June 30th---Day Two-------Good Morning Alentejo

For June 28th/29th recordings please scroll down.

The Birds In My Pockets!
Morning came quickly as I awakened to the lovely chirping of birds outside my window. I kept the windows partially open all night as I have this thing about seeing daylight when I open my eyes. I starred at the open windows and reminded my self to mention that screens exist for a purpose. It was just a thought.
In my half sleep stupor, I noticed this movement on my bed not far from my feet. I immediately thought----Rat! Gad! A rat! My panic made whatever it was move faster. Then it with one other member of the group flew away! It wasn't a rat. It was a couple of sparrows that wandered into my room no doubt drawn by the curiosity of my snoring! I regained my composure and decided to leave the birds to find their own way out while I went to the washroom to begin my day. The songs grew louder. There were more birds in my washroom. Not to worry-----I decided to accompany them in song. They flew into the other room. So much for my singing. Smart Birds!
I had my shower, shaved and looked at the itinerary. We had to leave by 8 AM in order to get to the next winery on time. It was about 7:45 AM. The birds where still hopping around and singing their song. One of them was sitting on my shirt pocket while it looked at me in obvious disgust. "You're the one who is sitting there starring at my naked body," I thought.
I shooed it away and got dressed. By the time I was ready to leave, One of the birds was still there in a slight state of panic. Maybe it saw just a bit too much of me, I thought. I went over and cornered the feather buster, grabbed it and let it go out the window. "There! I hope you get the same nice treatment from the next bloke whose room you invade!"
Breakfast On The Run
Greg and Andreia were awaiting my presence as I strolled down the stairs to the main desk where we were to check out. I was informed that we were a bit early for breakfast as the bread did not come in until later so we would have to go down to the village and get our breakfast there.
We parked on the street and made our way to a small open air square where the townsfolk gathered to discuss the days events. The big advantage of living in such a small village was in doing exactly what these people did probably every day. Get together, have an espresso and bun (with cheese) and just talk.
Andreia bought Greg and me a cheese bun and coffee. We ate and were then on our way again. I could have stayed a few more minutes just taking in the atmosphere but we were there on a mission---not a vacation! To booth, we were already behind our schedule. Off we went!!!
Joao Portugal Ramos
Our vehicle drove through the gorgeous gates marking JPortugal Ramos's Vila Santa Winery. Joao Portugal Ramos specifically chose this area using his many years and skill as an oenologist to find just the right location of his vineyards. The winery and surrounding buildings which consist of the winery proper with its up to date modern stainless steel tanks, large fermentation barrels and the old legares used for foot crushing the grapes, a house, restaurant, tasting room,
meeting courtyard and spacious barrel room are designed in a unique but Mediterranean style of architecture well represented in the Alentejo----very fitting for the geography and weather of the area.
Mr. Ramos came out to meet us. He looked every bit like the aristocracy that he was descended from----tall, lean in an athletic sort of way and refined in manner and speech. I found myself wishing that I could speak Portuguese (or French for that matter) one tenth as well as he! Mr. Ramos guided us through his winery speaking throughout of his vineyards and his insistence of quality both in the care of his vineyards and making of his wine. We passed by the laboratory where his wines are tested and retested and finally took a ride with his export manager Maria Pica. The ride was to his vineyards above which rose Estramoz Castle which protected the area in the past and now looks down upon the vineyards as if guarding them.
Mr. Ramos, with a degree in Agronomy from the Institute of Agronomy in Lisbon started a company called Consulvinus which he used to "help Portugal's natural potential to shine!" In 1990, he started planting his vineyards and in 1997 he constructed his winery with an addition in 2000. The result was a first class winery dedicated to making the best of Alentejo native grapes with some imports added in for experimentation and blending.
Before lunch, I had the privilege of being introduced to some of the local business men that he was entertaining. His wife, Teresa, is a gourmet cook and designed an excellent meal accompanied by the superb Ramos wines.
