Blend All About Wine Arquivo de Several Wines

Muxagat’s different wines

July 18, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by José Silva

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

Muxagat is a well-known producer of the Douro Region and is located in Meda, in the Douro Superior.

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It’s a small winery with a few years already. It has been being slightly adapted to modern times but the wine production is still done above all by traditional methods and using even some old techniques that are still very useful.

Schist

The white and red grapes come from the Muxagata vineyards and from some others of the region with schistose land and sometimes ruthless. Extreme weather and extreme temperature ranges that the vineyard appreciates.

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And they are still handpicked and transported with the help of the precious animal traction. Other grapes arrive at the winery in small plastic boxes, which are placed in a refrigerator container to stabilize the temperature before being pressed.

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They are then pressed in the old vertical presses providing high quality, or foot treaded in the granite lagares. Always the tradition in this cellar, which turns out to still have great functionality. After removing the musts the wines go to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, where they then age for the necessary time before being bottled.

They also use wooden casks and concrete eggs, a modern technique that is being tested with good results. In our last visit we tasted a few wines that lived up to what was expected of them.

The Rosé 2014 showed an appealing pink color with intense strawberry and raspberry aromas aromas and a soft, elegant mouth strike but with enough structure, somewhat exotic. Very nice with and elegant finish.

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Then it was the White 2013 with white pulp fruit notes, pear, peach and plum, lightly floral and very mineral. In the mouth has intense acidity, much volume, citrus and mineral notes with a long and safe finish.

The Os Xistos Altos 2012 is a very special white, has white fruit, some floral, some minerality with smoked touch. In the mouth it is mineral, almost salty, complex, very elegant and with an excellent acidity. Great ending.

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The Cisne red 2011 is a concentrated wine, with floral notes and black fruit, mostly blueberries. The palate is quite elegant, with some ripe fruit, round tannins, very thin and a long finish.

Then it was time for the Tinta Barroca 2014 made with grapes from altitude vineyards, 100% Tinta Barroca. Shows aromas of raspberry, cherry and it’s very fresh in the nose. The palate is velvety, enveloping, little touches of spices, beautiful volume and very long finish.

Then we ended with the Red 2102, with a dark opaque red. Shows itself fresh, with red fruit aromas and some balsamic, slightly floral, very complex. In the mouth the highlight goes to the ripe red fruit, light notes of cocoa, great acidity and steady and well-tamed tannins, which provides a long and tasty ending. Beautiful wines that will enjoy some time in the bottle. Luís Seabra is now the enological responsible that has a good knowledge of the Douro and is expected to keep up the reference work along with good surprises …

Aromas of Cidrô, the novelties of Real Companhia Velha

July 8, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by João Pedro Carvalho

Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Bruno Ferreira

Real Companhia Velha’s portefolio of wines produced at Quinta de Cidrô is based on a surprising collection of domestic and foreign grape varieties. Located near São João da Pesqueira, with over 150 hectares of vineyards, its first plantations date back to the end of the XIX century, when its beautiful and imposing Palace was built. Quinta de Cidrô was bought by Real Companhia Velha in 1972 and was subject of a necessary restructuring, both the vineyards and the palace. They bought new plots and planted new vineyards in a vertical system, as you can see in the photo.

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In a concept that we can say of irreverence and innovation, the white varieties such as Chardonnay, Boal, Alvarinho, Sauvignon Blanc or Gewurztraminer or the reds such as Pinot Noir, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rufete have been filling our glasses of aromas and flavors from Quinta de Cidrô. In conversation we learnt that amidst the white varieties is lacking the Riesling, which surely will be planted there in the near future. Most certainly the freshness of the Quinta de Cidrô’s lands will welcome the new lodger as it has done with all the others and showing such good results.

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Having Quinta do Sidrô 1996 in mind and comparing with the latest Quinta de Cidrô Chardonnay 2015 we can understand the successful path that this house has taken in recent years. The tasting had a handful of white and rosé wines, a total of 6, and all of them showing lively and well defined flavors. An increasingly refined and elegant profile with the Douro marking their souls. An evolution across vintages where the wines are increasingly showing the many charms of the place where they were born.

Quinta de Cidrô Alvarinho 2015: Showing freshness in a very focused and cohesive set, structured and marked by the Douro terroir with orchard fruit notes, citrus and a slight mineral austerity in the background. Good palate, tasty and fruit marking the flavors in a cool, dry finish.

Quinta de Cidrô Sauvignon Blanc 2015: Still very young. Expressive in a mix of austere fruit of a more tropical character and a touch of lemon candy. Fresh vegetable (asparagus), cohesive set with a medium tone palate as far as presence goes. The fruit is less present than in the nose, finishing fresh and with good persistence.

