Portuguese wine grapes

	ALVARINHO (white) An old grape variety of exceptional quality, deservedly famed for the varietal wines it produces in the Vinho Verde region, specifically in the two sub-regions of Monção and Melgaço. Alvarinho has a highly characteristic floral and fruity profile with notes of lime tree, balm mint, honeysuckle, peach, grapefruit and apple, all well-married with the high acidity typical of crisp white wines from north-west Portugal. The grapes yield balanced wines with good structure and alcohol levels. Alvarinho’s qualities are being “exported” to more southern wine regions such as the Setubal Peninsula and Estremadura.
	ARINTO / PEDERNÃ (white) One of Portugal’s oldest indigenous varieties, with a long tradition in the Bucelas region, it has now spread to most wine regions given its adaptability to different terrains and climates. Arinto, known as Pedernã in Vinho Verde, holds good acidity as one of its key features combined with structure and a velvety feel. Its aroma is relatively discreet, whose strongest notes are mineral, with green apple and lemon. Arinto yields wines that evolve very well in bottle, acquiring elegance and complexity.
	ENCRUZADO (white) Regarded by many winemakers as one of the great Portuguese varieties, Encruzado is capable of producing excellent white wines. It is grown almost exclusively in the Dão and requires particular care and attention to extract its finest aromas. If well-treated the resulting wines are elegant and complex with aromatic mineral notes and green peppers, roses, violets and citrus fruit. Age confers aromas and flavours of hazelnut and resin and when fermented in oak, vanilla comes to the fore with good integration and unctuousness on the palate. Encruzado’s quality confers longevity to its wines, which can age well for decades.
	FERNÃO PIRES / MARIA GOMES (white) Another of Portugal’s oldest varieties and by far one of the most cultivated. It is found in virtually all winegrowing regions, being strongest in Ribatejo and Bairrada, where it is known as Maria Gomes. A high-yield vine, Fernão Pires comes under criticism for producing one-dimensional wines lacking in acidity and prone to oxidation. But attentive care can bring out its extraordinary aromas and capacity to produce distinctive wines with strong character. It shows ripe citrus aromas and notes of mimosa, lime and orange tree, putting it in the family of aromatic grapes with Alvarinho, Loureiro and Moscatel.
	LOUREIRO (white) Grown mainly in the upper Minho region along the River Lima valley, Loureiro is a very old grape variety yet is largely responsible for the success of white vinho verde in recent years. Aromatically exuberant, Loureiro (along with Moscatel) is considered the most perfumed of Portuguese grapes, evoking bay leaf, lime tree, acacia, orange and peach. As with Alvarinho, Loureiro is a grape of great typicity, producing varietal wines as well as in blends. In blends with other regional grapes, its exceptional aromatic qualities construct some of the best white wines in Portugal.
	ARAGONÊS / TINTA RORIZ (red) Tinta Roriz is a very fine variety of extraordinary quality, attested by its presence in two legendary wines produced on the Iberian Peninsula: the Portuguese Barca Velha and the Spanish Vega Sicilia. This grape has also been grown for centuries in the Alentejo, but under the name of Aragonês. In good years it produces full-bodied, inky and highly aromatic wines. The grape has fine and delicate aromas of pepper and berries. Aragonês has high yields and is indispensable in the blend of a good Port. Varietal red wines are also showing good results, particularly in the Dão region.
	BAGA (red) One of the highest yielding Portuguese grape varieties, spread throughout the country but most concentrated in Bairrada and Dão. The grapes come into their own when well ripe, showing wines of deep colour and great structure, with powerful tannins and everything in place to evolve well in the bottle. The aroma starts out with berry fruit developing into purple plum, tobacco and coffee, finishing in a crescendo of complexity.
	CASTELÃO (red) The most widely-grown red grape variety in Portugal. It is highly adaptable to different climate conditions and its remarkable versatility enables winemakers to make distinctive wines – powerful and intense reds for lengthy cellaring. It has adapted best to the Setubal Peninsula, where it makes meaty and intense wines with aromas of red berries and forest flowers that integrate well with the wood of French oak.
	TOURIGA FRANCA (red) Better known as Touriga Francesa, this is the most widely grown grape for in the region that produces Douro wines and Port. Growers love Touriga Franca as it is easy to cultivate, hardy and can produce good yields. Touriga Franca shows delicate yet intense aromas with notes of black berry fruit and flowers, combined with good body and colour. It is one of the principal varieties used in Port blends, along with other indigenous Douro varieties like Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional. Yet it can stand alone, having proved itself in a number of varietal wines.
	TOURIGA NACIONAL (red) In days gone by Touriga Nacional was the dominant variety in the Dão region, responsible almost single-handedly for the fame of Dão wines. Nowadays it is one of the most popular varieties in the Douro and is considered one of Portugal’s finest grapes. Touriga Nacional yields inky, full-bodied, powerful wines with exceptional aromas. It frequently shows blackberry, blueberry, rock rose and rosemary notes. Its renown has caused its spread throughout all regions from the northernmost corners and down to the Algarve, and it is even exciting the interest of vine growers abroad. Touriga Nacional wines age well and gain aromatic complexity with barrel aging.
	TRINCADEIRA / TINTA AMARELA (red) One of the most widespread Portuguese grape varieties. It shows best, however, in hot, dry and very bright areas, tailor-made, in fact, for the Alentejo. It is not easy to grow, however, having irregular yields and prone to disastrous moulds. But in good years Trincadeira will produce great wines. It has excellent acidity, soft tannins and abundant, intense aromas of plum and blackberry, producing elegant and balanced wines. A Trincadeira blend with Aragonês in the Alentejo or Touriga Nacional in the Douro will result in top quality wines.

