Day 11---July 9th-----Deeper In The Douro----Then Good-Bye!!!!
Scroll down to the begining for full story. Begins at June 28th
Upper Douro----Ruggedly Handsome and Unchanging
The upper Douro Valley was a very far cry from the lush Vinho Verde area. Rugged and unwavering, it had, however, a charm and mystique about it. Powerful and beautiful with its high hills and terraced vineyards, there seemed to be a certain peace up there--as I looked down at the valleys below.
Quinta do Portal
Pedro Mansilha Branco was/is a master oeonologist and winemaker. A man of inspiring passion and pride in his work, he could hardly wait to show us his great products. We toured the Quinta and then sat down in the confines of a lovely dining lounge to eat and taste the fruits of his work.
Quinta do Portal was/is located in the Pinhao area at the confluence of the Douro and Pinhao rivers. The Quinta was quite attractive and had a modern winery complete with dining areas and guest houses. There was also a superb looking swimming pool that invited the onlooker to take the plunge.
The wines, like the rest of the upper Douro were fine wines and ports. Three of this Quintas wines that are presently in stock at the LCBO in Ontario.
Wines
Portal Lagrima White Port
Produced from Malvasia Fina, Gouveio, and Viosinho. It is a sweet style Port as the Lagrima would note.Great with Creme Brullee.
Mural Tinto 2005
A wine made for hearty meals or soup. Calde Verde (Cabbage Soup) would be great with this light to medium red wine. Nice ripe red fruit flavours with an accent on ripe strawberry with some cherry flavours. Nice with cod also.
Portal Vintage Port, 2003
Ripe black fruit, plums and chocolate accentuate this lovely wine. Dark opaque in colour it is a concentrated blockbuster of a wine but does not deprive itself from elegance because of its size.
I would llike to buy it now and try it in about five more years though it could outlive me!
Dinner
Our dinner stated with Foe Gras sauteed with a Moscatel jam and white bean cake.With it we had Quinta do Portal Late Harvest 2007 , a nice sweet wine with citrus peel flavours and perfect with the Foie Gras. A melon soup went with Port Wine and Mint was great by itself.
We had a Veal Steak with a Quinta do Portal Grande Reserve 2006, this was a truly magnificent wine in the best Douro tradition. A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Franca, this wine exhibited the usual concentrated black fruit flavours of a warm summer and harvest. A powerhouse whose flavours were accentuated by the mushrooms and vegetables. This iwas a true food wine! Finally, Warm scone Chocolate with peach mousse, was enjoyed with a Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003, a combination that would have made Tony Aspler's mouth salivate.
Chef Milton Ferreira had indeed chosen a nice menu for one of our last meals in Portugal.
We tasted, ate and tasted again but time came to be off to our last visit!
Ramos Pinto
After leaving Portal we headed further into the Upper Douro to a small village while we waited for Jorge Rosas who was the Exporting Director (and great grandson) for the company of Ramos Pinto. We met there because Marcio was forewarned that his car would not make it up the road. Now we had gone through some pretty rough territory. For this person to offer to use his vehicle and drive us to his Quinta was a bit unnerving.
We drove and started up the climb/ The road got rougher and rougher as well as higher and higher. "We are on the old Roman road called Via Romana," Jorge said. "There are Roman ruins all over the place and just a bit further up, there are Paleolithic paintings that go back thousands of years. There was to be a dam here covering everything but the historical board and government changed their minds once they saw the historical heritage."The road was so rough I was amazed that there weren't any chariot wrecks here also. I was sure that the vehicle was going to fall apart. We entered the Coa valley and what was now the Coa Valley National Archaeological Park.
After a very bumpy ride, we came to a vineyard that was on a flat level of land that was somewhat depressed in the middle. It was filled with vines but the thing here as with some other vineyards is that the vineyards were pre blended in their plantings. That is to say that the vineyards of mainly Portuguese grapes, were planted in pre-blended blocks of different grape varieties.
We approached Quinta da Ervamoira which took on the appearance of a massive green amphitheatre in the distance. "Our grandfather spent a long time selecting this precious land," Jorge said. Impressive it was. As I watched Greg do the filming, I looked out at the horizon I could see that this area, just a few kilometres from the Spanish border, had changed little over the centuries. I imagined that the view I was seeing was observed by those who made history happen in one way or another. Now it was my turn and , a hundred years or so, someone else would be viewing the same scene in the same way. The people change but not the area which, in a way, is almost immortal.
