Douro4u – a promising group of Douro producers

I came across the cool, mineral, sinewy wines of Quinta de Tourais at this year’s Annual Portuguese tasting in London and liked them very much.  Great packaging too.  When I learned that Fernando Coelho of Tourais was part of an informal group of five independent Douro winemakers from the Douro Baixo called Douro4u, I swung by Tourais and met up with its members during my July Douro visit.  While Tourais stood out, others showed great promise.  You’ll find my highlights below.

Quinta de Tourais

Fernando Coelho is owner/winemaker of this property in whose aesthetic tasting room (pictured) our tasting took place.

Quinta de Tourais Touronio Rose 2009  – a blend of 80% Touriga Nacional with Tinta Roriz and Tinta Cao.  The grapes are picked around two weeks earlier than for red wines.  It shows creamy strawberry and bright, wild cherry on nose and palate and finishes dry, with some floral lift and lovely freshness.  Very good. 13%

Quinta de Tourais Touronio Red 2008 – this young vine (15 year old) blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Tinta Cao is dark and inky.  It’s a little reduced now on the nose, not giving much away, but in the mouth, especially with a bit of time in glass it shows good purity and concentration of juicy, vibrant black cherry (compote) with hints of cinnamon and chicory supported by ripe but firm fruit tannins.  Coelho uses cover crop to inhibit youthful vigour (and because the soil is a little rich).  The grapes are fermented and foot trodden in lagares.  After completing the malolactic fermentation in French oak, it goes into stainless steel tank to preserve its fruit and freshness.

Quinta de Tourais Miura 2007 – this comes from a north-facing vineyard at 600m. 80% of the wine is sourced from young Touriga Franca, the other 20% from mixed old vineyards with Sousao Alicante Bouschet and Tinta Roriz among others.  It’s aged 12 months in French oak, 30% new. Coelho said he started making this wine for 11 (lucky!) friends, then started to sell few bottles and it just took off.  It’s a darker flavour spectrum than the Touronio.  Sinewy tannins are fleshed out by a lovely purity and freshness of black fruits, a touch creamy on the mid-palate, with liquorice and minerals on a youthful, tight finish.  Lots of promise.  Very good and, fortunately for the friends, production has increased from 1000 bottles to 2500; next year Coelho hopes to make 3000 bottles.

Quinta de Tourais Darani 2007 – made from the fruit of 60 year old mixed old vines, this has a wilder quality to its concentrated dark chocolate-edged berry/cherry fruits with fruit spice – liquorice and clove hints.  A fresh and mineral sluiced finish brings length. A big wine, but wiry/sinewy and very tight, so yet to express itself. 14.5%

Quinta de Tourais Darani 2006 – I was keen to taste some older vintages of Darani and Coelho kindly obliged.  Deep in colour, it’s lively in the glass, with a pronounced wet slate minerality running through it; firm and fresh, it’s mid weight, reflecting the vintage (2006 was not the best).  Still I like it very much – elegant if not as ageworthy as the 2007.

Quinta de Tourais Darani 1999 – this is the maiden vintage and Coelho said he didn’t have temperature control for his lagares back then.  It shows an attractively developed, very spicy, gamey, Rhônish nose and palate with a touch of tar to its fleshy plum and damson fruit.  A touch short, but it retains the freshness which is a hallmark of Coelho’s wines; just lost a bit of fruit concentration.  Not a bad start though!

Quinta do Sobredos/Aneto

Francisco Montenegro started vinifying grapes that had previously been sold to the local cooperative for the estate’s own wines in 2002.  Montenegro worked at Real Companhia Velha (a table wine pioneer) for 10 years and makes wines for others too, including Quinta do Nova whom I subsequently visited (report to follow).

Aneto Branco 2009 – this blend of Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Rabigato and Gouveio hails from vines planted at 400m in granite soils which are generally regarded as better for whites than the schist.  Just 10% of the wine sees new French oak.  Lovely saline line and freshness with just a hint of vanilla, though the primary function of the oak is to impart structure.  Well done and it’s the first vintage made from 100% Montenegro’s family’s own fruit.

Aneto Reserva 2009 – Montenegro worked with Semillon at Royal Companhia Velha and it appears in this blend alongside Viosinho, Arinto and Gouveio.  The grapes are sourced from (cooler) north-facing, granite slopes.  Half the wine is barrel fermented of which 10% is new and it is lees stirred for only a week or two (Montenegro is looking for elegance).  It’s lemony and smoky/herbal notes put Semillon at the fore, but there’s a Douro mineral, saline quality too and a nutty edge to the finish which is has long length.  It’s the 3rd vintage of this wine and the Semillon comes from 15 year old vines.