Northern Portugal

In the north is the Douro DOC, situated around the river of the same name. The Douro enters Portugal from Spain, where it is known as the Duero, and is home to the vineyards of the Ribera del Duero. Full bodied, meaty, complex reds can be produced here.
My top wines: Quinta do Crasto (especially the Touriga Nacional and Reserva), Redoma, Barca Velha, Quinta do Côtto.

Nearby is Dâo, very much an up and coming region for good value, full bodied reds, and even a few white wines. Wines from single quinta estates are, as always, likely to be of higher quality.
My top wines: Quinta Fonte do Ouro, Quinta dos Roques, Quinta de Saes, Quinta das Maias, Porta dos Cavalheiros.

Also nearby is Bairrada, another DOC producing a few good value red wines, although they are of less significance than those coming from the Douro and Dão. Bairrada has the dubious honour of being one of the main sources of grapes for Mateus Rosé, a medium sweet carbonated wine which graces supermarket shelves the world over.
My top wines: Quinta do Riberinho is the only estate that has ever impressed.

Also in the north is Vinho Verde, a region producing red and white wines which can offer some pleasant drinking from quality minded producers. Most offerings, however, are dire, so choose carefully. The wine has a slight spritz which was once due to a slight secondary refermentation, but unfortunately in modern times this is much more likely to be carbon dioxide added just before bottling.
My top wines: Quinta do Azevedo.

Getting Serious - Port

The table wines of Portugal are frequently very good value, with a smattering of producers that are turning out excellent wines. The fortified wines of the Douro are, however, unrivalled. They are much imitated, with similar styles emanating from the southern vineyards of France, California and Australia, but they are never equalled, and certainly not bettered.

Port is basically wine fortified with brandy spirit. This is added prior to the natural cessation of fermentation, so the wine is always sweet, as the addition of the strong alcohol kills the yeast converting the sugar into alcohol (the process of fermentation). The eventual alcohol content is still high, however (typically 20%), thanks to the brandy that has been added. Most Port is red, although some firms also produce a small amount of white Port.

Since the 18th century there has been a strong British presence in the Douro, as this was where British drinkers sourced their wines following the deterioration in relations between Britain and France at this time. The firm red wines of the region were bolstered up and protected with brandy before the sea journey north, and thus Port as a wine style was born. Or so the story goes.