Quinta de Cidrô Boal 2014: The Semillon grape variety is known in the Douro as Boal, so the wine changes its name, but fortunately nothing else has changed keeping all its charms. It is clearly one of my favorites of the tasting. A full and entangling wine that marks us with its freshness and the warmer tone that the wood gives it. Full and rich in flavors and aromas with the acidity completely dominating its spirit. One of those to have, drink and, if you’re able, to keep.

Quinta de Cidrô Chardonnay 2015: It’s already a classic and one of the most successful Chardonnay wines made in Portugal for years now. The wine is now more elegant and refined and we can feel the winemaker’s hand. A slight feeling of toasted bread, very subtle wood with freshness and elegance of orchard fruit, underhanded pineapple. Closely-knit but at the same time delicate, clean and captivating.

Quinta de Cidrô Gewurztraminer 2015: Aroma full of lychees and rose petals, full of freshness in a very direct aroma that saturates the nose and even the palate, almost always a mixture of freshness with rose water. The problem is mine I’m sure, because rare are the cases of wines made from grape variety that have conquered me, this is no exception and it was the one I liked the least of the tasting.

Quinta de Cidrô Rosé 2015: A Rosé made from Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. Shows up dry with smoked touch, a mix of red fruits and flowers (Santa Teresinha roses). The palate replicates the aforementioned, marked by very tasty fruit and a good dryness in the end.

Contacts
Quinta de Cidrô
5130-307 S. João da Pesqueira
Tel: (+351) 254 738 050
Fax: (+351) 254 730 851
E-mail: turismorealcompanhiavelha@gmail.com
Website: www.realcompanhiavelha.pt

Quinta de Santa Cristina

July 4, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by José Silva

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

António Pinto is a successful businessman in the fields of electricity and electrical appliances who fell in love for the wine production in a family property in Celorico de Basto.

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Supported by his wife and daughter he started making wine in 2004. Always with the collaboration of the oenologist Jorge Sousa Pinto that has extensive experience throughout the Vinho Verde region. The wine company is called Garantia das Quintas and its main brand is Quinta de Santa Cristina. The wines initially marketed were solely a white and a red, but quickly appeared more varieties, both by the producer’s and oenologist’s will and by the market request. And it wasn’t before long that the sparkling wine appeared, which is today a reference in the region. In 2013 they moved forward with the construction of a new winery right next to the residence that they have there and pratically in the middle of the vineyards with the Senhora da Graça hill flanking.

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It could not be prettier! In a recent visit to the new winery we were able to experience its enormous functionality alongside a nice aesthetic, lacking only a tasting room that will surely have soon.

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In addition to the latest technologies, including the cold, they also constructed a granite lagar where some of the wines are still foot treaded, maintaing the tradition.

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The grapes come from the 40 hectares of vineyards, most of which in its surroundings but at different altitudes producing several grape varieties of the region such as Alvarinho, Arinto, Avesso, Azal, Trajadura and the curious and unique Batoca, the only one producing it. But we’ll get into that later.

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After visiting the modern winery and glimpsing the immense vineyard around, the producer invited the visitors to follow him to a restaurant of the region, “Sabores da Quinta”. Over there the producer, his daughter, the oenologist and the viticulturist guided us on a journey through the main wines while making interesting connections with the food, a very didactic tasting. After all, the wine is meant to accompany the food!

We started off with the base wine from 2015 composed of Arinto, Azal, Loureiro and Trajadura. Simple, very fresh and easy drinking. Quite fresh.

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Then came the Alvarinho Trajadura 2015, a combination of two varieties that are already used to one another. A wine full of fruit but without exaggeration, fresh and well-balanced acidity, very gastronomic and a good match for the snacks that started coming to the table.

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Ham, alheira, black-eyed peas salad, cod’s “pataniscas”, “feijoada” and liver cooked in onions also connected very well with the interesting Alvarinho Loureiro, showing the best of both grape varieties. Fresh, somewhat floral and tropical, excellent acidity, a surprising connection.

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Then it was time for the Alvarinho, one of this producer’s classics. A wine full of elegance, thin, with slightly fruity and tropical notes, bulky with a long finish.

Another wine matching very well with the snacks, but also with the roasted cod in the oven with roasted potatoes and plenty of olive oil that had arrived at the table in the meanwhile.

But the big surprise of the afternoon was a white wine made from a rare grape variety of this sub-region Basto, the Batoca. And this producer is its sole holder. The first bottling was from the 2015 vintage. Full of elegance, fruity on the nose and with some intensity, very balanced and fresh. A beautiful surprise.

