Portuguese wines

[fresco]

I'm planning to spend a month in Portugal next year and would dearly love to get some solid advice on what wines are worth drinking.

My experience is that Portuguese wines are hit and miss, and price and quality don't always match up.

What I'm looking for, specifically, are some recommendations for everyday reds, a couple of suggestions for pricier, "special" reds, and your best advice on a couple of ports in both categories.

Many thanks.

[guajolote]

If you bring me along I'll be glad to taste anything before you drink to see if it's OK.

You didn't ask for advice on whites, but you definately have to try some Vinho Verde. It's a perfect warm weather wine. It's inexpensive, light, low alchohol, and has a few bubbles. Make sure you get the latest vintage.

[fresco]

If you bring me along I'll be glad to taste anything before you drink to see if it's OK.

You didn't ask for advice on whites, but you definately have to try some Vinho Verde. It's a perfect warm weather wine. It's inexpensive, light, low alchohol, and has a few bubbles. Make sure you get the latest vintage.

This is going to sound incredibly narrow, but about 99.9% of my wine consumption is red. I've tried a few of the "green" wines (they were brought into Canada in quantity, along with some of the more egregious Portuguese roses, early on), and agree with you that they can be pleasant summer drinking.

[John W.]

Mmmmm...sounds nice. I'll have some.

I've drinking (trying to at least) a lot of Duoros lately. The one that comes to mind the most is Chryseia, mostly Touriga Nacional I think. About $27 wholesale, I bought a case and will damn well enjoy seeing how it ages.

Vinho Verde is a DOC and can be white, red or rose. But mostly is known as white here. Fun, light, summery. Never going to blow you away, but pleasant drinkin'.

One DOC that has been recommended to me is that of Barreida, but have not come across anything since I started paying attention.

[mikeycook]

If you are going to Porto, stop by Taylor Fladgate and Grahams in Vila Nova de Gaia (across the Douro to the south). Both have extensive tasting rooms and you can buy older vintages (if I remember correctly you can buy Fonseca at Taylor as well.) If you don't get across the river, there is at least one excellent store near the Praca da Liberdade in downtown Oporto. Taylor sells a white port that is very nice and not for export (in addition to the chip white they export.)

The actual wineries start a couple of hours east (Taylor is near Pinhao). We stayed at a nice Pousada in Amarante (30 min. east) and didn't get that far, so I am not sure how many you can visit, but if it is like Ribera del Duero, don't expect many tasting rooms and even fewer tours (has anyone been tasting along the Douro?) In either case, there are both port wineries and regular wineries along the Douro. The drive east along the river is beautiful. The vineyards are heavily terraced due to the steep hills around the Douro.

I have been racking my brain trying to remember the names of specific wines, but, in general, we found some of our best wines in restaurants. Particularly in Lisbon it is worth trying older examples of Portuguese wines, something that is almost impossible to get in the U.S. Most of the best wines we tasted, old and new, were from the Douro region. I remember a 1986 being good (will try to think of some names), but older examples tend to be quite oaky (a style similar to most pre-90s Riojas) If you are travelling around, I would recommend a Michelin guide and ask for recommendations at the better restaurants.

I must confess to not being a fan of Vinho Verde. Perhaps I got a particularly bad or old example of it (to be honest, the place we tried it was extremely low on atmosphere), but it definitely lived up to its name. I have always wanted to try a better version, but was repulsed by my first experience. Can anyone recommend some decent (at least reliable) brands?

Edited August 28, 2003 by mikeycook (log)

[Echezeaux]

I'd suggest looking for wines such as Quinta do Vallado, a delicious, big, rich red from the Douro Valley. Reserve quality. Very fine. It's as big as a Cabernet, but with different fruit notes.

Quinta de Roriz Reserva wines are also special.

Barca Velha is a very famous wine...some compare it to Australia's Grange or Italy's Sassicaia as the first "international caliber" wine from Portugal. It's not produced in every vintage, but it can be a good bottle of wine. In the US market it goes for about $100...half that would probably be fair.

The wines of Luis Pato are also worth a try.

The large firm of Jose Maria de Fonseca (not related to the Port house named Fonseca) also produces quite a good range of wines and their Setubal wines (dessert Muscats) are in a class by themselves.

I have not had Quinta da Bacalhoa in a few years, but recall good bottles of that wine and it was fairly priced, too.

