Quinta de S. José

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

Quinta de S. José owned by the Brito e Cunha’s family, descendant of D. Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, is located in one of the Douro’s most beautiful and iconic stretches, in the parish of Ervedosa, a sub-region where lie some of the most important estates in the Douro.

Which extends from the river’s edge till the the very top, over 1900 feet high. Own vineyards, of red grapes, totalling close to 25 acres. The white ones are bought, mostly at Murça and Meda.

Averaging a production of 46000 bottles, 2000 of which are Porto Vintage. The fields are characteristic, with schist. The old vines are abundant and, nowadays greatly disputed by producers eager to make classy, unique wines.

Quinta de S. José has recently opened a new, very modern winery which is located at the very top of the estate, applying to it advanced technologies and enough space to increase production.

Down there by the river, there is a modern wine shop, which also tells a bit about the Quinta’s and Region’s story, where wines are tasted and can also be bought.

Every year there are new harvests and new releases of wines, whites and reds, in a production that is distributed all over the country while also having the capacity to be exported to various parts of the world, with Brazil being one of the best markets.

On a recent visit we tasted the currently marketed harvests, starting with the Quinta de S. José Branco 2013, showing itself full of freshness, with a lot of tropical notes, exciting, with a balanced acidity, full of strength, a young wine with plenty of life.

Next, came the Branco Reserva 2013, very elegant, with ripe white fruit notes, fresh, creamy, nicely fruited, with a good mouth volume, full, persistent and secure.

We then proceeded to the reds, starting with the Quinta de S. José 2012, medium garnet, very clean, with red fruit notes in the nose, intense, young and fresh. Nice structure, presenting ripe red fruits in the mouth, secure and elegant tannins, good acidity to balance the set, with a long finish.

Followed, the Reserva 2012, dark garnet, very clean, with very ripe black fruit and some freshness in the nose. In the mouth showed itself with a pleasant volume, intense, with black plums and blackberries, nice acidity, already well tamed tannins, very elegant yet powerful, with a great ending.

Then came the Grande Reserva 2011, dark garnet, very clean, creamy, full of elegance, intense red fruits, soft vanilla notes, some floral, a perfume. Silky, velvety, with ripe black fruits, well balanced acidity, herbal hills fragrances, heather, very complex with a great final, a great wine.

And for a great ending, the Porto Vintage 2009, dark ruby, loaded, delicious nose, dark chocolate notes, blackberries and a bit floral. Vibrant acidity, amazing black fruits notes, dark chocolate, raisins and figs, slight balsamic, full of complexity, exotic and a very long ending, a beautiful vintage.

The wines were joined by a lot of delicious snacks.

This couple, who dedicated themselves to the life of this project with passion and good taste also explores a kind rural tourism, consisting of the main house where they live, and several small houses that resulted from the recovery of what were previously ruins, now providing all the comfort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are entangled among vines and with the river nearby, in a delightful set, of great beauty, along with a contagious quietness, all provided by nature.

A perfect place to spend a couple quiet days alongside the Douro.

Contacts
Quinta de S. José
5130-123 Ervedosa do Douro
Tel: (+351) 254 422 017
Mobile: (+351) 93 4041413 | (+351) 93 6500180
Email: Wines: joaobritoecunha@quintasjose.com | Tourism: sofiaprazeres@quintasjose.com
Site: www.quintasjose.com

Narcissus Fernandesii, simplicity and sophistication hand in hand

Text José Silva

It’s a very recent five star hotel, in Vila Viçosa, deep in the Alentejo interior, in a region with a big marble production. And this noble product is everywhere through the wonderful facilities of the hotel, in traditional combinations and others much more modern and even some more audacious ones. In this hotel, as it should be, there is a restaurant, which presents some very particular ornamental solutions, of extraordinary good taste, such as lighting.

They’ve got a table in the main room that is a piece of art: a huge marble table with a glass top, which is made from a single marble block, beautiful!

It’s used as the main table for the breakfast’s full buffet and for group meals, giving an exotic touch to a wonderful meal.

