Portuguese Dry Reds

Terraced vineyards along the Douro

   

Port is a wine with no equal.  Port is Portugal's great contribution to the world of wine.  Hands down, Port is the greatest fortified wine made. 

This is not, however, an overblown personal tribute to Port.  Even though, for years I've been attracted to Portugal and Portuguese wine.  And, it has always seemed outrageous to me that such a small country could produce two great fortified wines: Port and Madeira. 

But, this is not a salute to Madeira.  Even though, as I type this, I'm thinking of a memorable wine adventure I had traveling to the Portuguese island of Madeira, sampling a range of complex old Madeira, visiting a few shippers, then relaxing with a glass of Sercial Madeira, on the porch of the hotel where I was staying in Funchal, with a small group of charming English pensioners. 

Anyway, this post is about Portugal's growing list of impressive dry red wines.  Made from some of the same grapes used in the production of Port, these complex red wines are not fortified like Port and not as well known as Port.  But they should be. 

Winemakers in the Douro can select from a mind-boggling 80 different grapes to make a bottle of Port.  The number was unwieldy, so in the 1970s, research determined these five grapes - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca (also Touriga Francesa), Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinto Cao, as best for making Port.  

Port producers worked out different combinations of these five grapes for their individual Port wines, in many cases selecting Touriga Nacional as the most important component.  Touriga Nacional probably was first rooted in the Dao region and migrated to the Douro River Valley, where it has become more famous than in the Dao.  

In both places, Touriga Nacional makes a concentrated wine with firm tannin and deep black fruit flavor.  Important in Port and dry red wine, Touriga Nacional is favored by winemakers beyond Portugal wanting a big red wine.

These reds are 100% or contain some Touriga Nacional: Monte Xisto (100%), Dos Lusiridas, Wine & Soul "Manoella," Casa da Passarella Tinta Dao, Quinta de Saes, Niepoort "Redoma," Luis Seabora.  Most of these dry reds, from the Douro or Dao, cost less than $30.

Touriga Franca is favored as a partner with Touriga Nacional, in Port and dry wines for its perfume and body.  Formerly called Touriga Francesa, Franca has no connection with France, despite its name.

Touriga Franca is a good producer,  but is susceptible to rot.  In good years, though, Franca out performs Touriga Nacional.  Franca is known for its distinctive varietal aroma, often with a hint of exotic spice. 

When rot is not a problem in the vineyard, growers look to Touriga Franca for its consistent fruit, while winemakers like Franca for the spicy note it gives to a blend.

The slightly jammy structure of Tinta Barroca adds weight and plenty of fruit to Port and dry reds.  Barroca's high sugar is valuable to the winemaker trying to compensate for a deficiency in the blend of the other varieties.   

Tinta Roriz (aka Spain's Tempranillo), ironically is Portugal's most planted wine grape.  Roriz is planted widely in the Douro for Port and showing up in more dry red wines.  

Tinto Cao is one of the most important varieties in Port wine and is also important in dry red wines, despite being light in color.  Tinto Cao, meaning "red dog," is popular in Dao as a table wine and in the Douro for both Port and dry red table wine.

The Portuguese are late to export top-end red table wine.  Some of the best quintas in the Douro have been making dry reds for years, but mostly for local consumption or sale inside the country.  In a cabernet-centric world, Portuguese reds are good value wines. 

An interesting thing about all Portuguese wine grapes, is the near absence of French varieties in the blends, like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  Portuguese dry reds proudly stand on their own as quality wines made mainly (Tempranillo the exception) from indigenous grapes. 

Pixabay photo

Next post: The Bordeaux Blend

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