July 3rd-------Day Five---Still In Estremadura
Scroll down to June 28th for beginning of the Portugal trip.
Dinosaur Bones And All That!
Casa Santos Lima
Estremadura's history goes back eons! For sure they date back to at least the Jurassic period and maybe more. The lovely rolling hills of Estremadura hide many secrets under those vines.
At Casa Santos Lima there are many riddles that exist. Actually, they aren't riddles. They are prehistoric, Palaeontological artifacts.
I had visited Santos Lima in 2006 with Alex Eberspaecher. We were both taken by the sheer beauty that surrounded the Lima Mansion. I was happy to see that things had not changed. Jose Santos Lima welcomed us to his home and winery. I remembered several things about this winery: the fine wines, the lovely vineyards and the fossils.
At the back of his home, Mr. Lima had a thigh bone of an Apatosaurus. The Apatosaurus is actually the old Brontosaurus name revised. "We found it while planting new vines," he said.
There are many fossils of various creatures in this area---most of which are sea shells from a hundred million or so years ago.
That was not the only interesting historic or prehistoric item on the property. A circle of large black ball shaped rocks which actually looked like giant 18 Century cannon balls were in a small field to the left of the mansion. There does not seem to be any explanation for them but I am going to try to find out what they were. They were obviously used by early man for some purpose.
We were taken for a view of his vineyards. They were impeccably kept----all healthy vines in the peak of condition. I remarked at how healthy everything was.
"They are healthy because the environment is healthy," Mr. Lima said, "we watch for life around the vineyards, rabbits, pheasants, small birds, hawks, insects, snakes. If they are here, then the expect the vines to be healthy. We are organic so we do not hurt the environment but complement it! This is reflected in the wines!"
Not hurt is right. As I looked out towards the horizon with the rolling hills being intermittently dotted with small villages, it seemed like things never change here but remain in an almost perfect state. So peaceful---no wonder everyone seems to smile!
The winery and new bottling line were also impressive. Everything so clean and spotless. It is hard to imagine that this was a family operation that had roots back to the 18th Century. The combination of old and new was a lesson for all wineries in the western half of the globe.
Wines
I enjoyed tasting many of Casa Santos Lima wines when I visited about three years ago and have enjoyed its wines off and on since that time. For the purpose of this blog I have included wines that are available locally.
Casa Santos Lima Red
Quinta da Amoras: Pleasant wine, cherry/raspberry notes on the bouquet with dark fruit flavours on the palate. Lengthy finish.
Sousao: Silver medal winner in France, this is a grape usually used in the making of Port but has been making a showing in Estremadura. The 2006 has black fruit and chocolate on the nose with similar notes on the palate with the addition of pepper spice and some vanilla. Nice wine!
Touriga Nacional: Deep colour and intense floral/chocolate/ripe berries on nose and palate. Great wine with long life ahead. Silver medal in Brussels.
Quinta da Setencostas: Made with Castelao, Camarate, Tinta Miuda, Preto Martinho.
Dark berry fruit on both nose and palate with some anise, cinnamon and cocoa. Nice long finish.
Note! Santos Lima has some superb wines, the Whites are phenomenally refreshing and Roses---great aperitifs.
We had a nice snack with Mr. Santos Lima and then we were off to Quinta de Chocapalha for a return meeting with lovely Sandra Tavares Da Silva and her enchanting parents.
Quinta De Chocapalha
Estremadura is indeed a scenic region. The beauty did not stop as we approached the Chocapalha gates. There was former model, turned winemaker and consultant Sandra Tavares Da Silva along side her mother waiting to take us into their home! The Chocapalha vineyards have been referred to since the 16th Century. Originally, it was the property of Constantino O'Neil. Does that sound Portuguese to you? If you say Irish, you are so right! It seems that in the 14th Century, many O'Neils (spelled O'Neills) went to Portugal and settled in Estremadura when they lost a major battle at Kinsale, Ireland against the English. Hugh O'Neill, second Earl of Tyrone, escaped to Portugal and was followed by many of the clan! Constantino O'Neil may be one of the descendants.