The restaurant has a young portuguese chef leading the kitchen team, developing a remarkable work, teaching his even younger workmates, giving them the necessary knowledge so that nothing misses or fails, either in breakfasts of everyday life, in the executive and working lunches, or in the more sophisticated dinners, with more time.

Chef Pedro Mendes can this way develop his work, with the support of excellent products, the majority of them being portuguese and some not so usual, like the use of seaweed and acorn cooking, among others. The name is “Narcissus Fernandesii” and already has a devoted clientele, with a lot of foreigners going there looking for sophisticated and assorted menus, some surprises that the chef and his team may sometimes prepare and also for the wonderful harmonizations with some of the best Alentejo wines.

The room team, leaded by an experienced and attentive professional, gathers all conditions to provide us with a service of affection and skill, delivering us a gastronomic experience we will not forget.

In my last visit, along with some friends, we had a wonderful dinner, full of balance and tremendous notes of good taste.

Couldn’t miss the regional bread and a wonderful Alentejo olive oil, to soften our palate.
Then started a parade of tasty dishes, presented with sophistication and explained by the room staff in a simple but efficient way.

First came a Moganga (Pumpkin) soup with truffled cream, served in a nice cup, then a superb malabar gourd soup with acorn bread – one of the products that chef Pedro Mendes works with passion – smoked ham powder and quail eggs.

First came the plate with the contents and then broth was added, very hot, with a good result. It was delicious!
Then came the Algarve’s carabineer, fleshy and tasty, with cauliflower cream and coriander, endive and lemon emulsion.

Hard to describe, so much simplicity and sophistication, so much elegance, with all the elements making a perfect harmonization.

But we were still surprised by an on point “foie-gras”, close to perfection, with persimmon emulsion making a fantastic pairing and a half “foie” bom-bom, with the company of crispy acorn toast, a refinement finishing, excellent.

The meat dish that was presented was exotic, complex, but very, very good: smoked deer meat in holm oak wood and rosemary, with Madeira wine reduction, small broad beans with coriander, quince cream and some small pieces of breaded cauliflower, such a wonderful dish!

Then it was dessert time. Firstly, field pumpkin and whey in a wonderful marriage between not so ordinary products, then honey pie, acorn’s sponge, persimmon ice cream and lemon cream, superb contrasts and a voluptuous result, in a great final.

The wines that accompanied this feast of the senses were Herdade do Pombal white 2011, an Alentejo wine from Estremoz, already with some evolution, therefore with great elegance, smoky dry notes, wonderful volume, fat, involving, proving that white wines age very well with time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other wine was an excellence red wine Lima Mayer 2008, from Monforte area, great freshness and acidity, very complex and thus fascinating, dealing very well with the proposed harmonizations for this wonderful meal.
Alentejo at its best…

Quinta do Convento da Nª Sª da Visitação – Vineyards with a view to the sea..

Text José Silva

Located up in the mountain of Montejunto, not far from the sea, this estate belongs to the Lisbon wine region. And it’s from that sea that the sub-region of Óbidos receives a direct influence of strong, fresh and salty winds as well as a good solar exposure.

I am talking about Quinta do Convento da Nossa Senhora da Visitação which associates a housing tourism and services unit, along with a wine production with some importance in the region.

The old buildings were very well recuperated to rooms where they serve meals to groups and events as well as for a hotel unit with high standard although of small dimension, of which is part a very old chapel (also well renewed) and a lake that gives the exterior space a bucolic look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing out there are some very large trees, which stoically resist to frequent high winds, of sometimes great violence.

One of those buildings was turned in to a wine cellar, where they have modern machinery, protected by the thick walls’ ancientness.

Below the wine cellar, in the cask room, rest the to be aged wines. In the estate’s pinnacle, inside an old windmill, a very cozy suite was made, providing a wonderful view over the ridge and plain below, and over the ocean in the background. On the clearest days, we can sight the Berlengas archipelago.

But we were there also to taste some of the house’s wines, and we did it in a quiet place, close to the cellar.