We then went went to the Quinta and the Museu de Sitio de Evramoira located in the heart of the amphitheatre like depression. I found out that this was the first Quinta to have its vines planted totally vertically.
Here we toured the many artifacts in the museum and enjoyed having a nice meal and tasting on the patio looking out onto the Coa Valley.
Wines
The following wines are available through the LCBO in Ontario.
Duas Quintas White: Made from the Viosinho, Rabigato and Arinto grapes, this white wine has a nice fresh appeal with notes of minerality and peach/apricot. Its a nice dry, fruity wine that can be great with fowl and white meats but also great as an aperitif.
Duas Quintas Made from Touriga Franca, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Nacional, this wine has an exceptional mouth feel with black berry/currant flavours. The finish is good in length and has a touch of wood.
Duas Quintas Reserva: This wine is cellar able for several years. Dark, black fruit background and flavour, it also has chocolate in the middle and finish. Very long finish.
Duas "Quintas Reserva Especiale: A very big and bold wine with very dark flavours of plum, blackberry, cocao, chocolate. Very long roasted coffee/cocoa finish. A keeper for several years.
Quinta di Bom Retiro20 Year Old Tawney: Very sweet with burnt flavour with apricot and orange peel flavour. Nice wine!
Ramos Pinto Vintage Port 2003; Nice and dark though a little lighter than expected. Lovely tannins and integration. Flavours of earth, black fruit, some ripe reds, figs and plum.
Ramos Pinto was a great example of how to end a journey that took 12 days, 12 beds, 6 wine regions, some 200 wines and 1500 miles to complete. A marathon of a journey but a Marathon of life just the same.
We left Ramos Pintos and sped our way back to the Vila Gale Opera to spend the nigh. On July 10th after a brief visit to downtown Lisbon, we went to Lisbon International Airport and bed farewell to Portugal. It was my second time to this marvellous country. It will not be my last.
End of Days 11 and 12
Journey To Portugal June 28th through July 10, 2009
Watch For Portugal in "Adventures in Wine Country" on CHEX Television in Spring of 2010.
Upper Douro----Ruggedly Handsome and Unchanging
The upper Douro Valley was a very far cry from the lush Vinho Verde area. Rugged and unwavering, it had, however, a charm and mystique about it. Powerful and beautiful with its high hills and terraced vineyards, there seemed to be a certain peace up there--as I looked down at the valleys below.
Quinta do Portal
Pedro Mansilha Branco was/is a master oeonologist and winemaker. A man of inspiring passion and pride in his work, he could hardly wait to show us his great products. We toured the Quinta and then sat down in the confines of a lovely dining lounge to eat and taste the fruits of his work.
Quinta do Portal was/is located in the Pinhao area at the confluence of the Douro and Pinhao rivers. The Quinta was quite attractive and had a modern winery complete with dining areas and guest houses. There was also a superb looking swimming pool that invited the onlooker to take the plunge.
The wines, like the rest of the upper Douro were fine wines and ports. Three of this Quintas wines that are presently in stock at the LCBO in Ontario.
Wines
Portal Lagrima White Port
Produced from Malvasia Fina, Gouveio, and Viosinho. It is a sweet style Port as the Lagrima would note.Great with Creme Brullee.
Mural Tinto 2005
A wine made for hearty meals or soup. Calde Verde (Cabbage Soup) would be great with this light to medium red wine. Nice ripe red fruit flavours with an accent on ripe strawberry with some cherry flavours. Nice with cod also.
Portal Vintage Port, 2003
Ripe black fruit, plums and chocolate accentuate this lovely wine. Dark opaque in colour it is a concentrated blockbuster of a wine but does not deprive itself from elegance because of its size.
I would llike to buy it now and try it in about five more years though it could outlive me!
Dinner
Our dinner stated with Foe Gras sauteed with a Moscatel jam and white bean cake.With it we had Quinta do Portal Late Harvest 2007 , a nice sweet wine with citrus peel flavours and perfect with the Foie Gras. A melon soup went with Port Wine and Mint was great by itself.