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We were already enjoying the roast beef in the oven with nuts and oven rice, when it was served the Santa Cristina white Reserva 2014 made with some of the Quinta’s varieties, of which were chosen the best, with slight wood aging.

Although it has some tropical it also features dried fruit, has a great structure, it’s very elegant in the mouth, silky with a great finish.

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Before the desserts we tasted one of the Quinta’s sparklings, the Bruto white 2013 made with Arinto. With very thin bubble, showing itself very citric, full of freshness, with some toast in the mouth, elegant and seductive. A beautiful ending.

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Outside, the Senhora da Graça hill continued superb…

Quinta do Vale Meão

June 22, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by José Silva

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

Visiting Quinta do Vale Meão is always a pleasure, a delightful adventure even. It’s one of the Quintas that belonged to D. Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (one of the most known), which has now for many years belonged to her great-great-grandson Vito Olazabal, a man of the Douro with deep knowledge of the region and passionate for its land, vineyards and wines. He’s married to Luísa Nicolau de Almeida (daughter of Fernando Nicolau de Almeida) who is also viscerally connected to the Douro. Their sons live and work there, Xito works in the vineyards and winemaking, Luísa in the hard task of marketing and selling those nectars of excellence. The Douro runs in their veins; they’re a family with “patine” … On a recent visit, at the time of Encontros do Douro Superior, we were greeted, as always, with the simplicity and friendliness, quality and good taste typical of them.

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In a new area by the pool, parents and daughter (the son was abroad at the time) presented us with the best, as usual.

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The landscape, right there in front of us, spoke for itself and it is very difficult to describe: the grass field right next to the pool (where the kids play football), the vineyards extending to the river and, at last, the morphology of this superior, bright, full of light and unique Douro.

Then it was time for a commented tasting, led by Vito. The tasting was accompanied by several snacks that were spread across the table, at our disposal. The Meandro white, quite fresh, was already running through the glasses, and the easy talk alternated with the superb landscape that is possible to experience there. This white is great, the nose is somewhat exotic, attractive, full of freshness and elegance, followed by a palate that combines freshness and acidity, with ripe white fruit and citrus notes leading us to a slight minerality. Always feels like having another glass.

Already in conviviality mood, we were invited to go up to the huge terrace that runs alongside the house, with huge trees that provide a soothing shade to the sun’s inclemency. There, next to the swimming pool’s overlooking railing, the tables were set and well-equipped for the meal.

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Regional bread, some curious crispy orange peel strips and a traditional “Caldo Verde” exhaling an amazing aroma, delicious. Then it was time for the Meandro red 2013, and the big news, the Monte Meão 2013 made from grapes of the Cantina vineyard, with the grape variety … Baga! That’s right, Baga in the Douro Superior!!

The wine is great, full of structure, intense, with claw, very balanced and excellent acidity, a nice surprise.

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As a main dish we savored roast cod in the live coal, chipped, with baked potatoes and egg, olives, sprinkled with parsley. To accompany the main dish, a tomato salad, another of vegetables and a “porretas” salad (a salad made with green stalks of leeks, very tasty). By then we were also already drinking the Quinta do Vale Meão 2013, a delicious bomb, full structure, bulky, very fruity, intense, an extraordinary wine, one of the great reds from the Douro Superior. The conversation went on very interesting with humor and good mood of the hosts. With so many other stories to tell, if we could stay there until the sun has set.

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But it was time for the end of the meal, with a nice cheese board and a delicious squash and almonds cake. Many continued in the reds, others went for the Port Vintage Vale Meão, from the year 2001! Wow!

A delightful interpretation of what a great Vintage is. A perfume, an essence, full-bodied, vibrant acidity to balance the set, that’s all we need for one last peek at that landscape that never tires… At the time of parting, one last look back, to the huge gate that displays with gallantry in wrought iron: Quinta do Vale Meão – Antónia Adelaide Ferreira – 1894.

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A family with “patine”…

Contacts
Quinta do Vale Meão
5150-501 Vila Nova de Foz Côa
Portugal
Tel: (+351) 279 762 156
Fax: (+351) 279 762 207
E-mail: geral@quintadovalemeao.pt
Website: www.quintadovalemeao.pt

Pouca Roupa 2015 wines

June 13, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by João Barbosa

Text João Barbosa | Translation Bruno Ferreira

The sun already warms up and my desire to throw myself into the sea is such that … well! How to write this without sounding like I took too much heat in the head?… The three wines are called Pouca Roupa (Barely Clothed)… the most pop brand of Portuguese wines!

The moment that I received them for tasting I could not control the brain, which began singing “Pop muzik”, M’s success of 1979, the British band of disco sound and new wave pop. It was no accident! That year there was a commercial on television, animated by the song, in which a girl was successively unzipping the pants she had dressed on her, and they seemed not to end … Pouca Roupa (Barely Clothed)!