First and foremost the curiosity of a white wine made of 2012 vintage grapes Sauvignon Blanc and Fernão Pires, an interesting marriage between two so different kinds of grape varieties, one Portuguese, the other one with French origin. It showed up in light yellow, citric, crystal clear, full of freshness in the nose, with exotic white fruit notes and a very slight vegetable touch. Good structure in the mouth, keeping freshness and presenting a well-balanced acidity, with character and great final.

Another white wine came, now of a single kind of grape variety, Semillion, also from 2012 vintage. It showed medium yellow colour, crystal clear. Intense and refined nose, with some complexity, white fruit aromas, apricot, pear, a slight honey touch, and a bit smokey. Keeps that complexity in the mouth, good volume, a very present acidity but well balanced, some matured fruit, round and intense, great final.

Then we went to the red wines, with Regional Lisboa 2007. Intense rubi colour, very clean, with intense red fruit aromas, some freshness, smoke notes. In the mouth it is a simple wine, well structured, with red fruit notes, the curiosity of being made with grape varieties Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Pinot Noir and Caladoc, this last one not so usual. Chocolate notes, some smoke and a long tasty final.

Still on the reds, we tasted Premium 2007, result of the combination of the grape varieties of Pinot Noir, Tinta Roriz and Caladoc, providing an intense rubi colour, very clean. In the nose the intensity of black fruit aromas, some smoke and an interesting touch of eucalyptus. In the mouth it keeps matured black fruit notes, very present acidity, very well tamed tannins, very refined, some freshness, round and persistent, with a long and safe final.

Then came a red Pinot Noir from 2007. The same intense rubi colour, very clean, intense red fruit aromas, slight smokey notes, refined, exquisite. Austere in the mouth, refined, some red fruit, sweet and round tannins, wonderful acidity and some freshness, presenting a medium intense final.

Syrah 2008 was too made with one grape variety, also with intense rubi colour, very clean. This time very different aromas, red fruit notes, black chocolate, intense spices and some smoke. Intense in the mouth, authoritarian, powerful but tamed tannins, black fruit notes, wonderful acidity, black chocolate touch, with long and persistent final in a wine with race.

To end, we tasted Reserva 2007, with grape varieties of Touriga Nacional and Syrah. It keeps the rubi colour, very clean. An extraordinary nose, refined, with high complexity, mature black fruit notes and some smoke. In the mouth, intense, much presence of black fruit, some black chocolate, well-balanced acidity and tannins already tamed providing it some austerity, a very complex but refined wine, with great final.

Far away, we can still see the sea…

Contacts
Rua Convento
2580-442 Vila Verde dos Francos
Tel: (+351) 210 330 780
Email: geral@quintadoconvento.pt
Site: www.quintadoconvento.pt

Quinta S. Sebastião

Text José Silva

Arruda dos Vinhos region has allways been known for its wine production, with the vineyards scattered through the orography slightly mountainous, neighbour to other small regions also with a lot of vineyards as Sobral de Monte Agraço and Bucelas.

In the last years, production has developed towards a better quality and new producers appeared, some of those that only produced grapes and sold them, began to produce their own wines. But their were others that allways produced quality wines and they only modernized the vineyards and bought new equipment that allows a better control of grape production and latter, in the wine cellar, control wine evolution either in vats and casks, or in the bottles.

That´s what happens in Quinta de S. Sebastião, right in Arruda, today a modern producer, with very interesting wines, between whites and reds.

Also keeping a family tradition, a beautiful very old house, a riding school where they coach their own horses, used to travell through the region and a room where they keep some old wine collections, a little bit of their own wine-producing history, for rare journeys through other times, other traditions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further back, the vineyards that climb up the hill, today with the quixotic company of those also modern energy production mills, that mould the landscape and identify modernity. And it was in this relaxed scenery that we sat down at a nice tasting room, to enjoy modern wines of this house, quietely.

We started by Quinta de S. Sebastião Branco 2013. With a pale yellow colour, crystal clear and misterious refined nose, fresh, slightly dry. Intense in the mouth, good volume, showing very fresh mineral notes, very good acidity, well-balanced wine with beautiful final.