We had a Veal Steak with a Quinta do Portal Grande Reserve 2006, this was a truly magnificent wine in the best Douro tradition. A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Franca, this wine exhibited the usual concentrated black fruit flavours of a warm summer and harvest. A powerhouse whose flavours were accentuated by the mushrooms and vegetables. This iwas a true food wine! Finally, Warm scone Chocolate with peach mousse, was enjoyed with a Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003, a combination that would have made Tony Aspler's mouth salivate.
Chef Milton Ferreira had indeed chosen a nice menu for one of our last meals in Portugal.
We tasted, ate and tasted again but time came to be off to our last visit!
Ramos Pinto
After leaving Portal we headed further into the Upper Douro to a small village while we waited for Jorge Rosas who was the Exporting Director (and great grandson) for the company of Ramos Pinto. We met there because Marcio was forewarned that his car would not make it up the road. Now we had gone through some pretty rough territory. For this person to offer to use his vehicle and drive us to his Quinta was a bit unnerving.
We drove and started up the climb/ The road got rougher and rougher as well as higher and higher. "We are on the old Roman road called Via Romana," Jorge said. "There are Roman ruins all over the place and just a bit further up, there are Paleolithic paintings that go back thousands of years. There was to be a dam here covering everything but the historical board and government changed their minds once they saw the historical heritage."The road was so rough I was amazed that there weren't any chariot wrecks here also. I was sure that the vehicle was going to fall apart. We entered the Coa valley and what was now the Coa Valley National Archaeological Park.
After a very bumpy ride, we came to a vineyard that was on a flat level of land that was somewhat depressed in the middle. It was filled with vines but the thing here as with some other vineyards is that the vineyards were pre blended in their plantings. That is to say that the vineyards of mainly Portuguese grapes, were planted in pre-blended blocks of different grape varieties.
We approached Quinta da Ervamoira which took on the appearance of a massive green amphitheatre in the distance. "Our grandfather spent a long time selecting this precious land," Jorge said. Impressive it was. As I watched Greg do the filming, I looked out at the horizon I could see that this area, just a few kilometres from the Spanish border, had changed little over the centuries. I imagined that the view I was seeing was observed by those who made history happen in one way or another. Now it was my turn and , a hundred years or so, someone else would be viewing the same scene in the same way. The people change but not the area which, in a way, is almost immortal.
We then went went to the Quinta and the Museu de Sitio de Evramoira located in the heart of the amphitheatre like depression. I found out that this was the first Quinta to have its vines planted totally vertically.
Here we toured the many artifacts in the museum and enjoyed having a nice meal and tasting on the patio looking out onto the Coa Valley.
Wines
The following wines are available through the LCBO in Ontario.
Duas Quintas White: Made from the Viosinho, Rabigato and Arinto grapes, this white wine has a nice fresh appeal with notes of minerality and peach/apricot. Its a nice dry, fruity wine that can be great with fowl and white meats but also great as an aperitif.
Duas Quintas Made from Touriga Franca, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Nacional, this wine has an exceptional mouth feel with black berry/currant flavours. The finish is good in length and has a touch of wood.
Duas Quintas Reserva: This wine is cellar able for several years. Dark, black fruit background and flavour, it also has chocolate in the middle and finish. Very long finish.
Duas "Quintas Reserva Especiale: A very big and bold wine with very dark flavours of plum, blackberry, cocao, chocolate. Very long roasted coffee/cocoa finish. A keeper for several years.
Quinta di Bom Retiro20 Year Old Tawney: Very sweet with burnt flavour with apricot and orange peel flavour. Nice wine!
Ramos Pinto Vintage Port 2003; Nice and dark though a little lighter than expected. Lovely tannins and integration. Flavours of earth, black fruit, some ripe reds, figs and plum.
Ramos Pinto was a great example of how to end a journey that took 12 days, 12 beds, 6 wine regions, some 200 wines and 1500 miles to complete. A marathon of a journey but a Marathon of life just the same.
We left Ramos Pintos and sped our way back to the Vila Gale Opera to spend the nigh. On July 10th after a brief visit to downtown Lisbon, we went to Lisbon International Airport and bed farewell to Portugal. It was my second time to this marvellous country. It will not be my last.
End of Days 11 and 12
Journey To Portugal June 28th through July 10, 2009
Watch For Portugal in "Adventures in Wine Country" on CHEX Television in Spring of 2010.
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 11:27 AM
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