FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved

Booze by Geoff Last Strange (and wonderful) things are afoot in Portugal’s Douro Valley. The region – best known for its great fortified port wines and some rustic dry reds – appears to be undergoing a renaissance of sorts. With a few exceptions, Portuguese red wines have generally been considered either rough and ready or cheap and cheerful, but have rarely lived up to the quality of the Douro Valley’s famous port wines. All that appears to be changing. With a handful of producers leading the charge, there is a new wave of Douro red wines that rise above the usual – and the results are highly encouraging. The Douro Valley, while ruggedly beautiful, is one of the most difficult places in the world to grow grapes. The steep, terraced vineyards that make up the region have been chipped, blasted and bulldozed away from the hillsides that are composed mostly of rock, and access to the area is tenuous at best. Up until the 1960s, the region was accessible only by boat via the Douro River. The vines that are planted here must struggle under seemingly impossible conditions to establish root systems, a struggle which pays dividends in the quality of the fruit. Typically, the fruit from the best vintages has been used predominantly for the production of ort, while the fruit from the more difficult vintages would be used to make dry red wines or brandies. Of late, a handful of producers best known for their port wines have been concentrating on some serious red wines that taste as though they have been developed more for the North American market. That is to say, lots of forward fruit and a healthy dose of oak. To their credit, this stylistic change has not resulted in the loss of the character that drew people to their wines in the first place. The only downside to all of this is that the improvement in quality is reflected in the price. All in all, though, these wines still represent excellent value relative to other wines of this calibre from elsewhere in the world. A number of these wines were showcased last week at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, creating quite a buzz among many of the participants. The good news is that these wines are available here, and at considerably lower prices than in B.C. The two stars of the group had to be the 1997 Quinta Do Vale D.Maria ($26) and the 1997 Quinta Do Crasto Reserva ($27). I know these wines are $10 to $15 more than most people are used to paying for Portuguese red wines, but they are worth every penny. Both wines are a blend of the traditional port varietals, such as Tinta Roriz (the grape known as Tempranillo in Spain), Tinta Francisca, Tinta Cão, and Touriga National, and, while enjoyable now, are capable of aging for another five to eight years. They are structured wines that offer rich berry fruit, spice and tobacco notes, with just the right amount of that classic earthy characteristic associated with Portuguese reds. I have never been as impressed with a Portuguese red wine as I was with these two beauties, and they are well worth searching out. At a more affordable price but with some of the same charm, Quinta Do Crasto’s Tinto will be arriving soon, and should hit the shelves at around $18. In the $13 range, check out the 1996 Duas Quintas Tinto, a nice soft red with blackberry notes and a touch of spice. Clearly, there are now winemakers in the Douro Valley capable of producing world class red wine. In light of what we are being asked to pay for top wines from Bordeaux and Napa Valley these days, these wines are indeed a bargain. My advice would be to enjoy them now before the rest of the world (and the wine press) catches on and the prices rise, as they inevitably will. Cheers!

| Back To This Issue Table of Contents | Back To Main Index |