It was followed by Quinta de S. Sebastião white cercial 2012, with a medium yellow colour, crystal clear. It is dry and fresh in the nose, with slight honey notes, intense, quite exotic. Still very fresh in the mouth, intense acidity that gives it some balance, white fruit notes and some citric. Very well integrated wood, showing refinement and a long final, in a very gastronomic white wine.

Then we passed to the red wines, with Quinta de S. Sebastião Colheita 2012, that showed red grenat colour, very dark and closed, very smooth and refined in the nose, good red fruit notes, some smoke, spicy. In the mouth it has got very good acidity, very present, its dry, deep, very refined black fruit notes, slight black chocolate notes and persistent medium final.

Then it was Quinta de S. Sebastião Reserva 2012, with intense grenat colur, dark. Austere and elegantly sober in the nose, chocolate and black fruit notes. It presents an excellent acidity in the mouth, it has got volume, freshness, depth, a permanent discover of tastes, with powerful tanins but at the same time refined, haughty, a long final for a wonderful wine.

At last Quinta de S. Sebastião Touriga Nacional 2012 was presented at the tasting, a very interesting one grape variety wine, showing that this ecletic grape has got a great adaptation power to other kind of soil and climate, having a great perfomence. Violaceous red colour, intense, dark, it has got beautiful floral in the nose, thin and refined, with some chocolate notes, slightly spiced.

It is round in the mouth, great volume and acidity, tanins very much present, still to be tamed, very matured black fruit notes, even some chocolate and black tee, a restless wine with great final.

A good surprise the consistency of theese wines, at a proucer that promises to keep this quality, having got the power to go even further.
In Arruda dos Vinhos…

Contacts
Quinta de São Sebastião
Rua de S. Sebastião, nº 9
2630-180 Arruda dos Vinhos
Tel: (+351) 263 978 549
Mobile: (+3351)914 222 465
Email: geral@quintassebastiao.com
Site: www.quintassebastiao.com

de Castro Flores Restaurant

Text José Silva

Lisbon is always improving and calling more and more tourists from more and more countries, and it’s classified as one of the most interesting destinies in the world.

With a lot of interesting reasons for a visit, from the architectural beauty, to the cultural area and the historical inheritance, Lisbon has got its own life and, as a very modern town, it keeps the traditions that made it famous, mainly the authentic look of its old neighborhoods, where you still eat titbits and sing the fado.

And one of the great quality Lisbon traditions are the restaurants, many of them serving good food for decades, and many others more modern, that showed up and improved, all around the city. But it is in the center of Lisbon that in the last years many quality restaurants have appeared, some of them led by very well-known Chefs who can spread their knowledge and their art there.

One of those Chefs, who left his home town, Porto, to go to Lisbon where he has been developing some projects, is Miguel Castro e Silva, very well-known and esteemed, a creator and researcher with a lot of work done. Recently he opened another space, right in the center of Lisbon, in the beauty of Praça das Flores, which he named “De Castro Flores”.

When we paid him a visit we were received in a very beautiful space, modern, well decorated in light shades, very cozy, a familiar restaurant. Outside, even at night, the terrace is much requested, we feel good there. The dining room is large, with several small corners, a nice balcony in the middle, some tables with strait stools leaning against the wall, but very comfortable.

Well-dressed tables, a mix of simplicity and refinement, good appliances and very good glass service. Very young people, well led, take care of the service, very efficiently, with affection and attention, guiding us with safety through the meal, an example of professionalism to be followed.

The menu, as usual in Chef Miguel Castro Silva´s work, has got an enormous component of titbits, some of them change now and then, but many others have got great tradition in his work, in this case peas with smoked sausages and poached egg, tender dough pies, Beira black pudding with apple and onion or delicious clams with butter beans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meal we had, we were delighted to have smoked codfish with dry tomato and almond vinaigrette, followed by the also traditional “vegetal garden fish” with mayonnaise and lemon.

