Port’s great, but also try Portugal’s great red wine
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, July 29, 2006
Centuries ago, Portugal’s winemakers discovered the recipe for making world-class dessert wine: Take a perfectly decent red wine, add brandy during fermentation to preserve the sweetness of the grape sugars, barrel-age for two or more years, then bottle. The result was a marvelously complex and age-worthy beverage called vintage port.
Recently, Portugal’s winemakers have discovered something else. Lots of people adore their “perfectly decent red wine” just the way it is, without the need for further elaboration.
It’s easy to see why. Portugal’s new-wave reds display most of the virtues of vintage port without the sweetness. They are full-bodied, ripe, classically structured and, most of all, have the complexity expected of wines produced on legendary vineyards, the famous quintas of Portugal’s Douro valley, where vintage port is made.
They are also great values. Based on my recent tastings, the following dry red wines from Portugal are highly recommended. Most are available for $20 or less. Prices are approximate.
Altano 2003 “Douro” ($8): Like Dow Vale do Bomfim (see accompanying box), this light, quaffable wine is made by Symington from port grapes (60 percent tinta roriz and 40 percent touriga franca) from top vineyards. The lifted floral aromas and ripe berry fruit provide much style for the price.
Quinta de Roriz 2004 Prazo de Roriz ($15-$17): Always among the most individualistic port houses, Quinta de Roriz’s exotic, spicy red table wine, Prazo de Roriz, is sensational. Made from tinta roriz (43 percent), touriga franca (32 percent), tinta barroca (14 percent) and touriga nacional (11 percent) and aged in oak casks for 12 months, this has the style and dimension of a top-level reserva. Drink now and over the next three years. (Note: The 2004 is just now arriving in some markets; however, the 2003 is also outstanding.)
Ramos Pinto Adriano 2003 ($11-$13): This plummy blend of traditional port grapes, touriga francesa, tinta roriz, tinta barroca and touriga nacional is a perfect match for light meat and poultry tapas or chorizo sausage.
Quinta do Carmo Dom Martinho 2002 ($11); Quinta do Carmo 2002 Alentejo Reserva ($40): Dom Martinho is the youngest and freshest of the wines made at Quinta do Carmo, Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s (Lafite) ambitious Portuguese venture in the central region of Alentejo. Made from 40 percent aragonez (tempranillo), alicante bouchet (10 percent), trincadeira (20 percent), castelao (10 percent), syrah (10 percent) and cabernet sauvignon (10 percent), this tastes much like a well-made Bordeaux petit chateau, with the expected dash of “R” (“Rothschild of Lafite”) finesse. The top-tier Alentejo Reserva 2002 offers powerful fruit accented with lots of smoky oak from barrel aging but suffers from excessively harsh tannins at the finish. However, with five years or more in the cellar, it will prove to be a splendid bottle of wine in the Rothschild tradition.
Note: If your local wine shop does not have these or other Portuguese wines on hand, an excellent source is The Spanish Table at 1427 Western Ave. in Seattle (206-682-2827). The shop, which carries a variety of Spanish and Portuguese wines, is between the Pike Place Market and the waterfront on the Pike Street Hillclimb.