There’s no need to call Sigmund Freud in order to understand this association. But the frenzied spirit of freedom and enjoyment of the disc sound easily takes over the mood. I found myself as a mental disc jockey and passing over to Patrick Hernandez, with the “Born to be alive.”

I won’t continue enumerating the successes hits I sang as I wrote this text. What I can say is that it is impossible to stop a resolute summer! I demand dancing evenings on the beach!

The brand doesn’t always fit the product, whether it be by incompetence or ruse. But it’s not the case. The Pouca Roupa wines want the summer – I had already said it about a year ago and I repeat it. There are three, each with a color.

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The Pouca Roupa white 2015 is fresh as a penguin… it’s sweet tooth and friendly, with a weight 12,5. It was made with Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho and Viosinho grapes. It is a direct shot to fun and goes well with food, talk or dance.

Pouca Roupa rosé 2015 is sneaky. The Aragonês, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional blend masks its nature. Were it not moderated in its alcohol weight, 12.5%, and it would be a serious case. It’s a sweet tooth wine and a good company for conversation and party.

The Pouca Roupa red 2015 requires a greater care, because the alcohol content rises to 14 degrees. It’s a blend of Alfrocheiro, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Nacional. This one requires food on the plate.

Three restless Alentejo wines. Pop! Pop! Pop muzik! Pop! Pop! Pop muzik!

Monte da Ravasqueira presents Summer collection and also…

June 1, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by João Barbosa

Text João Barbosa | Translation Bruno Ferreira

Returning to Ravasqueira is a pleasure. The property is beautiful, imposing and well arranged. I went back there this Spring and I saw, for the first time, the buffer coupling car collection, all in immaculate condition, the oldest being from the eighteenth century.

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The wine was, again, the reason for this visit. The offer is already broad. This time I got to know novelties and I was introduced to new editions of some references, such as Monte da Ravasqueira Vinha das Romãs. Since summer is upon us, comes the pretext of telling about the suggestions of this Arraiolos firm.

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The Syrah grape variety and the Alentejo have a long and happy love relationship. The same happens with the Viognier. The Monte da Ravasqueira Syrah + Viognier 2015 was made with the grapes mixed during fermentation, in the fashion of Côtes du Rhône. The Monte da Ravasqueira Viognier 2013 is in the form of sin. It’s confirmed the mutual passion between the land and these grapes.

As for the summer, this house features two whites and one rosé, all from the year 2015 and demanding sand and salt water, shade and pool, living and grills.

The Monte da Ravasqueira Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is fresh and the citric character seasons the grape variety’s tropicality. Feels good and is great for the conversations of the endless afternoons.

The Monte da Ravasqueira white 2015 is more complex and more interesting. The winemaker Pedro Gonçalves Pereira created a ball of Alvarinho, Arinto, Semillon and Viognier. The grape varieties complete themselves rather than trampling each other. It’s good to drink by itself, but the ideal is to have it with food.

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But the one that delighted me the most was the Monte da Ravasqueira Rosé 2015, made with the Aragonês and Syrah grape varities. This one wants to party! Asks for conversation, food and pool jumps.

Did I say findings? Yes, I did say. Touriga Franca and Sangiovese.

Touriga Franca in Alentejo? Sangiovese in Alentejo? Yes, it’s true. The adaptability of the first outside of the Douro is a rarity. At least, a clearly positive result. The second one is a rarity in Portugal. However…

However, at Monte da Ravasqueira in Arraiolos, the two varieties are grown and have already given grapes for wine, both are from 2012. At the lunch table, Pedro de Mello and Filipe de Mello asked by desires. Once the requests were made, came the bottles.

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Blend-All-About-Wine-Monte da Ravasqueira-Wine Collection-Touriga Franca

The Monte da Ravasqueira SG 2012 is stunning. Also stunning is the Monte da Ravasqueira TF 2012. One thing leads to another, and we took advantage of the absence of the winemaker to play of sorcerer’s apprentice. The blend was made by eye with 70% Sangiovese and 30% Touriga Franca. I think adding 5% to the Italian and removing from the Portuguese will make the wine better.

But, my business is not oenology… I leave a pungent appeal: Pedro Gonçalves Pereira think about it! Make 1,000 bottles and I’ll buy them all! Since I mentioned it… it never hurts to hear “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, symphonic poem by Paul Dukas inspired by a work of Johann von Goethe. By the way, watch or rewatch “Fantasia”, the animated film that Disney made in 1940, based on the work of this French composer of the nineteenth century, in which Mickey Mouse plays the role of a wayward youth.