Then came broken eggs with trumpets (mushrooms), creamy and very tasty, some particular fried scruff codfish coated in batter, soft and tasty, and delicious peas with smoked sausages and poached egg, presented in small pots, very hot.

As main course, as there are also some wonderful dishes there, very complete, we tasted a superb lamb shank with chickpea stew and wild mushrooms, a dish for brave people, well balanced, tender and tasty meat, the mushrooms making the perfect connection.

Nobody could stand dessert anymore, but we still drank another glass of some of the wines we brought with us and from one of Miguel Castro e Silva´s wine, the white blend Ribeiro Santo, from Dão.

Lisbon’s night was just beginning…

Contacts
Restaurante De Castro
Praça das Flores
Rua Marcos Portugal, 1
1200-265 Lisboa
Tel: (+351) 215  903 077
Email: geral@decastroelias.com
Site:  decastro.pt

Sea Me Restaurant

Text José Silva

Lisbon’s town center seethes with life and bars and restaurants open and re-open all the time, after restoration or changing hands, responding to a huge and heterogeneous clientele, where the weight of foreigners is bigger all the time.

Portugal is fashionable and Lisbon, the capital, leads the search from people that come from all over the world, during the whole year, to appraise the good things we have, thatfortunately are still a lot. And one of our riches is our kitchen, with a vast cookbook from north to south and a fantastic variety for such a small country.

We have great quality products, internationally recognized and wanted. The fish from our coast are one of those products, served all over the country, in restaurants of several classes. One of those restaurants, right in the center of Lisbon, is serving very fresh fish, always from the Peniche fish market, along with a variety of seafood.

It is in Loreto Street, quite close to Camões square, and it used to be one of the many shoe shops that were abundant there, that has been intelligently recovered into a restaurant where they almost only serve fresh fish and seafood: the restaurant “Sea Me, Modern Fish Shop”.

There, there is imagination, good taste, products of first quality, modern cooking underlining the freshness of the products and there is a blend of good mood and humor. But let´s describe the place, which is somewhat long and narrow, with a small shop window at the entrance, through which a variety of products go through, which may be a type of beer or wine or some tempting fresh oysters, inviting us to eat them at once.

Next, on the left side, a large balcony, where you can also eat a quick meal or hang in there eating titbits and drinking, wasting time, through the night. A small step separates this space from the main room, a little bit larger, dressed with simplicity, a huge L shaped balcony at the bottom that shows, on the back, the big kitchen, displaying everything, and at the real bottom, leaning forward, a huge shop window with sea food and fresh fish, properly identified, that we can choose from, if we want to.

And with so many fresh fish every day, you can also eat wonderful sushi there.

But we can always count on the help from the ones who know and can guide us so that we may have an excellent meal. Wooden tables are dressed in a very simple way and young and qualified personnel, charming and attentive, are in charge of service, and properly explain to us each dish that arrives at the table. Wine service is impeccable, both in the glasses and in temperatures and the restaurant is always full, at lunch and dinner.

In this visit, bread came to the table and a variety of very tasty titbits, some of them not so usual.

Slightly toasted scallops with mango tartar and salt flower, very tasty, well done, some sushi pieces prepared with that fish so fresh, some pieces of sardine sushi with grilled chili pepper.

Codfish with chickpea salad, fried cuttlefish in black tempura and shiso sheet, some perplexing fish sea bass and seaweed Japanese salad, citrus and avocado sauce.

At last a fish mixed grill, with huge squids and sea bass, also with squids Bulhão Pato style, all in the company of boiled potatoes, a variety of boiled vegetables and a generous portion of olive oil to irrigate the fish.

We finished with crème caramel, the traditional way.

Some wines that the group brought were drank, between whites and reds that had been put at the correct temperatures, for our delight…
In the center of Lisbon, fresh fish at our table.