The DFJ brand offers a good range of wines, from modern whites to big, robust, delicious reds.

There are many more, too, so happy hunting!

[tsquare]

I listed as many of the wines as I could remember to scribble down on my trip last March/April. But didn't give much qualitative information. The second half of the trip - in the Algarve - all the wines were selected by a knowlegeable Portuguese foodie. The last two (on the last night in Sangres) didn't please anyone at the table - otherwise, we were very happy with his selections. All fairly young, though the '98 was more memorable.

Vinho Verde Casal Garcia

Maria da Fonseca, Periquita (served with much ceremony)

Caves Velhas, Dao

Vinho branco seco reserva 2000 Douro Planalto

Douro Doc Casa do Doura Reserva Douro 1999 by Sogrape

Jose de Sousa 1998, vinho regional Alentejano (very good)

Alentejo Borba Montes Claros Reserva 2000

Palha Canas Vinho Tinto 2001, Estremadura Casa Santos Lima (too tannic for me)

Quinta dos Murcas 1999 Douro (too robust?)

My own "house reds" by the half bottle - I was very happy with all them!

Have a great time!

[fresco]

Was the Periquita a reserva or some such? I've had a few bottles of this (99, I think) and it was pleasant, not especially "Portuguese" in character. They sell a lot of it in Ontario, and, I've heard, Quebec. My impression, and I could be mistaken, is that it was made to conform to North American, or at least non-Portuguese, tastes, in wine. It retails for the equivalent of about $6 or $7 US here.

[tsquare]

I didn't get enough data off the bottle - I think it was a reserva - I recall checking when they went through the decanting process. Didn't get the year off the label either. I think it was pretty mild. He may have been trying to introduce us slowly. I know we sampled from a far number of regions, intentionally.

[Eric_Malson]

This is going to sound incredibly narrow, but about 99.9% of my wine consumption is red.

I'm with you there, fresco.

When I lived there, I ate the vast majority of my meals in restaurants, and always drank red wine with my meals....if one drinks house wines, it is literally cheaper than water!

House wines can be somewhat iffy, but many of the wines commonly sold as house wines in restaurants can be quite drinkable. Naturally, no names come to me at the moment, but it doesn't cost much to experiment (take notes, especially so you can know what to avoid later on!). I seem to remember Alandra, Palmela, Lezíria and Cantanhede being pretty good.

Many wines on the lower end of the cost spectrum cost only slightly more than a restaurant's house wine (and I mean a difference of one or two dollars). My favorite one for a long time in this category was an Alentejo red called Terras do Xisto. I would order this one anyplace that had it (it was sometimes a little hard to find), until whatever year everyone had at that time (1995, I think) ran out and they started in on the next year. The next year tasted completely different (and not, unfortunately, in a good way as far as my preferences were concerned)....I don't know what it's like these days, but I think it would be worth a try. Others in this general range I liked were Periquita (mentioned above...that one used to turn up fairly often as a welcome house wine, but they've been going in for an image upgrade in recent years--still very reasonable, though), Porca de Murça, Duque de Viseu, Grão Vasco, Monte Velho (not to my taste, but popular), Duas Quintas (the non-reserva one--the reserva is MUCH more expensive), Serradayres, Frei João, Evel, Aliança (ok--not great, but I suppose none of these are "great"!), and Alcambar (after my long-lost Terras do Xisto, probably my favorite of the ones mentioned in this category, but quite hard to find).

There are a handful of wines I always seemed to gravitate toward when I wanted to splurge a bit (I never spent more than $15-20 on wine, so there are a LOT of wines I never tried), all quite enjoyable. These are Quinta do Côtto, Quinta da Bacalhoa, Esporão, Quinta do Carmo, and (less so) Tapada do Chaves.

If you find yourself in the mood to try vinho verde and you're in Lisboa, do yourself a favor and go to Caneca da Prata (Rua da Prata, 163/165, about halfway between the Praça do Comercio and the Praça da Figueira). They serve it tapped directly from the cask (de pressão), and it's the perfect accompaniment for their marvelous salgados (savory meat, chicken and fish pastries) made fresh throughout the day (almost uniquely in Lisboa....most places make them early in the day and they sit around until they're gone). For me, this was the perfect joint for a late afternoon snack--it gets very crowded at lunch-time.

[estufarian]

I gave some suggestions in another thread:

Douro wines

For Port itself, it's hard to go wrong with the top names. But for a cheaper alternative I've found Martinez consistently reliable. And, since the early 90's, Niepoort has become a favourite, although their earlier vintages were patchy.