Contacts
Monte da Ravasqueira
7040-121 Arraiolos
Tel: (+351) 266 490 200
Fax: (+351) 266 490 219
E-mail: ravasqueira@ravasqueira.com
Website: www.ravasqueira.com

Quinta da Boavista and Covela new wines

May 23, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by José Silva

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

The purchase of Quinta da Boavista in 2013 was the second major investment of Marcelo Lima and Tony Smith in the wine world in Portugal. Now has come the time to present their first Douro wines.

The presentation took place in the “Yeatman” and it was a commented tasting by the responsibles of the company’s viticulture and enology: Gonçalo Lopes, Rui Cunha and the French consultant Jean Claude Berrouet, with over 50 years of experience producing great wines in the world, and accompanied by his son Jeff Berrouet. This junction between Portuguese and French proved to be very appropriate, because there were complementary opinions and experiences. Quinta da Boavista has a remarkable history attached to the Port wine and it was a place of refuge for the Baron of Forrester, who lived there for some time.

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The terraces are very high, the vines are very old and very difficult to access, and they are worked with the use of mules, as has been done for hundreds of years. The “terroir” is amazing, providing the typicality that we so much enjoy in the Douro reds, associated to the most traditional grape varieties of the region: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Sousão, Tinto Cão, Tinta Barroca and Alicante Bouschet, putting these red wines on a very high level. Berrouet says that wine is a magical product, delicate, that conveys the history of a region and that its mission is to give us pleasure when we drink it. It’s what they want with the wines that are being produced there, to transmit the sensations that lead us to interpret that region and in particular this Quinta. Every year they will bottle a monovarietal wine.

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In this first harvest it was the Boavista Touriga Nacional 2013, a wine full of elegance, souplesse, with personality and a great aromatic expression. At the same time this wine is sober, with structure, very fresh and has a great acidity, it will be interesting to follow its evolution. 2,000 bottles were bottled and its price will be about €22.

The combat wine will definitely be the Boavista Reserva 2013, a typical Douro in the glass, a blend full of elegance, intense, good volume, with everything in place. Beautiful acidity, slightly dry, sweet tooth, a gourmet wine, still young but promising of which were bottled 5,000 bottles and will cost about €40 each. Then they made two extraordinary wines from two very old vines, almost filigree, the Oratory Vineyard (Vinha do Oratório) and the Ujo Vineyard (Vinha do Ujo).

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The Quinta da Boavista Vinha do Oratório 2013 is made from grapes from this vineyard that dates back to last century’s 30s, and is planted at between 70 and 160 meters with several sun exposures. It offers a lot of complexity, elegance, lots of ripe fruit, concentrated acidity and freshness, it’s an intense wine and still evolving, of which were bottled less than 1,000 bottles and will cost about €100 each.

Finally, another fantastic wine, Quinta da Boavista Vinha do Ujo 2013. This vineyard is planted at between 150 and 200 meters providing a silky but authoritative wine, always elegant and with some fruit on the nose. Beautiful volume of mouth, good acidity, great structure, very ripe fruit, long and a great end. A meditation wine, of which there are only about 1,000 bottles, less than €100 each. Wines that tell us what the terroir of Quinta da Boavista is and that, as Jean Claude Berrouet said, comes down to four words: soil, climate, plants and man.

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The wines were enjoyed during a dinner at the “Yeatman”, which had an amuse bouche consisting of four appetizers, then a set of crustaceans and their froth with curry and cocoa shoots.

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Then followed the John Dory, a set of sea flavors, including barnacles and octopus with glasswort. And finally the Marinhoa meat, grilled and accompanied by potato cream and spices.

For dessert we had rhubarb cream with kaffir lime, rhubarb meringue and mascarpone cheese ice cream. A nice battle between well-crafted wines and dishes.

The next day…

The next day we were summoned to the restaurant/seafood restaurant “Gaveto” in Matosinhos. Introducing the new vintages of Covela wines at the counter of a seafood restaurant?! It’s true, it was really like that.

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It was different and fun. Within the counter were Gonçalo Lopes, Vítor Mendes and Rui Cunha, led by Tony Smith. Because the wine must also be served with humor. The first was the Covela Rosé 2015 made of Touriga Nacional. With the same flavor profile as before, extraordinary acidity, elegance and refinement. It is cool and dry, a gastronomic rosé.