Contacts
Sea Me Restaurant
Rua do Loreto 21
1200-049 Lisboa
Tel.: (+351) 213 461 564/565
Fax: (+351) 213 461 566
E-mail: geral@peixariamoderna.com
Site: www.peixariamoderna.com

Nortada Restaurant

Text José Silva

Colares traditional vineyards resist in their sandy soil, with twisted stems near the ground to protect themselves from the strong wind that normaly blows from the nearby sea. This wind will provide some saltiness, carried in its humidity, to the grapes and the wines that will grow from them.

To protect them even more, winegrowers set up reed palisades that made these vineyards so typical.

This north wind that swepts the Colares coast almost the entire year, gave name to a restaurant that lies exactly over one of the most charismatic beaches of that region, Praia Grande beach, located a few hundred meters away from some of those vineyards.

It is a wide beach, with some cliffs and a large sandy area, punished by that rough, strong sea, with some perfect waves that delight the extreme sports lovers. It’s also from this sea that comes the fish and seafood served in the restaurant “Nortada”, in Praia Grande.

Up in the cliff, in a perfect location, presents us a superb view over the beach and that enormous sea.

The dining room is divided in some nooks and has large windows allowing the light in and providing a perfect view of the landscape. In the middle, a showcase of fresh fish and seafood that we may choose for our meal.

The restaurant also has an highly sought out esplanade, protected from the strong winds and facing south.

The tables are very nicely set, with good taste and a professional service, careful and polite, well leaded.

Over there, fish and seafood are kings, and come to the table in assorted cookings, from the most simple ones, where the fish is simply grilled only with salt, and seafood is boiled, giving all its richness, to more complex ones, as lobster crepe, sea bass pie, shrimp risotto, spaghetti with clams or rice with shrimp grouper.

To begin our meal we had tasty bread, two kinds of butter, olives and laminated cheese.

And then came a Seven Seas fresh sea bass, prepared with butter and shrimp sauce, with big shrimp and tasty sautéed vegetables, in a very well done set, in the company of a very good garlic and coriander rice.

The meal was completed with a delicious “bolo de bolacha” (biscuit cake).

We drank some wines we took with us and among them there was even a ramisco from Colares.
Had we not had to go on working, we would for sure stay there during the afternoon, relishing that amazing landscape…

Contacts
Restaurante Nortada
Avenida Alfredo Coelho 8 – Praia Grande
Sintra
2705-329 COLARES
Tel: (+351) 21 929 15 16
Email: geral@restauranteNortada.com
Site: www.restaurantenortada.com

Douro Wine Fest and Tasca da Quinta

Text José Silva

It was a rainy summer weekend, between the 18th and the 21st of September, as otherwise was this summer of 2014, and the harvest had already started, slowly, very carefully.

And then the first “Douro Wine Fest” happened, an organization of the firm Offe, supported by the Tourism of Porto and North of Portugal, Régua municipality and Douro Museum.

A plant with great quality was carefully built in the waterfront of Régua town, quite close to the marina, in a scenery that couldn´t be more beautiful, dominated by the Douro river.

Despite the weather, wine producers joined massively and used up all the spaces available and the public appeared… avoiding rain showers that came down now and then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday there was no rain, there was a true summer temperature and there were thousands of visitors, invading the precinct.

There next to the wine producers, there were several gastronomic products stores from the region and two of Régua’s restaurants serving a variety of titbits.

In a proper room, many wine and some product tastings happened, and many wine producers and wine makers went there, showing and sharing their experiences and their wines. And there was a lot of music and some shows that went on through the night.
In the end, the result was quite positive and it would have even been better if not for the rain, which gave good indications for next year, with another Douro Wine Fest.

But Régua is moving, which one could see for the amount of visitors at the event, and there are new spaces in town, between wine bars and restaurants.

One of the most recent ones is a “tasca” (pub) in the old style, the result of the recovery of a very beautiful rustic space, keeping the original style. They also kept the schist and the wood that already existed, and the place was recovered with the modernity you need to serve good titbits in a cozy environment. The owners called it “Tasca da Quinta” and they also have a small wine production, on the other side of the river.

The dining room is large, with schist floor, bright colors, thick wood beams on the ceiling and a huge balcony that shows the modern kitchen behind it.