He owned the property since the beginning of the 19th Century and later gave it to Diogo Duff, a Scottish Noble held in high regard by then King D. Joao VI. In the 1980's it was purchased by Sandra's parents, Alice and Paulo Tavares da Silva.
Sandra's story is amazing in itself. She was born in the Azores to her father, Paulo, a naval officer and her Swiss mother. They moved to Lisbon when she was very young. She completed her regular education and then earned a degree in Agronomy and later obtained her Masters Degree in Milan, Italy. Sandra came under the influence of the legendary Christiano van Zeller of Quinta Vale D. Maria. She also took over the reins at Chocapalha and then married Jorge Seradio Borges, a winemaker. The two of them now have a business called "Body & Soul".
Wines
Chocapalha White: Made from Arinto, Viosinho, Vital. Fresh and citrus/apple on nose. Nice acidity, citrus lemon on palate. Pleasant finish.
Chocapalha White Reserve: Chardonnay, Viosinho, Arinto. Even with only 20%, Arinto manages to come out followed by the freshness of the Viosinho. Chardonnay mellow butter and citrus does emerge on a different layer after. The three grapes blend well to give a lemon/mineral finish.
Chocapalha Fernao Pires: 100% Fernao Pires: Nice colour, fresh citrus/melon/pineapple flavours. Nice pleasant finish.
Chocapalha Red: Made from Tinto Roriz, Castelao,Touriga Nacional, Syrah and Alicante Bouchet. Ripe red/black fruit on nose, floral with some spice. On the palate the wine has black and red fruit flavours. Long intense finish.
Chocapalha Reserve: Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Syrah. Ripe red and black fruits, pepper spice on nose and palate vanilla apparent on nose but more on palate. Very concentrated with very long lasting finish. Some anise on finish.
Chocapalha Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet, Syrah. Dark violet in colour, pepper spice and cassis with black currant and black berry flavours. Lengthy finish.
The wines were excellent and went well with the lovely lunch that Sandra's family had prepared for us!
Time went by very quickly. Almost too quickly. Before we knew it time came to leave and off we went to our next visit. Quinta dos Loridos.
Quinta dos Loridos
Just a few kilometres south of the famous and historic town of Obidos lies the amazing oriental influenced Quinta dos Loridos. I stayed at this Quinta in 2006 and looked forward to coming here again! When we arrived I did notice that there were many new additions to the original Quinta though the "roaring lions" of the orient still held their ground!
The 35 hectares of the 100 hectare property were still there but the additions were many. When I was there, the central lake and its geese were there as were the statues of Bacchus and his entourage---welcoming visitors to taste the wine produced at Loridos. The lake was lined with giant Buddhist monks serenely posed as if in prayer. The scene was tranquil then as it is now. However now, there is much more! More of the giant Buddhas! More statues depicting oriental deities and then there is the amazing terracotta soldiers like the ones found buried in China. The site is almost overwhelming.
There were massive oriental gates that marked the entrance to the park where one could muse with the statues or sit on a bench and pass the time or, still, watch the lovely Koi as they swam around the large man made lake. It was lovely.
Then there was the mansion. The actual estate dates back to the 15th Century and was originally associated with sugar production. The Manor House and Gardens go back to the 16th Century and have seen many renovations. The winery itself was built in 1989.
The reason why the present owner decided to commit the estate to a Buddhist Garden was in direct response to the dynamiting of the Barnyan Buddhist statues that went back as far as the 6th Century. In their ignorance, the Taliban destroyed them and thus prevented the world from seeing these magnificent pieces of art again.
The is a blend of Greek and Oriental Art here but of course the garden does lean heavily to the oriental side of things.
Bernard Gouveia and Manuela Vieira put us through a tasting of Loridos wines.