Styles of Port

Vintage Port: Port vintages are declared depending on the quality of the vintage, some houses declaring much more frequently than others. In general, though, a vintage is declared about three times each decade. A declared vintage means that the Port house feels the wine is of the necessary quality to age well in bottle. The wines see up to two years in oak, but then do the rest of their ageing in the bottle. They may need upwards of fifteen years before they are ready, and may last for decades more. This is the finest quality level of Port.

Single Quinta Port: Most houses have quintas (vineyards) where they source their best fruit. In non-declared years they will release the wine from the quinta as a single quinta wine. These wines can be excellent value, frequently close to vintage quality.

Late Bottled Vintage Port: Good Port houses still produce good LBV wines. Such wines have been aged in wood for longer than Vintage Port, four years in total, or five years for a Traditional LBV. This prolonged ageing results in a wine ready to drink at a younger age.

Tawny Port: Wine aged in oak for a long time, resulting in a tawny colour. The age will be stated on the label, frequently ten or twenty years, less often thirty or even forty years.

White Port: A heavy aperitif wine, varying in style, often with a hint of oxidation.

Other styles: Ruby is a young and simple style. Vintage Character is a Port blended to resemble a vintage wine (often unsuccessfully in my opinion), and Crusted Port is a blend of several Vintage Character Ports.

Port - my top wines: Fonseca, Taylors, Quinta do Noval, Warres, Dows, Grahams, Niepoort. Good value comes from the single quinta wines of these companies, but also from Quinta do Vesuvio, Gould Campbell, Smith Woodhouse, Sandeman, and others.

Moving South

Further south the wines are much less significant. Around Lisbon are the regions ofEstremedura and Ribatejo, although neither produce any great wines. A number of tiny subregions, including Carcavelos, Colares,Bucelas and Setúbal produce a few interesting bottles, although they are rarely seen in the UK.
My top wines: Bright Brothers (run by Peter Bright, an Australian flying winemaker) produces a few good value wines in Estremedura and Ribatejo.

Getting much further south, Alentejo can be interesting, as can Terras do Sado. On the Algarve a number of DOCs produce unsurprisingly forgettable wine. These include Lagos, Portimâo, Lagoa and Tavira.
My top wines: Cartuxa, Quinta do Carmo (both Alentejo)

Getting Serious Again - Madeira

The island of Madeira is a small outpost of Portugal off the west coast of Africa, which produces a fortified wine based on the Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey grapes. It is made in a similar style to Port, with the addition of grape spirit causing cessation of fermentation. An additional feature, however, is the heating of the wine, at perhaps 50ºC, for about six months. This practice apparently stems from (another wine fable coming up) the improvement in the wine noted when it was transported on long sea journeys through hot climates in the 17th century. Heating the wine, together with exposure to oxygen, oxidises and stabilises it. As a result, Madeira is a long lived wine, with vintages from the early 20th and late 19th centuries drinking well at present.
My top wines: Henriques & Henriques, Madeira Wine Company, Blandy.

Vintages

The most recently declared Port vintage was 2000, a vintage of excellent quality. Other Port vintages of note include 1997, 1994, 1991, 1987 (generally not declared but there are some excellent single quinta wines), 1985, 1983, 1977, 1975, 1970, 1967, 1966, 1963, 1960, 1955, 1948, 1947, 1945.

Portuguese Wine Guide

Portugal is one of the most renowned producers of wine in the world, but its reputation is based not on table wine, but on the fortified wines of Port and, less so, Madeira. But Portugal also produces a few excellent table wines, particularly in the north of the country. There is an eclectic mix of grape varieties, and undoubtedly the leader of the pack is the Touriga Nacional. This grape is the basis for fine Ports and the red wines of the Douro, as well as having an increasing presence in many other regions.

The regions are classified, as they are in many other European wine-producing nations, so that appropriate regulations may be laid down. The main regions are referred to asDenominaçâo de Origem Controlada (DOC).