Aneto Pinot Noir 2008 – like Dirk Niepoort, Montenegro is chasing the Pinot Noir holy grail.  It was the first time he’d shown his Pinot – the vines are only 3 years old.  Montenegro has planted 2ha of Pinot Noir (2 clones) and ½ ha of Alvarinho in a singular spot at the top of the mountains at 600m on a north-facing site with granite soils. Very pale – it could be a deep ruby rose.  Only 600 bottles were produced and it was hand destemmed before being fermented in open top 300l barrels and aged in used oak.  It’s fairly reticent on the nose and palate, but there’s varietally correct fruit – bright cherry, with a savoury texture, the oak a little instrusive.  Worth keeping an eye on developments here.

Aneto 2007 – a blend of low yielding Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz,from a precocious (hot) site.  Foot trodden in lagares, it’s a very inky, deep colour with lots of sweet, ripe wild berry, morello cherry and kirsch.  Good freshness and minerality too.  Well done and, aged in used oak, it lets the fruit do the talking.

Aneto Colheita Tardia 2007 – this late harvest Semillon was picked in the first week December when about 30% of the fruit was affected by botrytis 30% botrytis (it has a potential alcohol of 27%).  Deep gold colour, it’s very peachy/peach brulee, with marmalade, honey and sweet hay.  Though it has balancing freshness there’s a touch of coarseness to the finish.  Otherwise well done with good intensity and balance (180g/l residual sugar).

Quinta de Fundo de Vila/Terrus

This recently planted property is owned by Francisco Montenegro’s aunt,  Maria da Assuncao Foy, and Montenegro makes the wines.

Terrus 2005 – the first vintage of this young vine but co-fermented (because the quantities are so small) blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousao with 5% Cabernet Sauv, 5% Syrah.  Aged in 100% new oak simply because it was the first year and everything was new, it sports a cedary, spicy, slightly gamey nose. A succulent palate shows juicy blackberry and blackcurrant on the attack, joined by red fruits on the mid-palate and minerals on the finish.  Montenegro reckons the granite soils more typical of the Dao impart freshness and minerality.  An impressive debut.  A winery to watch.

Terrus 2007 – a deeper colour with lovely freshness to the nose, again blackcurrant very much to the fore.  Very juicy in the mouth with firm but fine, polished tannins.  Aagin, very promising.

Terrus 2008 – Touriga Franca matured very late in this vintage so it didn’t make the cut in 2008.  A really classic mineral-sluiced, fresh and lifted 2008.  It shows floral/white pepper notes to its predominantly red fruits, shot with minerals. Very bright, fresh, mineral and pure.  Very good.

Quinta da Prelada/Poyares

Rui Magalhaes has historically made port from his estate fruit for larger companies but from 2002 has bottled his own production of both port and table wines.  The vineyards, ranging from 250-500m mostly face south and vines are planted on schist soils.

Poyares 2005 – a deep coloured blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Amarela.  Quite oaky (woodsmoke) on the nose gives it an international feel from the off (50:50 new, used French oak).  In the mouth it shows bright, quite fresh red fruits, lots of clove spice and quite drying tannins.

Quinta da Prelada Grande 2007 – a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, Sousao and Tinta Cao.  Aged in 500l French oak barrels.  Nice  freshness on nose with well defined bilberry and red cherry, both of which follow on a super juicy, floral palate, together with sandalwood spice.  Once again, the tannins are a touch drying.  Promising reds, maybe just a bit over-extracted?

Quinta da Prelada Vintage Port 2004  – a very deep coloured blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca with ripe, baked cherry, succulent black fruits, spicy plum/fruitcake and hints of chocolate.  Good +

Esmero/Mimo

Rui Xavier Soares makes white and red wines; the Mimo label is the entry level brand.

Esmero 2009 – bottled just a week previously, this blend of Gouveio and Fernao Pires (quite common in the Baixo Douro)was a little reduced on the nose, though the palate was more expressive with a sweet midpalate of honeydew melon, tightening up on the mineral finish just marred by coarse oak.

Mimo Red 2006 – a good straightforward red with nice freshness and some minerality to its sweet loganberry fruit.