Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Tobacco Dock in London for the very first time. Descending between two ancient ships the arched entrance led into an underground stone piazza. A bustling array of barrels awaited me, each winemaker proudly presenting five of their finest wines.
I’m not sure if there is tension or rivalry between the North and South of Portugal much like the famed divide in the UK, but the distance between the southern and northern winemaker sections would suggest so… a whole 50m dividing the two areas. Perhaps this is also why the north and the south have different names for the same grapes, something that usually only happens country to country or language to language. Having said that, there was freedom of movement between the two enclaves, with most winemakers tucking in to their own wines and those of their compatriots with glee. Quite impressive given it was only 11am. Then again the Portuguese reportedly drink the majority of the wine they grow. If that isn’t a sign that their product is good, then what is?
Rather than wander and browse for a while, I dived straight in to the nearest barrel. Firstly, I had little to no knowledge of Portuguese wine before arriving except a very general sense that they do heavy reds and a light spritzy white called Vinho Verde. Secondly, I think serendipity at wine tastings and indeed when visiting wine regions is always the best approach. There is something magical about turning a corner on a dirt road in Europe and finding a vineyard. Something I did this summer with my wife and daughter in Bergerac where we met a wonderful old lady. An eco warrior winemaker who refused to give me anything to carry the wine in because of the damage it would cause to the environment. Of course she was organic and biodynamic certified and the wine was utterly delicious. An inspiration to us all! I digress but the point being that we should be open to spontaneity and more often than not it’ll deliver something wonderful, or at least interesting, so on I headed to begin my portuguese wine adventure.
Quinta do Mouro was the first barrel in my line of sight and immediately my preconceptions of Portuguese wines were firmly sunk under the dock we stood upon. João their sales manager introduced me to five of their wines explaining that their approach was focused on wines with great acidity. His range spanned from the fresh light expressions to more classic, oak aged reds but all had a zip and zing that made the flavours come alive. I’m not a huge fan of big reds unless on the right occasion (with a hearty meal or perhaps in the depths of winter) but these had subtle oak flavours and the red fruits were ripe and rewarding whilst the tannins were soft and smooth. João was the first of many winemakers I met to admit that experimentation was at the heart of their winemaking process. Having accidentally got their wine press stuck when producing a white wine the team had to think quickly and decided the prolonged skin contact meant that they would start making an orange wine (we don’t stock these at BOTTL yet but they are essentially white grapes that are left to macerate so the skins give more colour and flavour to the wine). The resulting orange wine was beautifully rich and pithy with good acidity meaning it didn’t fall flat in the mouth. In honour of the mistake that led to the wine, the team decided to give it an upside down label. A nice touch to convey the haphazard journey to the bottle.
Next up I met Pedro from Herdade do Rocim, quite a famous vineyard in Alentejo in the South. A tall skinny man with a huge passion for his wine, he has a line of his own wine called Bojador. Bojador is a cape in Africa that is historic in Portuguese myth and legend. It was said that if a sailor managed to navigate passed the Bojador they would be greeted by sea monsters and creatures of the deep. To pass the Bojador required great skill, great pain and great determination, and as Pedro explained, the same goes for winemaking. He has obviously put his heart and soul into his wine and is extremely proud of the result, made clear by the amount he imbibed during our chat. And why not? His amphorae red is an unbelievably light but expressive wine full of juicy blackcurrant flavours and as fresh as mountain stream. Amphorae are enormous clay pots that more and more winemakers are using to make wines. They lie somewhere between the more traditional stainless steel or oak barrels as a vessel for fermentation. Where stainless steel doesn’t allow any oxygen in, the slightly porous clay of amphorae lets it in gradually to give a lovely texture to the wine but unlike oak it doesn’t impart any tertiary flavours so the grape’s natural fruits are retained. Sometimes the wines from amphorae can fall a little flat and, although an ancient method, it is definitely still new in its resurgence, but Pedro knows what he’s doing. In fact the whole of Rocim are such fans they hold an amphorae festival at their vineyard in November every year with over 1500 people visiting in one day.
I could go on about all the wines I tried but this post would never end. In short, Portugal is changing its approach to wine. Their whites are still a little too reliant on oak for my tastes but their reds are calming down and with the reduction in alcohol, the use of amphorae and the more subtle influence of oak, red wines from the North and the South are really worth buying.
A final shout out to the winemakers for following a BOTTL trend…! I am claiming this because they are labelling their grapes much more clearly on their bottles in the same way we do on our handy BOTTL notes. Why? Well, one, because they insist on different names in the north and south, but, two, because they use so many varieties. Portugal is full of field blends, meaning winemakers have several different vines planted in one vineyard. Harvested all at the same time, the wine is an expression of an unknown percentage of many different grapes, sometimes up to six or seven. The result is, thankfully, delicious, a bit like a grape smoothie! But up until now it was impossible to tell what was actually in the bottle. Now lots of winemakers are writing them on and not just listing them but incorporating them into their design. We love to see it! Hopefully in time we’ll all be categorising our wine into FRESH. JUICY. RICH and GOOD. GREAT. SUPERB. and everyone will proudly proclaim to be drinking differently.
Felicidades (Cheers in Portuguese)!
Phil