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Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Boavista-Covela Avesso

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Boavista-Covela Arinto

The Avesso 2015 is extraordinarily fresh, velvety on the nose, somewhat exotic. In the mouth the freshness persists to which joins a vibrant, amazing acidity, making it a gluttonous wine. The Covela Arinto 2015 has the grape variety’s freshness quite evident, it’s persistent, very elegant, has some minerality, intense, tasty, with good volume, a healthy wine.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Boavista-Barncles

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Boavista-zamburinhas

Meanwhile, at the counter were already the vinaigrette fish eggs and spicy small sardines, followed by barnacles and santiaguinhos, only boiled, tasting like the sea.

The zamburinhas, on the plate, were superb, full of roe. Then came the Covela Escolha 2014, with Avesso and Chardonnay, with refinement and elegance in the nose, silky, exotic, complex.

Great freshness and lots of acidity giving it balance, a special wine, that made good company to a superb lobster rice, a tradition in “Gaveto.” Mountain cheese and sponge cake from Ovar to end with in the company of a very special Covela 2007 red, already a rarity. With the coffee or with more cheese and sponge cake, came two very tasty Covela’s grape marc spirits. One, made from only white grapes, is more aromatic, more floral and has 40% alcohol. The other, prepared from red grapes, is more powerful, more full-bodied and has 50% alcohol. Powerful!!

There, at counter the conversation remained lively…

Quinta da Lapa – In the land of Pina Manique with good wines

May 16, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by Blend - All About Wine

Text José Silva | Translation Bruno Ferreira

This Ribatejo property has almost 300 years and it’s said that Pina Manique may once have lived over there. It was bought by the businessman Canas da Costa. For his daughter Sílvia, an architect, it was love at first sight. Besides the impeccable restoration of the manor-house, where now runs a beautiful rural tourism with 11 suites, Sylvia fell completely in love with the vineyards.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Quinta

And thus was born a successful wine project by hiring the winemaker Jaime Quendera and his tremendous experience. The vines are aged between 15 and 25 years, with indigenous grape varieties but also some from other regions, and even some foreign ones that have adapted to that soil and climate: Arinto, Tamarez, Trincadeira das Pratas, Tincadeira Preta, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-The Vineyards

Thanks to the predominantly clay-limestone soils with a big influence of the Tejo river water, which used to invade the margins with its ancestral floods, these wines acquire not only acidity but also some minerality that makes them desirable. In Rural tourism they also throw events where the house’s wines are drank alongside meals made in the huge and well-equipped kitchen or prepared by a friend of this house, Mr. Afolfo Henriques, the well-known man from the village of Maçussa.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Suite

The 11 suites are all different. On some of them the existing spaces were recovered and have many pieces of furniture that were also recovered, beautiful. The central building, square, has huge yard with shady trees providing a beautiful effect. Around the house we find the vineyards and some olive trees shaping the landscape of the whole Quinta. In the Quinta’s set of buildings we find the cellar, small, simple but well-equipped, including the barrels’ room that are essential to age some of the reds that we all enjoy.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Barrels Room

This time I’ll write about a meal that culminated with the presentation of the Quinta da Lapa’s new vintages. First the bread, from Maçussa that Adolfo Henriques himself bakes, crispy outside and fluffy inside, tasty, irresistible. Then we had some snacks: melon with ham, tasty and fresh, exquisite cod roes with dried tomato, smoked salmon, velvety with a sophisticated taste and, of course, the Maçussa’s chèvre cheese, both natural and breaded with arugula and jam. Wonderful.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Melon and Ham

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Smoked Salmon

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Chevre Cheese

The main course was a delicious roasted kid with rice, mushrooms and roasted potatoes. On the side a simple but superb salad of lettuce and red onion.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Roast Kid

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Lettuce Sallad

The meal ended with a chocolate cake in good company, a true delicacy.

Then we tasted Quinta da Lapa’s new vintages, starting with the sparkling Quinta da Lapa Bruto Natural made with the Arinto grape variety. Great freshness and elegance, the acidity always very present, a beautiful sparkling wine.

The Quinta da Lapa Reserva White 2014 made with Arinto and Tamarez is very fresh on the nose with some tropical and citrus notes. Mouth full of freshness and balanced acidity.

There are several monovarietal wines starting with the Quinta da Lapa Touriga Nacional 2012, a grape variety that adapted quite well there. Very aromatic, floral and elegant intensity. The palate is persistent, intense, with very good fruit, good acidity and a long finish.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Sparkling Bruto

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Reserva White

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Touriga Nacional

The Quinta da Lapa Merlot 2013 shows itself authoritative, fiery, with ripe black fruit and some chocolate notes. Beautiful volume, well-married tannins and intense acidity, a very balanced set.

The Quinta da Lapa Syrah Reserva 2012 has black fruit aromas and some spices. It’s complex and intense. In the mouth it has large volume, it’s powerful but balanced at the same time, with silky tannins and a beautiful finish.

