Portugal
Wine from Dão - an Alvaro Castro Tasting
Last week I dropped into the Spanish Acquisition HQ for a bit of Jamon and ended up tasting a whole heap of stuff including a selection of wines from Alvaro Castro from the Dão region in Portugal. This lot are not currently being imported, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we’ll be seeing a few of these around town. The wines were served up single blind (we knew they were Alvaro Castro’s wines, but not which ones). I don’t have a lot of info on these wines or the region, but Jamie Goodie has a good overview of the region, including a bit on Alvaro Castro and his vineyards. Overall, I’d summarise the wines as very elegant and balanced, at the same time there is plenty of fruit too.
Primus 2006 – The only white in the line up from Alvaro today. Apples and pears, saturated by banana. Pleasant enough with a long finish, but too much banana for me. 87 Pts.
Dão Reserva 2005 - An enticing nose with subtle spice with some dark fruits and violets. A brooding kind of wine, deep and intense with fine balance and plenty of quality fruit. 91 Pts.
Dão Reserva 2005 - Something odd with this bottle, no notes.
Quinta du Pelleda Vinha da Serra 2006 - Cherry and blackberry, Christmas cake spices, vanilla oak and a bit of game. Tight and structured in the mouth, but very enjoyable. A healthy dose of tannins too. 90 Pts.
Pelada 2003 - Here we go, showing a bit of age but its still quite intense. Blackberry, beetroot and blueberry with woody spice and some great acid that really livens up this wine. 92 Pts.
Carrocel 2006 - This seemed like a younger version of the Pelada with a bit of mint and more obvious oak. Juicy and mouth coating, but I’m sure it will all integrate in a couple of years. 92 Pts.
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Dear Dave,
Alvaro de Castro’s wines are always very powerful in the tannins, although not very full in the mouth. The pivotal issue is that after 5 years the wines usually turn to be very elegant burgundy’style (but not every time). Carrocel is good, Pape is great, but Dado (a partnership with Niepoort from Douro) is even better.
Dão is probably the cutting edge region in Portugal in the moment (something like Toro a few years ago). Look also for Quinta dos Roques (excellent whites from encruzado grape), Quinta do Perdigão (reds, mainly from touriga grape), Quinta da Garrida (reds), Quinta dos Carvalhais (whites and reds), and Quinta das Marias (upcoming star, both whites and reds).
Nuno