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Spotlight
on Portugal's Dão region
Part
3: Dão
Sul, Quinta de Cabriz
 Second stop on the Dão wine route was Quinta de Cabriz,
headquarters of one of Portugal’s most dynamic wine companies, Dão
Sul. As well as small boutique producers making fine wines in limited
amounts, every country needs wineries that can put out large
quantities of good quality commercial wines. In fact, Dão Sul does
both, and as well as making some top of the range stuff, excels with
its cheaper wines, too.
I met Carlos Moura, head winemaker (right), for
lunch in the impressive restaurant attached to the winery. Dão Sul is
geared up for wine tourism, and as well as the restaurant, there’s
also a cellar door and sales area. We tasted through a range of the
wines with our lunch (impressively presented traditional Dão
specialities), and then headed out to see the winery and vineyards.
Dão Sul is a partnership between four individuals which
began life in 1989 producing just Dão wines. In 2000 they decided to
branch out, and initiated projects in the Douro, Bairrada and
Estremadura, adding the Alentejo last year. Under the Dão Sul
umbrella are now Quinta de Cabriz (34 ha, supplemented with 100 ha
elsewhere in the region), Bairrada Sul (25 hectares), Encostos do
Douro (22 ha of vineyards in the Baixo Corgo of the Douro), Quinta das
Tecedeiras (in the Cima Corgo of the Douro, with 15 ha of old vines),
Quinta do Gradil (100 ha in Estremadura) and 24 hectares planted in
the Alentejo in a 100 ha estate.
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| Vertically trellised vines,
with irrigation |
Spur-pruned cordon - more
traditional in Dão |
It’s a forward-thinking, modernist sort of operation, but
the wines aren’t simply made in a heavy-handed new world style.
While the focus is on wines that offer plenty of fruit, there’s a
fair degree of seriousness to the more expensive offerings – best of
all, they reflect a clear sense of place: the Dão wines taste like Dão
wines, the Douro wines reflect the Cima and Baixo Corgo terroirs,
respectively, and the Bairrada is, for better or worse, a Bairrada,
although it’s a lot more fruity than most from this tricky region.
 In
the vineyards, there are plenty of new plantings, using cane pruning
and vertical shoot positioning, which tends to yield better results
than the more traditional spur-pruned low cordons that are common in
this region. As you’d expect, the winery, completed in 1998, is very
modern and shiny.
Carlos Moura was trained in agriculture and did a masters
in oenology. He worked for a year in the Douro and in 2000 started
work at Dão Sul. Initially he was just responsible for the Douro
wines, but now is responsible, along with Carlos Lucas, for all of the
wines. Carlos has travelled widely and he wants to make wines in a
modern, accessible style. The secret of winemaking is good grapes, he
claims, along with long, soft macerations.
João and I were asked back by Carlos the following evening
to watch the Porto Champion’s league final, which was being shown in
the restaurant for friends of Dão Sul on a big screen. The food and
wines were very good, and fortunately the result went the right way,
with Porto cruising to a comfortable 3-0 win. I didn’t take notes on
the wines served, but they included a lovely sparkling red Bairrada
and the stern but delicious Tinta Cão from Quinta das Tecedeiras in
the Douro.