Quinta do Lorridos/Bacalhoa Wines
White
Serras Azeito White: Made with Fernao Pires, Arinto, Moscatel Graudo, Chardonnay. A Round, fresh (Arinto), somewhat floral wine with a nice structure.
Catarina Chardonnay: Not tasted but available in Canada via Wines of Portugal.ca
Red
Serras Azeito Red: Aragones, Touriga Nacional, Merlot, Syrah. Ripe red/black fruit on nose and palate with a hint of cedar. Soft and forward on palate with a good elegance.
Tinta Aforna: Aragones, Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark with ripe cherry, raspberry and plum. Chocolate and coffee flavours. Some wood on the nose. Soft, round and welcoming on the palate.
Tinta Aforna Grande Escholha: Aragones, Alicante Bouchet, Touriga Nacional. Very complex wine with cherry, raspberry, plum, vanilla wood on nose with ripe black cherry, blackberry and plum on the palate. Round and very concentrated on palate.
Touriga Nacional: Touriga Nacional. Usual floral and spice bouquet with red fruit flavours on nose. On the palate it is packed with cherry, raspberry, red currant flavours with a slight pepper/cinnamon spice and anise on the finish.
Sparkling Wine
Lorridos Sparkling: Tremendous value of a sparkling wine with very fine bubbles and a fresh, round well integrated taste.
Dessert
Moscatel de Setubal: Amber/topas in colour. Moscatel bouquet, with floral, blossom, orange, tea and cut orange peel on nose. Sweet, smooth and fresh on palate.
Soon it was time to say goodbye but this was a very sad goodbye since we had to say goodbye to lovely Andreia of the crossed arms. I enjoyed her company and sweetness throughout our journey and she had become a good friend. Since I love to tease she also supplied me with that pleasure also. Andreia is a credit to her work and her employer. I wish her well in her work and life!
Our new guide was an old friend, Marcio Ferreira who is Andreia's boss. I met Marcio in 2006. He was intrinic in setting up this whole journey of ours.
Soon we were off to register at the Estalagem do Convento (an old convent---very apropo for me) and historic Obidos!
End of Fifth Day
Dinosaur Bones And All That!
Casa Santos Lima
Estremadura's history goes back eons! For sure they date back to at least the Jurassic period and maybe more. The lovely rolling hills of Estremadura hide many secrets under those vines.
At Casa Santos Lima there are many riddles that exist. Actually, they aren't riddles. They are prehistoric, Palaeontological artifacts.
I had visited Santos Lima in 2006 with Alex Eberspaecher. We were both taken by the sheer beauty that surrounded the Lima Mansion. I was happy to see that things had not changed. Jose Santos Lima welcomed us to his home and winery. I remembered several things about this winery: the fine wines, the lovely vineyards and the fossils.
At the back of his home, Mr. Lima had a thigh bone of an Apatosaurus. The Apatosaurus is actually the old Brontosaurus name revised. "We found it while planting new vines," he said.
There are many fossils of various creatures in this area---most of which are sea shells from a hundred million or so years ago.
That was not the only interesting historic or prehistoric item on the property. A circle of large black ball shaped rocks which actually looked like giant 18 Century cannon balls were in a small field to the left of the mansion. There does not seem to be any explanation for them but I am going to try to find out what they were. They were obviously used by early man for some purpose.
We were taken for a view of his vineyards. They were impeccably kept----all healthy vines in the peak of condition. I remarked at how healthy everything was.
"They are healthy because the environment is healthy," Mr. Lima said, "we watch for life around the vineyards, rabbits, pheasants, small birds, hawks, insects, snakes. If they are here, then the expect the vines to be healthy. We are organic so we do not hurt the environment but complement it! This is reflected in the wines!"
Not hurt is right. As I looked out towards the horizon with the rolling hills being intermittently dotted with small villages, it seemed like things never change here but remain in an almost perfect state. So peaceful---no wonder everyone seems to smile!
The winery and new bottling line were also impressive. Everything so clean and spotless. It is hard to imagine that this was a family operation that had roots back to the 18th Century. The combination of old and new was a lesson for all wineries in the western half of the globe.