[badthings]

I have had some very drinkable reds produced both in Dão, and by Dão, somewhat confusingly (one called Dão, the other Dão riserva). The first made from Touriga nacional & Jaen, the other presumably similar.

There are also some wines called alvarinho (for the US market anyway) that are a step up from "regular" vinho verde, which I am happy to drink all summer long.

Sorry I can't be more specific -- the vagaries of portugese labelling have mostly eluded me so far.

[Eric_Malson]

Sorry I can't be more specific -- the vagaries of portugese labelling have mostly eluded me so far.

Yes, it all can be quite confusing. I did stumble across a website with a lot of general information in one place:

Portugal Wines--general info

If something sparks your interest and you want to know more, a Google search can then often fill in some of the blanks.

[fresco]

I listed as many of the wines as I could remember to scribble down on my trip last March/April. But didn't give much qualitative information. The second half of the trip - in the Algarve - all the wines were selected by a knowlegeable Portuguese foodie. The last two (on the last night in Sangres) didn't please anyone at the table - otherwise, we were very happy with his selections. All fairly young, though the '98 was more memorable.

Vinho Verde Casal Garcia

Maria da Fonseca, Periquita (served with much ceremony)

Caves Velhas, Dao

Vinho branco seco reserva 2000 Douro Planalto

Douro Doc Casa do Doura Reserva Douro 1999 by Sogrape

Jose de Sousa 1998, vinho regional Alentejano (very good)

Alentejo Borba Montes Claros Reserva 2000

Palha Canas Vinho Tinto 2001, Estremadura Casa Santos Lima (too tannic for me)

Quinta dos Murcas 1999 Douro (too robust?)

My own "house reds" by the half bottle - I was very happy with all them!

Have a great time!

Picked up the last bottle of a 1995 Periquita Classico special reserva today from the local liquor story and it is very good.

[Andre]

I like the Casa Santos Lima wines.

From my own visit last February, I picked the Camarate 2000, Touriga Francesa 2000 and the Syrah Castelao as my favorites.

I will add my TN's from this winery:

Casa Santos Lima:

Situated in the Alenquer region [ located inside Estramadura ], approximately 40 km north of Lisbon, in the estate Quinta da Boavista [ also called Setencostas ] and the Quinta do Espiga. Launched their first bottles 1996.

Reds:

Quinta de Bons-Ventos 2001, Vinho regional Estramadura.

Dry earthy flavors and very well balanced though a one-dimensional wine. I feel very ripe grapes, slightly alcoholic, good acidity, round and easy drinking.

Quinta do Setencostas 2001. D.O.C. Alenquer

Fruity dominated by raspberries and strawberries, concentrated sweet fruits with a slight incense aroma with an excellent well balanced finish.

A good body with very pleasant tannins , pleasantly low acidity, for drinking now.

Palha-Canas:

Even though this was a Wine Spectator best buy and the wineries most famous and more expensive wine, I found the addition of American Oak to the Portuguese oak as unfitting the classical regional taste.

Though a well made wine that might be rated 88 I would not have it on my menu of authentic regional wines.

Camarate 2000.

The first varietal wine I have tasted from this winery from a very good vintage.

A Very interesting wine with a good balance between oak an fruits, good acidity and with a returning motif of the incense.

Touriga Francesa 2000.

Another varietal wine from this excellent winery.

Full bodied soft and well balanced, rich in flavors with a little damp wood aroma on the finish.

A pleasure.

Two more interesting wines I will not elaborate on since I can barely read my own handwriting:

Estramadura Touriz 2000.

A full bodied blend, still young.

Syrah-Catelao 2000

A very nice blend, well balanced.

Whites:

The Quinta de Espiga 2002

The nose is slightly aggressive with tiny hints of Amonia.

A fresh, tasty and well balanced light wine.

A simple pleasure.

Palha Canas 2002

Unfotunately Chardonnay blends into the assemablage of this wine with a rather disappointing body after a promising nose.

A bit closed, should try again in a few month to check the direction of this wine’s development.

Moscatel 1999:

A confusing powerful and intense entrance softens up immediately to provide a simple gentleness with a rather dominant finish.

Sweet talk and lead me on….

To sum up…

Good quality wines, fairly priced easy drinking dry wines though I found nothing exeptional.