Grand Portuguese Tasting

With a title like 'Grand Portuguese Tasting' I thought Wines of Portugal were being a bit ambitious when describing their annual tasting, held at Lindley Hall. Was I right in this? Well, yes, and no!

This was a very big tasting indeed, and one that was impossible to fully explore and appreciate - there are just too many wines on show to be able to taste them all. It got busy, crowded and hot, so not a very comfortable experience; these mega-tastings seldom are, even when as well-organised and in a suitable - and beautiful - room as this one. The trick for the taster is, I suppose, to be focused on a few producers and/or wines and ignore the rest, so as not to get sidetracked, but my mission was different: I wanted to reacquaint myself in some depth with the wines of a country I worked with for many years in the 1980s and 1990s at the forefront of a fine wine revolution, but have not tasted in-depth for over 10 years.

Let me explain how it was back in the dark ages of Portuguese wine: in the early 1980s Portuguese wine had a cheap and cheerful image of either big brands like Mateus Rose and Lancers, slightly rough red wines from the Dao area or off-dry slightly sparkling Vinho Verde - all thoroughly quaffable in their own way but definitely undistinguished, either too commercial or too rustic, with few exceptions. But at the same time a quiet revolution was afoot, begun a new wave of winemakers experimenting with new tastes, new grape varieties, new methods. Through more luck than judgment I happened on the scene early on, liked what I saw and created a company to market in the UK some of the top estate-bottled Portuguese wines of the time, working with a Portuguese partner. We achieved quite a lot until the recession of the late eighties and its aftermath brought our adventure to a sudden and untimely end in the mid-Nineties, but not before I gained an appreciation for the country, its people and the potential of its wines.

To many of us Portugal is about the Algarve, a pleasant holiday destination, but in truth the rest of the country is far more interesting, for the holidaymaker and the wine enthusiast alike. This is a small, beautiful country with great contrasts in scenery - some bits are endless rolling plain (Alentejo), green and fertile, yet others are mountainous and scorched (Douro), with all other varieties in between. The food is good, if rather simple, with many regional specialities including Sopa da Pedra (stone soup, don't ask...), and the people are generally modest, welcoming and hospitable. The extensive, if not always pristine, road network, much expanded and renewed after Portugal's entry into the EU, allows travel throughout the country and has helped enable the renaissance of some, formerly neglected, corners of the country.

Wine has prospered in Portugal in the last 30 years, with the quality revolution continuing to this day. The monolithic merchants who controlled the market have either disappeared or been reduced to bit players, as lots of young professionals have gone into the industry, following in the footsteps of the pioneers of the early 1980s and renovating old family estates or creating new ones. I am very proud to have played my little part in this vinous revolution by helping to sell some wonderful wines when no one knew them or anything about them, didn't care much even,  and when these unknown wines  cost twice (or more) than what the market was used to paying for Portuguese wines. Today ambitious Portuguese wines can be priced ambitiously and still be able to fight for a position in the marketplace as equals.

The first wine I tasted in Portugal in the spring of 1986 was a Bairrada 1985 red wine aged in used oak barrels, only the second vintage produced by a young man who had just turned full-time winemaker called Luis Pato. It is impossible today to understand how revolutionary his ageing of red Bairada in oak was, for this dense, tannic wine was traditionally aged in cement vats and allowed to mature in the bottle. More often than not, of course, the tannin of the Baga grape (the indigenous, local, fascinating variety) would persist long after the fruit had died, making these wines a challenge to drink, at least for pleasure. We bought the whole production of the 1985, though it was not yet bottled, and 100 cases of the 1980 (his very first, unoaked, vintage) on the spot! Big and individual, these were not easy wines to sell at first, but slowly we penetrated the market and helped Luis establish his reputation in the UK - he has not looked back since, becoming one of the most creative and important winemakers in Portugal (and, in my humble opinion, internationally), always experimenting and improving. Not having seen him for 20 years I was hoping that he would be there, and our reunion was characterised by all the warmth of the past despite the long time we had not seen one another.

Luis was present yesterday showing  just five wines, all of which were interesting and impressive in their own way. The first wine I tasted was a rose sparkling wine made from the Baga grape, with delicate colour and excellent balance, a good champagne alternative with the requisite finesse and class. The Vinhas Velhas 2015 white had an amazing nose of cream and white fruit, following through on the palate, complex, long and satisfying - a far cry from Bairrada whites of old (yes, even ones made by Luis) and terrific value at under £15.00. The Pato Rebel 2011 white is a Luis special, made to be drunk with spicy Asian food; a strange, chunky wine, still fresh with a hint of sweetness, Riesling-like (it does not contain any Riesling) on nose and palate, long, and with a funny, unusual label. The 2013 Vinhas Velhas red had a light -for Baga - colour, stewed plums on the nose and an almost delicate, complex palate, making it an extremely interesting wine. I'd be very curious to have it again with food, and in say 5 years' time to see how it changes with age. Finally, another curiosity, Quinta do Moinho 2000, belying its age with good ruby colour, beguiling raspberry and spice on nose and palate, complex and long. Pato, incidentally, is the Portuguese word for duck, which explains their prominence on his labels...

Another old winemaking friend who helped change the landscape in Portugal, the Australian Peter Bright, was showing his Alentejo wines around the corner from Luis. 30 years ago Peter was a major influence in experimentation and modernization in Portugal's wine scene, when he worked for Joao Pires Vinhos (subsequently JP Vinhos, now Bacalhoa). He has made wine all over Portugal (and, indeed, the world), some of it in a commercial, other stuff very fine indeed, with a sure touch and an inquisitive mind. His Terra d'Alter Siria white was a bit on the nose and palate, finishing clean and bitter; the Telhas white 2014 Viognier had a very flowery nose, I thought with a hint of oak which comes through on the palate, together with ripe white fruit, long and satisfying. The Terra d'Alter Alfrocheiro 2016 had a typical deep colour and a closed reserved nose but was plummy and soft on the palate. The Outeiro 2013 was completely different: very deep, dense colour, big rich spicy/sweet nose, red berries and oak on the palate, long and mouth-filling, an impressive biggie.

Well, having seen various old friends and tasted some interesting stuff I have a lot more to tell you so there's lots more to come. I think I'll stop here for the moment, publish this to get you interested, catch my breath, then return with a Part Two (and maybe more...) in a couple of days.