Wines
I enjoyed tasting many of Casa Santos Lima wines when I visited about three years ago and have enjoyed its wines off and on since that time. For the purpose of this blog I have included wines that are available locally.
Casa Santos Lima Red
Quinta da Amoras: Pleasant wine, cherry/raspberry notes on the bouquet with dark fruit flavours on the palate. Lengthy finish.
Sousao: Silver medal winner in France, this is a grape usually used in the making of Port but has been making a showing in Estremadura. The 2006 has black fruit and chocolate on the nose with similar notes on the palate with the addition of pepper spice and some vanilla. Nice wine!
Touriga Nacional: Deep colour and intense floral/chocolate/ripe berries on nose and palate. Great wine with long life ahead. Silver medal in Brussels.
Quinta da Setencostas: Made with Castelao, Camarate, Tinta Miuda, Preto Martinho.
Dark berry fruit on both nose and palate with some anise, cinnamon and cocoa. Nice long finish.
Note! Santos Lima has some superb wines, the Whites are phenomenally refreshing and Roses---great aperitifs.
We had a nice snack with Mr. Santos Lima and then we were off to Quinta de Chocapalha for a return meeting with lovely Sandra Tavares Da Silva and her enchanting parents.
Quinta De Chocapalha
Estremadura is indeed a scenic region. The beauty did not stop as we approached the Chocapalha gates. There was former model, turned winemaker and consultant Sandra Tavares Da Silva along side her mother waiting to take us into their home! The Chocapalha vineyards have been referred to since the 16th Century. Originally, it was the property of Constantino O'Neil. Does that sound Portuguese to you? If you say Irish, you are so right! It seems that in the 14th Century, many O'Neils (spelled O'Neills) went to Portugal and settled in Estremadura when they lost a major battle at Kinsale, Ireland against the English. Hugh O'Neill, second Earl of Tyrone, escaped to Portugal and was followed by many of the clan! Constantino O'Neil may be one of the descendants.
He owned the property since the beginning of the 19th Century and later gave it to Diogo Duff, a Scottish Noble held in high regard by then King D. Joao VI. In the 1980's it was purchased by Sandra's parents, Alice and Paulo Tavares da Silva.
Sandra's story is amazing in itself. She was born in the Azores to her father, Paulo, a naval officer and her Swiss mother. They moved to Lisbon when she was very young. She completed her regular education and then earned a degree in Agronomy and later obtained her Masters Degree in Milan, Italy. Sandra came under the influence of the legendary Christiano van Zeller of Quinta Vale D. Maria. She also took over the reins at Chocapalha and then married Jorge Seradio Borges, a winemaker. The two of them now have a business called "Body & Soul".
Wines
Chocapalha White: Made from Arinto, Viosinho, Vital. Fresh and citrus/apple on nose. Nice acidity, citrus lemon on palate. Pleasant finish.
Chocapalha White Reserve: Chardonnay, Viosinho, Arinto. Even with only 20%, Arinto manages to come out followed by the freshness of the Viosinho. Chardonnay mellow butter and citrus does emerge on a different layer after. The three grapes blend well to give a lemon/mineral finish.
Chocapalha Fernao Pires: 100% Fernao Pires: Nice colour, fresh citrus/melon/pineapple flavours. Nice pleasant finish.
Chocapalha Red: Made from Tinto Roriz, Castelao,Touriga Nacional, Syrah and Alicante Bouchet. Ripe red/black fruit on nose, floral with some spice. On the palate the wine has black and red fruit flavours. Long intense finish.
Chocapalha Reserve: Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Syrah. Ripe red and black fruits, pepper spice on nose and palate vanilla apparent on nose but more on palate. Very concentrated with very long lasting finish. Some anise on finish.
Chocapalha Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet, Syrah. Dark violet in colour, pepper spice and cassis with black currant and black berry flavours. Lengthy finish.
