Expert’s Choice: 18 wines from Lisboa crafted with soul

A lot of freedom (and, as Charles Dickens taught us, a lot of happiness) can come from an absence of expectations. What you do with that freedom – and joy – is another matter.

Winemakers across Lisboa have used it to transform the region from a sleepy source of unremarkable wine dotted with cult-worthy gems to a hotspot of creativity, sustainability and experimentation that has greatly influenced the evolution of Portuguese wine as a whole.

As an ageing millennial born and raised in Lisbon, I’m the first to feel both pride and awe at the speed at which Lisboa wine has become ‘a thing’ – perhaps even a ‘movement’.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 of Lisboa’s finest wines

A slice of the Atlantic

When I was a kid, our parents would frown upon drinking local plonk…

Romain Gonitel, one of the founding partners at UK importer Portuguese Story, has witnessed this transformation first hand: ‘Many [leading] projects started in the early and mid-2010s, and created such momentum. We’re talking about producers that were truly pioneers of the natural wine movement in Portugal and continue to set the agenda.’

Stretching 160km north of the Portuguese capital, along the country’s rugged western Atlantic coast, Lisboa includes nine designations of origin – Alenquer, Arruda, Bucelas, Carcavelos, Colares, Encostas d’Aire, Lourinhã, Obidos and Torres Vedras – in addition to the all-encompassing Lisboa PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).

Most of the wine produced in the region is – almost inevitably – bottled under the generic PGI, allowing for grapes to be blended across the sometimes minuscule appellations, some of which have notably strict requirements.

The boutique Colares, for example, requires local clones of Malvasia de Colares and Ramisco to be planted ungrafted on sandy soils within its small perimeter.

Some notable producers – not least several of the leading figures of the region’s ‘new wave’ – also label some or all of their wines simply as Vinho de Portugal, a sign both of restless experimentation and political dissent.

Working together

One of the greatest assets of the region is the extraordinary sense of community – which includes winemakers but also wine bar owners, restaurateurs and sommeliers – and its dynamic of mutual challenge and support.

The synergic proximity to the capital has been crucial.

‘It’s a very important interaction,’ confirms Gonitel, who splits his time between London and Lisbon. ‘It’s created a joint culture that is very aware of what happens elsewhere and of what makes the region special. And people help each other.’

Mutual support has allowed producers to validate their stylistic choices and pioneering efforts on sustainability and low-intervention winemaking.

But it has also given them energy to recover and preserve winemaking traditions and grape varieties that might otherwise be lost – not least under the pressure of tourism and real estate.

‘What we’re doing is inherently political,’ says winemaker Tiago Teles. ‘Our work shows that the land has a different [symbolic] value and that we must treasure our history and resources.’

Tradition 2.0

The quality, expressiveness and diversity delivered by the region is truly staggering.

I’ve used the selection that follows to try to capture excellence across the exciting spectrum of very different styles and grape varieties.

From ‘unicorn’ classics – such as the Malvasias and Ramiscos of Colares – to crisp takes on Castelão, saline expressions of Arinto and elegant bottlings of the very underestimated Vital, each wine is a nod to Lisboa’s kaleidoscopic wine heritage.

The common denominators? Sophistication, soulfulness, salinity and drinkability.

These are wines from a nearly-lost past that are shaping the future of Portuguese wine while resting their eyes on the Atlantic.

See Ines’s pick of Lisboa wines:

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