In it two women in love with what they do, handle very good products in a traditional way, for our comfort. They serve regional bread and corn bread to match with wonderful smoked ham, pickling brine sardines and pickling brine quail, and some snacks with bread and corn bread: codfish and red pepper, and delicious smoked blood sausage. Also very good are the small pork ribs in wine and garlic marinade and the “açorda” (bread stew), especially the mushroom one, superb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among other possibilities, we closed the meal with a tasty and creamy apple pie.

There were several tables with foreigners who were delighted with the very typical Portuguese titbits… and the Douro wine.
As we drink another glass, chat goes on about Douro and its evolution. And we wished for a harvest with the minimum damage possible, despite the rain that doesn´t go away…

Contacts
Rua de Santa Luzia, 175
4250-417 Porto
Tel: (+351) 228 329 017
Fax: (+351) 228 329 017
Mobile: (+351) 964 137 029
Email: pwf@offe.pt
Site: www.portowinefest.com

Quinta do Monte Xisto 2012

Text José Silva

With the good taste and humor that we recognize in them, the Nicolau de Almeida family launched the 2012 harvest of their “Quinta do Monte Xisto” wine in an uncommon place: the railway station of S. Bento, in the city of Porto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the many rooms on the first floor of the ancient building was decorated with some furniture of the family, a simple set up with schist and wild plants that were brought from Foz Côa and some wood boxes that pack the bottles, as recognizable components of the origin of their creation.

With the presence of all of the family elements but young João Nicolau, it was the father’s duty to do the honor of the house and present this new vintage of a wine that is prepared with the opinion of the whole family. As he said: “This wine is a blend of the Nicolau de Almeida family, it is discussed among all and we all learn with each other”.

We moved on to the wine tasting, which showed itself in a very good shape, though still very young, and promising to follow in the footsteps of its almost sold out older brother, from the 2011 vintage, . Vineyards in schist soils, with a sometimes merciless climate, that rudeness of extremes, and a different viticulture from other places in Douro, producing healthy grapes, well matured, chosen with rigor. The wine aged in 600 liters oak barrels, mostly used ones.

It showed a red ruby intense color, full body, delicate in the nose, silky, good presence of delicious red fruit, some freshness and an intense and inebriant floral. In the mouth it had great refinement, very well balanced acidity, fresh, young, powerful but controlled tannins, velvety red fruit, wonderful mouth volume, slight spicy notes and delicious and long final. In the words of João Nicolau de Almeida: “It is refined, delicate, powerful, silky, with volume, you feel like drinking more!”

A wine that will most likely become one of Douro’s classics, with its very own character and a profile that reveals this family’s wine making style. As Mateus Nicolau de Almeida said: “Quinta do Monte Xisto is our own creation, of our family, our DNA is there, it´s a life project”.

By the invitation of the Nicolau de Almeida family, lunch was served at DOP restaurant, by Chef Rui Paula, that began with the matching of two Mateus Nicolau de Almeida’s wines, Muxagat Rosé 2013 and Muxagat White 2012, and finished with the one that was being presented, Monte Xisto 2012.
Muxagat 2013, made from tinta barroca and tinto cão grapes, picked in the Meda region, showed a fantastic salmon color. Slightly floral and fresh in the nose, extremely refined, it is austere in the mouth, dry, great volume and long final, pretty much gastronomical.

It went with smoked salmon with sour cream, Brie cheese with three chili pepper jam and a delicious mini pie from Chaves. Muxagat white 2012 showed light yellow crystal color, some sweet notes in the nose, a lot of matured white fruit, fresh, refined and soft.

In the mouth it was strong, peremptory but very fresh, incredible acidity, great structure and refinement, a lot of refinement, and it matched an octopus carpaccio with vegetables and mozzarella cheese tile.

Meat dish, “bízaro” pork nape with celery and green asparagus puree, was the perfect matching for the new Quinta do Monte Xisto 2012, and then a delicious chocolate trilogy, finishing a great meal.

