pictures taken on day two of our trip to the Douro with the Douro Boys – tastings with Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Valle D. Maria and Quinta de Nápoles (Niepoort).

View towards the Douro from Quinta de Nápoles (Niepoort)

Anthony Swift: Wine Pleasures

Nico James

The blog pack

Fires in the olive grove

Sam Ockman: well off the pace...

Guide's yellow shoes

Luis Seabra, winemaker@Quinta de Nápoles

Door@Quinta de Nápoles

Luis Seabra, winemaker@Quinta de Nápoles

#EWBC: scenes from the Douro with Les garçons du Douro

2 November 2010

Barrels and vats@Quinta do Vale Meão

Very long day yesterday. Left Lisbon around 8.30 and arrived in Quinta do Vale Meão, near Pocinho in the Upper Douro, around 2.30pm – programmed to arrive around 1pm. Timings probably calculated using a Ferrari smashing the speed limit and it didn't help that our tour guide missed the turning to Vale Meão within 55 seconds of getting on our bus.

Carrie Jorgenson (Cortes de Cima) – always connected@service station in middle of Portugal

We had two very good visits to Quinta do Vale Meão and Quinta do Crasto. Vale Meão is owned and run by Francisco (Vito) Olazabal. I first met Vito when he was in charge of Ferreira, best known for their Ports and Barca Velha. Sometime in the mid-1990s I stayed overnight at their Quinta do Portal near Pinhõa. Over dinner we drank Barca Velha – unfortunately I can't remember the vintage or possibly vintages that we enjoyed. Anyway it was good to meet Vito again.

Vale Meão used to be one of the sources for Barca Velha. The estate used to have 30 owners – many of whom took little interest in it and rarely visited. In the 1960s Vito started buying parcels from his fellow family members until he finally acquired all the parcels some 30 years later in the mid-1990s. In 1998 he quit as director of Ferreira, part of the Sogrape Group, in 1998. "Not a very wise thing to do as I was just two years off collecting my pension," he remarked. "But I don't regret it at all. It was my son, Xito, an oenologist who urged me to do it."

Qunita do Vale Meão: Francisco (Vito) Olazabal (right) and his son Francisco (Xito) and daughter Luisa

Xito is the winemaker and his sister, Luisa, has recently joined Vale Meão to look after the marketing and PR. The property has three wines: the estate red Vale Meão, a second wine called Meandro and a Port. They are the sole amongst the Douro Boys not to make a white.

I think the Olazabals are right to keep their range simple. I enjoyed all their red wines – both at the Douro boys tasting in Lisbon and during our visit to the property. The concentrated, black fruited and supple 2004 Vale Meão and the very fine 2000 Vale Meão with its beautiful balance of ripe fruit and freshness in the finish. The 2000 was the product of a difficult flowering, so a very small crop. The result is one of the finest Douro reds we tasted on the trip.

We tasted the wines over a very enjoyable lunch starting with a delicious spinach soup – a reminder how central soup is to good Portuguese home cooking. Then we had leave to get the train down the Douro from Pocinho to Ferrao. Unfortunately we had only a few minutes of light, so missed much of the spectacular scenery on the way to Ferrao.

(Visit to Quinta do Crasto will be covered in a separate post.)

Always connected: Andrew Barrow, glasses and spittoon

Douglas Blyde (intoxicating prose)@Crasto

Detail from above photo

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#EWBC: Up the Douro with the Douro Boys

I'm off on the Douro trip this morning after too little sleep. Here's the Douro Boys programme:

Monday Nov 2nd

8.00 :: Leave VIP Grand Lisboa by bus
13.00 :: Visit at Quinta Vale Meao, tasting and lunch
17.00 :: Train to Ferrao
18.30 :: Tasting and Dinner at Crasto.
Overnight at Vallado and Aquapura

Tuesday Nov 3rd

9.30 :: Visit of Vallado, tasting of Vallado and VDMaria wines.
13.00 :: Drive to Napoles. Lunch and visit there.
16.00 :: Departure to Porto airport or by bus to Lisbon.
18.00 :: Arrival at Porto airport. Individual departure