Finally, the Quinta da Lapa Cabernet Reserva 2012 with complex aromas of wild fruits, plants of the hill, some vegetal notes and spices with much elegance. In the mouth appear very ripe black fruits, an excellent acidity, well tamed tannins. Very complex and intense.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Merlot Reserva

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Syrah

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Cabarnet Sauvignon

The Quinta da Lapa Reserva 2011, perhaps the most complex of all, has very ripe fruit aromas, spices and tobacco and chocolate notes. In the mouth it is very harmonious, persistent, silky, with a long finish, a wine full of finesse.

Then came the two special wines of this Ribatejo house. The Quinta da Lapa Nana Reserva 2011 is the producer’s heartfelt tribute to her mother. It comes with plenty of fruit, some spicy notes, very fresh. The palate is very elegant, persistent, velvety, with red fruit and some floral fragrances and a long and steady end.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Reserva Red

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Nana Reserva

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Reserva Homenagem

Finally, the Quinta da Lapa Reserva 2013 Homenagem 500 anos Santa Teresa d’Ávila – a celebratory wine full of fruit and spices on the nose, very elegant and haughty. Intense and balanced in the mouth, simple but authoritarian at the same time. A special wine, in honor of Teresa de Ahumada, whose poem of faith is immortalized in an existing headstone at Quinta da Lapa:

Blend-All-About-Wine-Quinta da Lapa-Headstone

“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away,
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.“

From Ribatejo, with love…

Contacts
Agrovia, Sociedade Agro-Pecuária, SA
Quinta da Lapa
2065 – 360 Manique do Intendente
Tel: (+351) 263 486 214
Mobile: (+351) 917 584 256
Email: geral@quintadalapa-wines.com
Website: www.quintadalapa-wines.com

Tasting the History: Frasqueira Soares Franco

May 13, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by João Pedro Carvalho

Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Bruno Ferreira

In the adventures and misadventures of an oenophile there are moments that mark our journey, and this is almost always because of one or more unforgettable wines. I can’t think of anything more exciting than literally come face to face with a preciousness and make way discovering its history. That’s exactly what happened to me with two rare specimens from Frasqueira de António Porto Soares Franco, whose wines are part of the Soares Franco family’s assets located in the headquarters of José Maria da Fonseca, more specifically in the Adega dos Teares Velhos. Going back to António Porto Soares Franco’s time, who at the time was a partner of the Companhia de Aguardentes da Madeira, the routes to the Madeira island opened many doors and opportunities for business, that’s where the Abudarham name comes in. Consulting the book “Madeira: The islands and their wines by Richard Mayson”, we can learn that Joseph Abudarham had dual citizenship, English and French, and that he arrived to Madeira in the first half of the XIX century. He settled there in the wine business, with access to the best that was produced at the time, but also in the cash loan business, which would later give rise to the Companhia de Seguros Aliança Madeirense. His wine business was centered on bottled wine and was sold mainly to France and Germany. After his death in 1869 the company was renamed to Viúva Abudarham & Filhos and would eventually be sold to the Madeira Wine Association, which is today the Madeira Wine Company. Now that I knew its source and its merchant, the only thing left to observe were the details in the small tape stuck to the bottle, the permanent ink on the label could barely be seen and faintly indicated 1795. After some research and exchange of data I came to conclusion that the wine in question was a Terrantez 1795 of which several bottles were auctioned some years ago. The cork came out with the strength of the blades, intact and with the brand José Maria da Fonseca, a sign that the corks are changed every x years, something that was confirmed by the producer himself.

Blend-All-About-Wine- At the flavour of history Frasqueira Soares Franco-Table

The second bottle tells a different story, thus bringing us to the Port wine. It also boasts the Frasqueira Soares Franco name and the label only shows R.M 187X. Given the age of the two bottles time has taken its toll on the labels and with them their precious information. In the case of the Madeira they saved up the date on a paper tape, and in the Port wine’s bottle there’s something left on the back label. Later I confirmed that the initials refer to Ramiro Magalhães, a former Port wine merchant who lived in Bombarral. Ramiro Magalhães was an important man in his land and a great wine dealer that at his time would have been one of the firsts to have car and driver. On the back label we can see the missing number, thus getting the vintage’s full year, 1878, the last pre-phylloxera year. In this case there won’t be much more to say, the remaining information only references the year in question, which was considered classic Vintage year.

