Falstaff Magazin International 01/2021

wine / PORTUGAL <

wine / PORTUGAL < SYMINGTON’S QUINTA DO VESÚVIO When the Symington family, owners of the brands Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s, among others, was able to purchase Quinta do Vesúvio, a true jewel on the shores of the Douro River in the Upper Douro in 1989, they decided not to merge the wines of this gem with one of the house brands, but to maintain and even further sharpen its independence. Quinta do Vesúvio quickly developed into a leading Single Quinta Vintage Port, aiming to produce a wine almost every year. They have managed to do this except for the really difficult years 1993, 2002, 2010 and 2014. But there is even further definition with a wine made from a single parcel of vines. Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio is made from grapes grown on a small plot not far from the estate, planted to Port’s most important grape variety, Touriga Nacional – along with some Alicante THE WINE IS MADE IN OUTSTANDING YEARS. QUINTA DO VESUVIO IS CHARAC- TERISED BY INTENSE NOTES OF CASSIS, BERRY AND CHOCOLATE. Above: Symington’s picturesque Quinta do Vesúvio. Left: tasting Port wines with a picnic at Sandeman’s Quinta do Seixo. Bouschet, Touriga Franca and Sousão. The wine made its debut in 2007 and is only made in outstanding years; 2011, 2016 and 2017. Quinta dos Vesúvio is characterised by intense notes of cassis, berry and chocolate. SANDEMAN’S QUINTA DO VAU AND QUINTA DO SEIXO The House of Sandeman, founded in 1790 by George Sandeman, is a world-renowned name in the world of fortified wines, the silhouette of the “Dón” being its trademark. Despite its considerable size, the company has managed to succeed with its premium Vintage Ports. With Quinta do Vau, Sandeman acquired its first site for the production of a Single Quinta Port in Photos: Symington, Sandeman, Quinta do Noval 74 falstaff winter 2021

Treading grapes in granite lagares at Quinta do Noval. This ensures the rapid extraction of colour and tannins from the grape skins. PORT: A PRIMER The region, the grapes, the styles. 1988 and Vau stands for a modern style. In 2001, the Sandeman house was again taken over and now forms part of the Sogrape group. Thus Sandeman can now offer a single vintage port from the Quinta do Seixo in Valença do Douro with its wonderful view of the confluence of the Rio Torto and the Douro. With the 2017 vintage of Quinta do Seixo, Sandeman returned to the circle of the best producers of Single Quinta Vintage Port. Quinta do Seixo is characterised by the particular aromatic complexity of a field blend of 100-year-old vines. BERGQVIST’S QUINTA DE LA ROSA Tim Bergqvist spent part of his childhood before World War II at Quinta de la Rosa, not far from Pinhão and inherited this estate from his mother in 1972. Until the early 1980s, the vineyards were cultivated by Sandeman, then Bergqvist decided together with his daughter Sophia to restore the estate and to make the wine himself. In 1988 he finally released his first Single Quinta Port under the name of Quinta de la Rosa. It is characterised by florality and savouriness. < The area of Port wine production has been demarcated since 1756 and extends across 250,000ha/617,800 acres of which about 44,000ha/180,730 acres are under vine. It is located in the Douro Valley in Portugal’s north and divided into three areas: Lower Corgo, Upper Corgo and Upper Douro. The vineyards are on the steep schist and slate slopes that seam the river Douro and are often terraced by drystone walls. The differences in altitude, soil and aspect account for numerous stylistic differences between the different quintas. Since the area is inland, the seasons are marked, and an old local saying describes the climate as “nine months of winter and three months of hell” illustrating the infernal inland heat of summer. Port is made from local grape varieties that can thrive in these harsh and often extreme conditions. The most commonly used are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo), Tinta Cão and Tinta Barroca. The grapes are harvested and foot-trodden in granite troughs called lagares (even though today mechanical extraction with robotic “feet” is widely used). This ensures the rapid extraction of colour and tannins from the grape skins. The juice then starts fermenting but before the yeasts can complete the fermentation and consume all the grape sugars, the fermenting juice is fortified with 77% ABV grape spirit. This kills the yeasts, arrests fermentation and leaves a wine with about 20% ABV and somewhere between 90-110g/l of residual sugar. It is the quality of the wine and the style of ageing that then determines the Port style. RUBY PORT Entry-level Ports, filtered and bottled after 2-3 years of maturation. Full of fruit flavours and ideal for mixing in long drinks and cocktails. Made for immediate consumption. LBV OR LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE Wines blended from the same vintage, filtered and bottled after 3-6 years of maturation. Ideal for getting to know Port. Made for immediate consumption. VINTAGE PORT Port wines from the best years only, declared as a vintage. Bottled unfiltered after 2-3 years in barrel, requiring at least 20 years of bottle age but 40 or 50 is even better. Since Vintage Ports throw a heavy deposit, they must be decanted. TAWNY PORT After an initial maturation in large barrels for 2-3 years, these Ports are transferred to 550-litre barrels called pipas where they continue ageing oxidatively. Having been fortified, the wines can withstand this and develop complex aromas. Simple Tawny Port gives an idea of style, but most Tawnies are sold with an age declaration of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, the older blends gaining superb complexity, spice and aroma. COLHEITA These are vintage-dated Tawny Ports, i.e. woodaged Ports from a single vintage. They need to spend at least seven years in barrel before being bottled. Often they are only bottled after many years of ageing and represent great value. winter 2021 falstaff 75