We said farewell to the Nicolau de Almeida family, at least till next year, for another wine with their DNA.

Contacts
Caminho do Curral Teles Vila Nova de Foz Côa
5150-636 Vila Nova de Foz Côa

ODE

Text José Silva

A diferent concept, an extraordinary gastronomic experience, the pleasure to sit at the table with time. The young ODE owner has got a true cult for the Portuguese wines that are served with rigor in good glasses at the right temperatures, and the original and traditional products, that are used to perform titbits and dishes in this good eating house. An oasis in a desert that doesn’t seem to disappear.

ODE is the clever and taste fully recovery of an old space, right in the historical area of Porto town, close to Cais dos Bacalhoeiros and Ribeira. In a typical granite building it has got, just at the entrance, a beautiful schist table that sits half a dozen persons, with the open kitchen balcony just in front.

The side wall has got a genuine showcase with fresh fruit and vegetables and, just beside it, the modern temperature controlled freezers where the wines rest in excellent conditions. At the end, two steps up, the first room, almost a private room, the traditional granite of the city on the walls and thick wooden beams on the ceiling. Wonderful décor, refined, cozy, very beautiful. On the right, a wooden stair carries us to the first floor, to the main room with half a dozen tables and the same style, but with a view of the square and a gusset of the river. Perfect service, young people superintended by the owner, handing over passion and good taste.

Sitting on the schist table at the entrance that we shared with two of the many foreigners who filled up the restaurant, traditional bread from Bragança came to the table, as well as two small vessels with olive oil, one from Trás-os-Montes, the other one from Alentejo. Just after that, they served butter from Azores, very good, traditional bízaro pork smoked sausage from Melgaço and a small cheese from Azeitão, which one of them the better!! The journey was launched through a simple cuisine, with various flavors and fragrances, excellent products, well spiced. The small vegetable soup was stimulant, pleasant. A delicious traditional grilled yellow rocket from Vinhais, cut in small pieces, each one with a mango piece on top, contrasting tastes with a good result. Then it was time for a swordfish marinade that was perfect, wrapped up with onion and chili pepper, vinegar on the right quantity, very good. We didn´t miss the traditional, vigorous, grilled octopus “à Lagareiro” tender and very tasty, in the company of smashed potato, with skin, and boiled vegetables, with wonderful olive oil.

At last meat: grilled veal morsels, in the company of curry sauce from Goa and basmati rice with lime zestin a delicious contrast set. Although they tried to seduce us with the chocolate volcano and tangerine Artic or grandmother Dulce’s pudding, we couldn´t bear any more and we stick toavery well done fruit dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The owner is tireless in the attendance of the customers, communicating in a charming way his passion for what he does, but also the rigor in the presentation of what comes to our table, the carefulness serving the wines, temperature control, and attention with the matchings proposed.
The Wines were very well represented, beginning with Muros de Melgaço 2013, a steady Alvarinho, full of life, fresh, flavored with balanced acidity. White Graça Reserva 2009 from Douro is made with grapes from very old vineyards, very mineral, complex, fresh with wonderful acidity, in very good shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came Pardusco 2012, a different red, modern, almost a claret, very fresh and smooth in the nose, involving in the mouth, plenty of fruit and balanced acidity, refined. Quinta dos Frades Old Vines red 2009 was at a great level, very refined, round, silky but safe, a little bit spicy, smoke notes, great wine. In contrast but in great shape, was Grou Red 2008, a wine from Alentejo that is still developing very well in the bottle, great structure, good mouth volume, sober tannins, fresh and acidity very well balanced, delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late Harvest Olho No Pé 2012 is really good, sweet but with excellent acidity, mature fruit notes, a delicious miscellany, we drank it several times…
We finished talking with the owner with a glass of Ode Port wine, with great tradition, refined, authoritarian, which closed a long but excellent meal, a truthful ode to quality cookery…

Contacts
ODE Porto Wine House
Largo do Terreiro 7
4050-301 Porto
Mobile: 913 200 010
E-mail: info@odewinehouse.com
Facebook: odeportowinehouse