We tasted the following wine: Loios White which was made from Rabo de Ovelha and Roupeiro grapes. The wine had a touch of minerality and citrus. It had a refreshing acidity to it that cleansed the palate. The Marques de Borba White (named after the demarcated region which the vineyards are in "Borba") has the above Rabo de Ovelha and Roupeiro grapes with the addition of Arinto which gives the wine an extra bit of spice. There is the acidity on the finish that Arinto is famous for though the wine is surprisingly full. The Reds were my favourite. The Marques de Borba Red made with a variety of Portuguese grapes (Aragones, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouchet) and an import (Cabernet Sauvignon) comes through with black fruit and chocolate. The Marques de Borba Reserva has the same varieties but is more concentrated and deeper in colour than its brother probably because of the partial Legares (foot) crushing and the 12 months in French Oak barrels. The result is a highly concentrated and long lasting wine with ripe red and black fruit.
Finally, the Vila Santa Red is a blend of the same varieties but has Touriga Nacional also thrown in the pot. As I always will say, the TN has a way of expressing itself and it does so here.
Partial Lagare is also used here again to extract the highest concentration of wine and along with 9 months in French oak barrels bring forward nice black fruit and a powerful wine.
It was indeed a pleasure to have the honour of meeting Mr. Ramos with the hopes of meeting him again.
Note: JPortugal Ramos has other wine interests such as the highly acclaimed Duorum Vineyards in Douro; Falua Vinhos in Almeirim , Tagus Creek in Ribatejo and Quinta de Foz de Arouce in Iousa.
Quinta de Dona Maria (Quinta do Carmo)
An interesting fact is that Joao Portugal Ramos actually started his career at this Quinta (1985) before it was sold to Lafite Rothschild in the early 90's. The owner/manager and good friend of Joao Portugal Ramos is Julio Tassara de Bastos. He told us the story of how the Quinta got its name or should I say names.
The Quinta was built in the 18th Century and was the property of the then King of Portugal, Joao Vth. He had a mistress that he fell madly in love with and he gave her the Quinta to live in.
The Quinta still has many of the artifacts that go back to the time of Joao Vth. The tiles in the mansion are from his period as are the architectural features and marble.
The Quinta became known for the name of the mistress---Dona Maria. In 1752 a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady of Carmel" and the house/Quinta became known as the Quinta Do Carmo from that point.
The Quinta had many interesting features all steeped in history. The walled garden has magnificent palms (some centuries old) plus other historical features that range from majestic sculptures to magnificent ornate buildings and pools to simple utensils. Quinta Dona Maria has it all.
The vineyards like much of the rest of Alentejo reflect the grape varieties growing in this area. Like Ramos, they are a stone's throw away from the historic castle of Estremoz. Currently the 53 Hectares of vineyards are slowly being increased. They consist of indigenous varieties complemented with some imported vines. The vineyards are situated on three different properties.
Wines
Julio took us on a tour of his winery which is a blend of old (19th Century Cement Vats) and new (Stainless Steel Tanks). The winery is spotless and barrel rooms are absolutely peaceful. We tasted many wines with Julio Tassara de Bastos so we will concentrate on just a few.
The Dona Maria White which is made up of Roupeiro, Arinto and Antao Vaz has aromas of bananas, mangoe and pineapple with a bit of citrus. The palate is fruity, refreshing and long in the finish. The Amantis White made from mainly Viognier shows excellent pear and citrus
flavours and again a pleasant refreshing finish. The reds include a well rounded Red from local and French grapes; a great Amantis with lots of ripe red and and black berries and a lovely Reserva made from French grapes (Alicante, Cabernet, Syrah). It is completely fermented in Lagares and aged in new French oak for a year. One of my favourites this trip was a strawberry flavoured Rose made from Aragones and Touriga Nacional ideal for summer sipping.
Herdade Sao Miquel
I became familiar with the final winery of the day several months earlier in Canada when I attended a special tasting of Hobbs & Co wines in Toronto. Johnathan Hostick of Hobbs introduced me to Nuno Franco the winemaker at a new and upcoming winery called Herdade Sao Miguel. Nuno runs the winery that is owned by Alexandre Relvas. Alexandre Jr. is being guided in winemaking by Nuno.