Blend-All-About-Wine- At the flavour of history Frasqueira Soares Franco-Glass

Frasqueira Soares Franco – Abudarham – Terrantez 1795: It’s amazing the ability that this wine has to perfume a whole room. As soon as it falls in the glass we get mesmerized by the shades that glow in the glass, a wine with 221 years showing the reason why even after all of the wines are served during the dinner, when the Madeira comes in it’s the king of the party. In this case the wine is breathtaking and unforgettable. First of all, a slight peak of volatility before conquering us with a warm and cozy tone of caramel, vanilla, toffee, preparing us for the next clash, a huge freshness. And it’s that same freshness that dominates us and leaves our hands attached to the glass. A WOW comes out immediately, it’s like those rollercoasters that we just want to keep on repeating. With this wine it’s the same, it’s a comes and goes of sensations, the aromas stuck in time go bouncing off the glass, there’s a slight sensation of unctuosity full of freshness, and in the background something that recalls the smell of cigar ash. The palate is another struggle, a conquest that holds us with caramel and burnt sugar, slightly rounds up to the point where we almost crack it, and then fires up in a crazy spiral of acidity with slight bitter in the aftertaste. Unforgettable.

Blend-All-About-Wine- At the flavour of history Frasqueira Soares Franco-Vinho Madeira

Blend-All-About-Wine- At the flavour of history Frasqueira Soares Franco-Vinho do Porto

Frasqueira Soares Franco – Ramiro Magalhães – Vintage 1878: A Vintage with 138 years of life. Yes, I said life, because although the tone reminds me of an old tawny its freshness and aromatic definition are remarkable. Very precise and delicate, great elegance with aromas of sweet tobacco, fine spices, candied orange peel, raisin fruit with dates, a cozy set and slightly unctuous. On the palate comes greedy, unctuous and with good volume in the mouth, a slight of vinagrinho, it’s almost like a sweet and cool marble that tears itself on the palate until it remains only a thin, long finish. Majestic.

Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas in the Douro

April 29, 2016 no comments in Uncategorized by João Pedro Carvalho

Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Bruno Ferreira

In a market where supply is increasingly getting higher and the quality is a common ground for the wines of Portugal, it’s becoming increasingly complicated to keep up pace with all the producers, brands or projects. That’s why there’s no reason to be surprised when we see novelties at every corner, every shelf or glass served by friends. There is so much to know and to be known that it is impossible to get to everywhere or attain such a comprehensive knowledge to say with a solid ground, I know everything. In my case I write about this project whose name I had only heard of, and even though I had already read about it I still hadn’t had the opportunity to have their wines in my glass.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Lua Cheia-Quinta do Bronze

Quinta do Bronze in facebook.com/LuaCheiaEmVinhasVelhas

I look at the world of wine as one looks at the starry sky, it is impossible to know or count all the stars in the sky, with wine is the same. In this case the project has a curious name but also able to captivate attention, hits our ear when we hear Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas (Full Moon in Old Vines). The project, holding the same name, follows the passionate connection that the three founders – João Silva e Sousa, Francisco Baptista e Manuel Dias – maintain with the Douro for more than two decades now. After being surprised for so many years by this unique wine-growing region, in 2009 came the time for them to show their vision on Douro wines. They went from buying the grapes to having their own vineyard, about 10 hectares of vineyards with the purchase of Quinta do Bronze in Vale Mendiz. Although they have already expanded to other regions it’s here in the Douro that we will focus, as well as on the new vintages that have just hit the market. Interestingly, only the red Reserva Especial and the white Reserva were subjected to wood, all the other wines only met stainless steel’s cold. Something that has to be highlighted is the excellent price/quality of all wines tasted.

Blend-All-About-Wine-Lua Cheia-The Wines

The Wines in facebook.com/LuaCheiaEmVinhasVelhas

Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas white 2015: Made from old vines, very fragrant and fresh, with notes of orchard fruits and flowers, mineral background in a very harmonious set.

Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas Rosé 2015: Good aromatic intensity showing a rosé wine centered on fresh and ripe fruit (strawberry, raspberry). It is complemented by a really discreet floral and some spices in a young and balanced set.

Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas red 2014: A red wine that breaths Douro, fresh and nicely scented with the juicy and sweet tooth fruit standing out in the foreground. A slight vegetal aroma invoking the rockrose as its usual in the reds of the region. Medium body with tannins giving a good ending dryness in a wine that like the others shows a very gastronomic profile.

Lua Cheia em Vinhas Velhas Reserva Especial 2014: Was entitled to 12 months in French oak barrels. Great set harmony with the fruit (blackcurrant, strawberry, raspberry) emerging, well ripen and fresh, showing good complexity with floral notes, light cocoa, very elegantly. Captivating and very tasty, it’s one of those wines that is hard not to like of.

Contacts
WINES & WINEMAKERS BY SAVEN
Portugal
Tel: (+351) 234 329 530
Fax: (+351) 234 329 531
E-mail: saven@saven.pt
Website: www.winesandwinemakers.pt

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