The wines were excellent and went well with the lovely lunch that Sandra's family had prepared for us!
Time went by very quickly. Almost too quickly. Before we knew it time came to leave and off we went to our next visit. Quinta dos Loridos.
Quinta dos Loridos
Just a few kilometres south of the famous and historic town of Obidos lies the amazing oriental influenced Quinta dos Loridos. I stayed at this Quinta in 2006 and looked forward to coming here again! When we arrived I did notice that there were many new additions to the original Quinta though the "roaring lions" of the orient still held their ground!
The 35 hectares of the 100 hectare property were still there but the additions were many. When I was there, the central lake and its geese were there as were the statues of Bacchus and his entourage---welcoming visitors to taste the wine produced at Loridos. The lake was lined with giant Buddhist monks serenely posed as if in prayer. The scene was tranquil then as it is now. However now, there is much more! More of the giant Buddhas! More statues depicting oriental deities and then there is the amazing terracotta soldiers like the ones found buried in China. The site is almost overwhelming.
There were massive oriental gates that marked the entrance to the park where one could muse with the statues or sit on a bench and pass the time or, still, watch the lovely Koi as they swam around the large man made lake. It was lovely.
Then there was the mansion. The actual estate dates back to the 15th Century and was originally associated with sugar production. The Manor House and Gardens go back to the 16th Century and have seen many renovations. The winery itself was built in 1989.
The reason why the present owner decided to commit the estate to a Buddhist Garden was in direct response to the dynamiting of the Barnyan Buddhist statues that went back as far as the 6th Century. In their ignorance, the Taliban destroyed them and thus prevented the world from seeing these magnificent pieces of art again.
The is a blend of Greek and Oriental Art here but of course the garden does lean heavily to the oriental side of things.
Bernard Gouveia and Manuela Vieira put us through a tasting of Loridos wines.
Quinta do Lorridos/Bacalhoa Wines
White
Serras Azeito White: Made with Fernao Pires, Arinto, Moscatel Graudo, Chardonnay. A Round, fresh (Arinto), somewhat floral wine with a nice structure.
Catarina Chardonnay: Not tasted but available in Canada via Wines of Portugal.ca
Red
Serras Azeito Red: Aragones, Touriga Nacional, Merlot, Syrah. Ripe red/black fruit on nose and palate with a hint of cedar. Soft and forward on palate with a good elegance.
Tinta Aforna: Aragones, Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark with ripe cherry, raspberry and plum. Chocolate and coffee flavours. Some wood on the nose. Soft, round and welcoming on the palate.
Tinta Aforna Grande Escholha: Aragones, Alicante Bouchet, Touriga Nacional. Very complex wine with cherry, raspberry, plum, vanilla wood on nose with ripe black cherry, blackberry and plum on the palate. Round and very concentrated on palate.
Touriga Nacional: Touriga Nacional. Usual floral and spice bouquet with red fruit flavours on nose. On the palate it is packed with cherry, raspberry, red currant flavours with a slight pepper/cinnamon spice and anise on the finish.
Sparkling Wine
Lorridos Sparkling: Tremendous value of a sparkling wine with very fine bubbles and a fresh, round well integrated taste.
Dessert
Moscatel de Setubal: Amber/topas in colour. Moscatel bouquet, with floral, blossom, orange, tea and cut orange peel on nose. Sweet, smooth and fresh on palate.
Soon it was time to say goodbye but this was a very sad goodbye since we had to say goodbye to lovely Andreia of the crossed arms. I enjoyed her company and sweetness throughout our journey and she had become a good friend. Since I love to tease she also supplied me with that pleasure also. Andreia is a credit to her work and her employer. I wish her well in her work and life!
Our new guide was an old friend, Marcio Ferreira who is Andreia's boss. I met Marcio in 2006. He was intrinic in setting up this whole journey of ours.
Soon we were off to register at the Estalagem do Convento (an old convent---very apropo for me) and historic Obidos!
End of Fifth Day
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 7:30 PM
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