The wines
Quinta de Cabriz Encruzado 2003
Carlos describes this as a friendly Encruzado. Very open, ripe,
fruity and aromatic, with nice freshness. The palate shows vibrant,
rich ripe fruit: melony with a striking lemony edge. Brilliant modern
winemaking. Very good/excellent 89/100
 Quinta
de Cabriz Experiência VL1 1999
A weird but wonderful experimental white wine of which just three
barrels were made. No temperature control was used, it was a wild
yeast fermentation and it spent 14 months in French oak. Deep yellow
colour. Distinctive, smooth deep nutty, buttery nose with honeyed
fruit. The palate shows lovely rich herby complexity with notes of
straw and nuts. Very distinctive, rich and smooth. Great balance here:
a wild wine that’s very successful. Very good/excellent 92/100
Quinta de Cabriz 2000 Dão ‘Superior’
A blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Roriz. Slightly
sweet chocolatey berry fruit nose is fairly elegant and smooth. Red
fruit sweetness here, modern but nice. The palate is smooth and
refined with ripe, spicy fruit and smooth, fine-grained tannins. An
elegant wine with a subtle herbiness. Very good/excellent 90/100
Quinta de Encontro Touriga Nacional 2000 Beiras
From Bairrada – indeed, since 2003 this could be labelled
Bairrada because the requirement for a percentage of Baga in the blend
has been dropped. This shows quite pure, ripe black fruits on the nose
along with some fruit sweetness. The palate is ripe, fruity and dense
with a spicy, chocolatey core. Firm but smooth tannins give structure
with a spicy finish. A rich, full wine in a modern mould. Very good+
89/100
Quinta Sá de Baixo 2001 Douro
Made from 60–80 year old vines, in lagares with the stems. Nice
assertive nose displaying chocolatey, spicy fruit with some good
acidity on the nose. There’s a touch of greenness here, but it’s
nice greenness. The palate is spicy and full with assertive dark
fruits and lots of structure. This is a lovely wine with a delicious
slightly rustic edge. A brilliant example of a traditional Douro red
hauled into the modern age. Very good/excellent 94/100
Quinta das Tecedeiras Reserva 2002 Douro
2002 was a difficult harvest in the Douro. They stopped the
harvest and picked the grapes in batches while it was dry, which made
it an expensive harvest. Ripe sweet nose of black fruits with a creamy
edge. The palate is chewy and nicely textured: it’s quite rich with
plenty of slightly sweet, accessible fruit and a nice spicy edge. A
tasty modern-styled wine. Very good/excellent 90/100
The next wine was served blind – all we knew is that
this was a barrel sample from 2002. Very interesting.
Dourat 2002
This is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional from Quinta das Tecedeiras
and 50% Grenache from Jose Puig’s Vinedos Ithaca in Priorat, hence
‘Dourat’. It has a slightly shy nose of lush dark fruits – quite
sweet with a liquoricey edge. The palate is dense and structured with
good acidity and lots of spice. Great fruit quality allied with a
spicy structure. Very good/excellent 94/100
Quinta de Cabriz Vinho Liquoroso
This is a Dão Port, essentially, made from Touriga Nacional. This
example is from the 2000 vintage. The wine is produced for Gordon
Ramsay, who likes it, apparently. Gently herby, spicy, sweet nose. The
palate is sweet with some spiciness. Rich and full. Quite structured
and appealing. Very good/excellent 90/100
I’m adding here notes of the Dão Sul wines I tasted
in London with Carlos a few weeks earlier, including some of the less
expensive wines.
 Cortello
2003 Estremadura
A great bargain, this. Lovely juicy spicy wine with vivid red
fruits and a distinctive herby edge. Lots of character and good
acidity. Very good+ 87/100 (Safeway £3.99)
Palestra Douro 2001
Spicy, expressive nose. Juicy, savoury, fruity palate with good
Douro character. Straightforward but some interest. Very good+ 86/100
(£5.99 Laytons)
Quinta do Brasileiro 2001 Douro
Distinctive herby, spicy edge to the fruit on the nose. The palate
is savoury with good concentration. Rich fruit and good acidity. Nice
if a little rustic. Very good+ 85/100 (£6.99)
Quinta do Ribeiro Santo 2001 Dão
Nice savoury, spicy nose. Expressive midweight palate is very
appealing. Well balanced with good acidity and tannin. Very good+
87/100 (£5.99)
Quinta de Cabriz Touriga Nacional 2000 Dão
Forward spicy, herby nose of lifted black fruits. The palate is
chewy, savoury and spicy with good acid and tannic structure. Quite
elegant. Very good+ 89/100 (£14)
Quinta do Encontro Bairrada Superior 2001
50% Baga, the rest Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Merlot.
Vivid, spicy nose is quite fruity for a Bairrada. The palate is nicely
structured with modern fruit an nice spiciness. Quite intense but with
well mannered tannins. Very good+ 89/100
Quinta das Tecedeiras 2001 Douro
Lovely forward perfumed nose with sweet, liquoricey black fruits.
The palate is elegant, spicy and with good structure underlying the
sweet rich fruit. Nice balance and good acidity. Very good/excellent
91/100 (£18)
UK
availability: contact agents FWW Wines (UK) Ltd (sales@lancefoyster.co.uk)
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