A little while ago, I spent a wine-focused week in Lisbon. Wow. It was like running across an old friend or love you hadn’t seen for years, and remembering what the attraction was all about.
This was my longest trip back since I lived there in the 1980s. Those were my most formative wine years: awash in Port and old Madeira, occasionally even reaching back to venerable extremes. I remember drinking a 1795 Terrantez with some friends and thinking of the subway-tunneling scene in Fellini’s Roma. And some timeless old fortified Moscatels from across the river around Setubal, still available and affordable then from vintages in the early 20th century.
There were a lot of interesting reds all over the country, almost totally from traditional Portuguese varieties. A lot were really rustic, sometimes barnyardy, but there were a bunch of well-made standouts that had become widely known. I really liked Ferreirinha’s Barca Velha, from the Douro, and their “second” Reserva Especial. But, I had favorites in the Alentejo, in Bairrada, and every region. And once in a while you’d come across an estate or restaurant, like the former royal hunting lodge at Bucaco, that still had reserves of wines from the ‘40s and ‘50s that were drinking wonderfully, often stepping way beyond expectations for the area or variety, and highlighting a huge undeveloped potential in Portuguese wine more broadly.
Back to the present. The future is now. I was bowled over by the sophistication, quality, and value of so many of the wines I tasted on this last trip. Modern winemaking, traditional varieties, and Portuguese sun and terroir, make for serious fun in the bottle.
I tasted dozens of Douros and thought they were the real stars, most dense, dark, and full of personality. There are a lot of new estates, many dating from the 1990s, as well as updated stalwarts. My first day in Lisbon I was in a panel tasting, led by an impressive Brazilian wine critic, Guilherme Rodrigues (a globalization moment), that focused on 15 reserves, all young, from the 2007-2009 vintages. They weren’t the most famous names, but a great selection that highlighted the diversity of wines from the Douro, and its potential to become one of the top regions in the world. And, in the 10-35 euro range, I thought every one of them was a bargain.
My favorite, although it was a hard choice: Quinta da Sequeira Grande Reserva 2007, from the Douro Superior, the driest and warmest part of the Douro, that stretches almost to the border of that other country next door. It was opaque, almost black, very concentrated on the nose, with flavors of violets, ripe black fruit, and a little spice. Awesome. The alcohol was a little over 15 percent, but it wasn’t hot. I’d be tempted to say it was pointing in a New World direction, but the classic flavors of the dominant Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca screamed “Douro.” And “drink me.”
What a blast. I am dying to go back. I just wish it were easier to get these wines here in the U.S.!
William McIlhenny is associate publisher of JamesSuckling.com. A former American diplomat and member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, he held a number of assignments in Europe and Latin America. He works in Washington, D.C.
