Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Jani Dunne

The history in Caves São João is long and rich in detail. It all started with the name Sociedade dos Vinhos Irmãos Unidos (Society of the United Brothers Wines), founded in 1920 by three wine-growing brothers from Bairrada: João, Manuel and Albano Ferreira da Costa. Their bulk sales prospered for many years, and only in 1950 was “Caves São João” added to the company name. Yet not before 1959 – once the founder’s children, Alberto and Luís Costa were at the wheel of the Caves – did the brands that launched Caves São João into stardom emerge: Frei João (Bairrada) and Porta dos Cavaleiros (Dão). Alberto and Luís Costa were talented wine traders; they knew how to choose and buy the best blends like only a few could. I would even say they were among the few who could create and educate great wines that are still around today, elegantly showing all the potential in the two regions they have embraced, Dão and Bairrada.

Caves São João – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Caves São João – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Seeing as they did not own any vineyard in Dão, they had to choose and buy the best blends, hence the first Porta dos Cavaleiros having emerged in the 1963 harvest, both a Colheita and a Reserva Seleccionada. A brand that, just as its Bairrada equivalent, had the talent to almost “create” a profile we now think of as a classic from either region. Please note that the Reserva Seleccionada reveal more freshness than the Colheita, because the grapes in the Reserva came from the foothill of Serra da Estrela mountain, thus building a fresher profile that may be called “Mountain Dão”, while the Colheita had grapes from lower and perhaps hotter areas. Regarding the Reserva Seleccionada, as the story goes, the wines spent four years in the enormous cement containers and then a year in a bottle. These wines are wisely educated and have a classic idiosyncrasy; they are serious and have such a characteristic silky touch that they show us what the region can and must do.

Caves São João – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Caves São João – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

To visit Caves São João cellar and to have the pleasure of viewing more than a million bottles that made it through time is a rare opportunity for connoisseurs. This tasting was memorable; it was special in every sense, even due to the fact that some wines are no longer being sold given the low number of remaining bottles. The first wine was Porta dos Cavaleiros 1964; this 51-year-old white is breathtaking in every way. The evolution in the glass is notable and clearly begs to be decanted. At first it seems tight and contained, revealing some resin, developing a notable complexity and some emphasis on the amazing acidity that involves and holds the whole blend together. Deep, floral, with a note of wax, silky, with nuts, and some ripe stone fruits. The mouth was very refreshing, revealing guts and a grit, great presence and depth, serious, educated; its silkiness seems to make a good combination with the freshness, which freshens the palate, which ends long and persistently.

Porta dos Cavaleiros 1964 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Porta dos Cavaleiros 1979 white – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva white 1984 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Moving into the 70s, interestingly enough, not many wines by Caves São João from this decade have lingered in my memory, except perhaps the white 1973 Reserva in Magnum and the red 1975, also a Reserva. This Porta dos Cavaleiros 1979 white does not lag behind; it’s cordial and lively, the fruit is already quite ripe, and there’s minerality with some dryness in the mouth finish. As for the whites from the 80s, the best is Reserva 1985; this Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva white 1984 is a great adult white, yet when compared, it lacks in grit whether on the mouth or on the nose, where it does not prove as fresh or cutting, nor clean in aromas. Otherwise, it boasts a beautiful harmony in the blend, combining the silky feeling with acidity and the presence of the fruit still lively and ripe.

Moving into red territory, the beginner couldn’t have been better; Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1966 is the best, in my opinion seeing as it has consolidated its position as one of the best wines of the region of all time. Pure class in a compendium-worthy wine full of pine needles and pine forest, a lot of pine woods, fruits of the forest, cherries, tobacco leaf, eucalyptus, leather. Pure velvet in a tone that combines austerity with the sweetness of a long, very lively and refreshing wine with a lasting finish. Quickly moving through the 70s, we tasted Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1974, which once again shone the least among the reds, as the region was quite evident in the profile and made a very good performance at the tasting. It lacked in personal statement potential, having tasted more slender and spaced both in terms of aromatic complexity and presence on the mouth.

Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1966 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1974 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1985 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

I ended with the second best red, Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva 1985, which is one of the wines that have pleased me the most the last few times I had it in my glass. It’s literally one of those wines that are at a very high point of their lives; it combines all the freshness of the fruit with the complexity that it can only offer with time. Among the pine forest and woods, mushroom, slightly earthy aromas, it opens up to reveal ripe and juicy fruit; all wrapped in bright freshness, clean, with a box of cigars, and varied spices. On the mouth, it is silky and vigorous at the same time as the fruit bursts with flavour, a lot of personality with ample presence, deep and with a lasting finish. A great wine from Dão and from the World.

Contacts
S. João da Azenha, Ap-1, Anadia
3781-901, Avelãs de Caminho
Frei João
Porta dos Cavaleiros
Tel: (+351) 234 743 118
Fax: (+351) 234 743 000
E-mail: geral@cavessaojoao.com
Website: www.cavessaojoao.com