João Portugal Ramos Pouca Roupa: new generation wines

João Maria Ramos – a chip off the old block

They say of Alentejano folk “they have just three speeds – slow, very slow and stopped,” but it hardly applies to one of its best known winemakers, João Portugal Ramos whose empire now extends the length and breadth of the country.  And it would seem that his 23 year old son, João Maria Ramos, is cut from the same cloth.  Fresh from his studies in Montpellier, Bordeaux and Madrid, he has just launched the Pouca Roupa range with his father under the João Portugal Ramos umbrella brand.

As I’d expect from the commercially as well as winemaking savvy João Portugal Ramos, plenty of thought has gone into the conception of the brand. Pouca Roupa is the name of the vineyard but, probably higher up on the agenda, the name is designed to appeal to João junior’s generation.  I’m told pouca roupa means ‘barely dressed.’  The less said the better on that, but then I’m not the target audience!

More importantly, though very polished like the company’s other ranges, it’s stylistically quite distinct – fruity but lighter, crisper and fresher – very clean as befits a lesser dressed one.  The freshness is partly down to the year (2014) which João junior describes as “the coolest summer I can remember…not a gram of acidity was added in this vintage.”

The range comprises a red,  white and rosé. I tasted them with João junior (pictured) at London Wine Fair earlier this month.  Here are my notes:

João Portugal Ramos Pouca Roupa White 2014 (VR Alentejano)

Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc and Viosinho is an atypical varietal profile for this region but Pouca Roupa White shows off the appeal of each grape variety very well.  It combines Verdelho’s gently tropical citrus notes with the crisper, leafier notes of Sauvignon and Viosinho.  A very well made aromatic, fresh, bright, unoaked quaffer with persistence, which is not easy to pull off in this warm region.  Indeed, the number one issue which me and my panel at Decanter World Wine Awards have with Portuguese whites from the country’s warmer regions is freshness.  Job well done here.  12.5%

João Portugal Ramos Pouca Roupa Rosé 2014 (VR Alentejano)

This blend is comprised of Aragonez, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon which underwent 8 hours’ skin contact to attain the desired pale salmon hue and delicate, ever so slightly creamy,  red summer berry fruit.  It has 8g/l of residual sugar which is worn well, deftly balancing this wine’s crisp acidity and hint of Cabernet blackcurrant bud/leafiness.  Well done.  Like the white, it has impressive freshness/persistence for a quaffer from this region.  13%

João Portugal Ramos Pouca Roupa Red 2014 (VR Alentejano)

Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and Alfrocheiro combine to produce a fruity and, you guessed it, fresh, sappy even, red with plum and black berry fruit.  It’s a solid effort but, even though it’s very true to the Pouca Roupa house style, I found the white and rosé worked better.  Perhaps because reds have a longer tradition (even modern reds) in Alentejo and I missed the mellowness which I associate with them? 14%