Discover the taste of Portugal’s Douro region
Deep reds with hints of black fruit
Crisp and fresh whites
Aneto Tinto (red)
Elegant vanilla, black fruit and cocoa aromas earthy spicey undertones. Full bodied with fine tannins. This versatile wine pairs wonderfully with roasted meats, mushroom risotto and lasagne as well as a range of cheeses, especially those made from sheep’s or goat’s milk.
Year: 2010
Grape varieties: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão.
Alcohol percentage: 13.5%
Pinalta Classic (red)
Intense aroma of black fruit and jam, prunes, vanilla and coffee. A full and balanced wine with fresh acidity and a long, penetrating finish. Classic Douro!
Year: 2010
Grape varieties: Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca
Alcohol percentage: 14%
Aneto Branco (white)
Ripe tropical fruits, dried fruit with toasted notes and well balanced acidity. Layers of flavours to explore!
Year: 2014
Grape varieties: Gouveio, Rabigato, Viosinho and Cerceal.
Alcohol percentage: 12.5%
Pinalta Sorrir do Sol (red)
Powerful and spicy aroma with notes of blackberry, violet and coffee. On the palate, a fine astringency and perfect balance, with a long delicious finish of tobacco and ripe fruit.
Year: 2013
Grape varieties: Old vines -Bastardo, Moreto, Mourisco Tinto, Rufete, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Carvalha, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela
Alcohol percentage: 15%
About Douro
Over millennia the Douro river has carved its way through the schist rock of northeast Portugal as it tumbles down from the sweltering border with Spain down to the mountains of Serra Marão, which shelter the Douro vineyards from the cool wet winds from the Atlantic.
Stone terraces wrap around the steep contoured slopes and the names of famous port lodges stand out in black stencilled letters among the vines and almond groves. Once flat bottomed boats navigated the treacherous rapids transporting barrels of port to be aged by the coast near Porto but the river has since been tamed by dams and barrages and the port is now taken down to Vila Nova da Gaia by road.
Traditionally the grapes have been selected for making port wine and this is still largely the case. Turn up to the Douro at harvest time and the chances are you will still come upon the sound of singing and accordion music being played to the workers treading the grapes in the stone lagars, extracting those deep ruby-purple colours from the grape skins. A lot of port wine is still made here, the secret is killing the yeast in the fermenting wine with a good slug of brandy. This stops the fermentation dead leaving some sugar still in the mix. The result? a delicious sweet fortified port wine!
Port wine grape varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Touriga Franca are also used for making Douro table wines. Wonderful muscular reds with vanilla, intense black and red fruit flavours, with hints of violet, coffee and spice. Not only red wines, complex elegant whites are also coming to the fore with grape varieties such as Gouveio, Rabigato, Cerceal, Viosinho, Malvasia Fina giving mineral, honeyed and creamy wines with well-balanced acidity.
If Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are your favourite red wines have a Douro red wine like Pinalta Classico with its aromas of black fruit, prunes and jam or if a big juicy Shiraz is more your thing then bottle of Aneto (fennel in English) will give you lots of intense blackberry fruit and spice flavours. These Douro wines pair wonderfully with game, roasted meats, mushroom risottos, lasagne and cheeses.
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