Nuno Franco is probably one of the most sincere and honest persons that I have ever met. When you consider that winemakers and viticulturists as a whole are among the most pleasant and honest of groups, that is saying something. Also, young Alex is certainly a credit to his father. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Alex's father but if I ever do, I will certainly tell him that he is fortunate to have a son such as Alex.
The winery is located far off the "beaten track". First of all, we would never have found it had it not been for Nuno meeting us (in the town of Redondo which, goes back to 1250) and we then following him many miles down a dirt road to the house location. There was not the grandioseness of the Ramos or Esporao wineries but this was truly a working farm and a relatively new winery that had many places to go.
In a sense one got a tremendous feeling of quiet and solitude since we were surrounded by many hectares of land and vineyards. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place!!! It was great!
As with some other estates, they do more here than just make wine. They have a breeding program which includes cattle, some near extinct Donkeys (one of which tried to make a meal of my shirt as I petted it!) and horses (Alex Jr is a champion jumper in addition to holding a Diploma in Oenology). No doubt, the animal husbandry is greatly assisted by having an Agro (Cattle) Breeding Engineer such as Ana Paula Tordo on the staff team.
Nuno took us for a ride around the estate where we saw the cork groves and pine tree plantings (which have a sybiotic relationship with the cork (oak) trees). Some of the cork trees where over 400 years old. Amazing. By the way, cork trees are not damaged when cork is harvested to make----corks! The bark is stripped once every 9 years leaving the tree unharmed to grow another layer of bark. Nuno pointed out dead trees.
"We must report dead trees before we cut them down. It is against the law to cut down a tree without permission." I wish they had this law in a place called Canada!
The tour of the estate and winery was fascinating. Portugal is not a huge country such as Canada but one can get the sense of massive space here---even in a village or town!!!
Evenings seem to come quick in Alentejo. Before we knew it, it was time to have supper. The whole team was there to have a delicious meal of Stewed Lamb with all the trimmings and then we tasted the wine. I can understand why Ms. Hobbs of Hobbs and Co. wanted this wine in her portfolio.
The Wine
We started with a Montinho Sao Miguel White made with a blend of Vital, Fernao Pires, Mostatel, Sauvignon Blanc and Arinto. It was a fresh and lively way to start the dinner and as I said before, the Arinto did come out on the finish. The Montinho Red, a blend of Aragones, Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon would be a great fall and winter wine bassed on the production methods and style. Another amazing wine was the 100% Aragaones De Sao Miguel Dos Descobridores. Hand picked and aged in 100% American Oak, it was truly remarkable with ripe cherry and red fruit flavours and a structure that ensured a long life in the bottle. I wondered how it would have developped if it was aged either totally in French or paritially in French Oak.
The 2006 Herdade Sao Miguel Coheita Seleccionada was deliciously concentrated and went well with the meal. The hit of the night was the 2005 Herdade Sao Miguel Reserva made from Aragones, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouchet grapes that were hand picked and only partially destemmed thus giving the wine more power and concentration. This was an avante garde wine made for cellaring, yet it had a elegance also about it that was obvious. The wine had a stong structural core but with soft tannins that made it accessable yet with the firmness that would reward aging. Cherry, plum and berry notes in a jammy sort of way gave way to a fine acidy and palate cleansing finish making you want more.
There was some discussion as to what was a better year, 2005 or 2006. They were different years----2006 being very hot and dry. I like the concentration of the 2006's but will they age as well as the 2005's. I think so and some but that will ultimately be left to father time himself! All I know that both vintages have their share of elegance and concentration. This 2005 was remarkable!
The above wines were what I call food wines that prepared the palate and continued its journey throughout a fine meal. But as all good meals have in common it was the company that we shared that night that made it special------sitting at a table, on the patio/verandah underneath the dark starry sky---together in discussion as to our favourite subject. Wine!
We talked for a long time about what people at a table always talk about. It was fun and enjoyable. The night was going by very fast and we retired to the beautiful house that was to be ours for the night. Sleep came fast and comfortable! The morning came quickly also!
End of Day TWO.