Portuguese rosé: The next big thing?

There’s arguably no better-known region for rosé wine than Provence. But producers in Portugal’s Douro Valley are working together to put their wines on the map – with convincing results. Elizabeth Gabay MW reports and recommends 20 bottles to try.

By Elizabeth Gabay MW

last updated 27 June 2023

in Tastings

Portuguese rose wines — (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

An often asked question is: where is the next big rosé region? There are many fabulous individual producers and stellar rosés outside of Provence. But their greatness is more often down to the hand of an imaginative, visionary winemaker than to a specific terroir or variety.

It is very rare to find a united region with a shared vision for quality rosé – and even more so where the producers gather to discuss their wine styles, quality and marketing.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 20 Portuguese rosés to try

Quality Douro rosé took off around 2015 when winemaker Jorge Alves produced his first high-end rosé with Quinta Nova.

In a mere eight years, a large range of exciting wines has appeared. At the same time Justina Teixeira took over her family estate Quinta da Barca. Teixeira, a scientist by training, is a team player with a passion for the wines of her region. She had already gathered a group of producers to discuss and taste together.

A woman standing with a glass of wine with valley vineyards behind — Justina Teixeira at Quinta da Barca, Douro Valley

With that in mind, Teixeira had a vision for a bigger conference, which took place at the end of November 2022, supported by her local town Mesão Frio, the western gateway to the Douro. The aim was to demonstrate the quality of Douro rosés.

The three day conference included tastings with producers discussing in detail their winemaking, philosophy and current issues. There was a presentation by Alves on rosé winemaking and vineyard visits and I also gave a presentation on the international market and regional styles.

Challenges for rosé production

At the second event in May this year, the theme was climate change. Acclaimed Portuguese viticulturist, Ana Mota, discussed how she was adapting her work in the field. Producers noted that maintaining freshness was a big challenge, making grapes from the highest plots, furthest from the Douro River, increasingly attractive. Wineries also talked about a move towards organic production.

Alves talked of his work on a project making rosé in the Azores. Paulo Russell-Pinto of the Instituto dos Vinhos DO Douro e DO Porto (IVDP) presented papers on the market for Douro wines, the decline in Port sales and the rise in sales of table wines. He also demonstrated the marketing potential for pink Port as a cocktail ingredient.

I talked about the impact of climate change on rosé styles and the importance of preserving local identity. Producers commented that there was increasing consumer pressure to create paler rosés. Issues such as the cost of grapes and shortage of workers were also raised. A third event is already being planned for 2024.

Tasting Douro rosés

The rosés tasted at both conferences were a reflection of the Douro Valley’s varied terroir. The soil here is made up of many different schists offering diverse qualities and profiles. Vineyards are planted on slopes facing in all four directions and at altitudes ranging from close to the river to over 650m.

There is also significant temperature variation between the cooler, damper western vineyards in the Baixo Corgo to the hotter, drier vineyards to the east towards Spain in Douro Superior. Baixo Corgo rosés showed great freshness, fine minerality and mouthwatering acidity. While the vineyards in Douro Superior produced rosés with a fuller body and weight.

What stood out was a consistency in style and an almost universal high quality for all of the wines. The enthusiasm of the producers was also notable. Many were making several styles of rosé – including barrel-aged reservas and aiming at gran reserva.

The majority of rosés tasted were made with the same local grape varieties that are used to produce Port, including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão.

The exceptions were Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – which are allowed for the DOC sparkling wines – with some winemakers using Pinot Noir in their vinho regional (IGP) rosés. One producer also had some Cabernet Sauvignon planted in the 1980s.

Portuguese rosé wines: 20 to try

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Elizabeth Gabay MW has specialised in the wines of south-eastern France and Hungary since the 1980’s. Working as an independent wine merchant and consultant, she graduated as a Master of Wine in 1998 and moved to southeast France in 2002.

Her book, Rose: Understanding the pink wine revolution, was published in 2018 and she has continued to write about and judge rosé wines for Decanter.

Aside from Decanter, she has written for Drinks Business, Harpers, The Wine Merchant, VinCE and Nomacorc.

She is the lead instructor for the Provence immersion course run by the French Wine Society and she has judged at numerous Decanter World Wine Awards since 2007.

Portuguese rosé: The next big thing?