Rare Museum Wines from Portuguese Icons

Everyone is visiting Portugal. The draw? Timeworn charm, tradition and authenticity – qualities that extend to the country’s wines. Focusing on iconic producers, rare museum releases and stellar vintages, this masterclass showcased Portugal’s classic wine regions, winemaking traditions and history through 10 charismatic ‘works of time’.

During the négociant era, bulk wine for colonies was the principal focus, however the Costa brothers of Caves São João famously bottled the cream of the Dão crop under the Porta dos Cavaleiro brand, Reserva Seleccionada being the finest. Launched in 1963, skilful sourcing, blending and ageing (in cement, then bottle), highlighted elegance and bouquet, setting the template for this mountainous, granitic region’s gastronomic, long-lived wines.

Retaining a foot in the négociant camp, Buçaco Reservado is made from Buçaco’s and growers’ grapes in Buçaco Palace Hotel’s cellars. Conceived in 1917 as ‘a cathedral of wine’, owner Alexandre Almeida wanted to celebrate the neighbouring source regions: Dão and Bairrada. Almost exclusive to the hotel (which lists vintages back to the 1940s), this ultimate ‘house wine’ – a Vinho de Mesa, by reason of inter-regionality – has been served to visiting heads of state.

Celebrating 40 vintages this year, Luís Pato represented the modern age of boutique, estate wines from top vineyards or vineyard parcels, such as Vinha Barrosa. Pato pioneered green harvesting, de-stemming and French oak in Bairrada to ‘polish’ Baga’s notorious tannins. From his oldest vineyard, the 2009 vintage is, for Pato, ‘underrated, a reference’.

Released in exceptional vintages and after significant bottle-ageing, flagship reds Herdade do Mouchão, Mouchão Tonel No 3-4 2013 and Quinta do Mouro, Rótulo Dourado 2007 from Alentejo represented the traditional and modern face of sunny southern Portugal.

Herdade do Mouchão introduced Alentejo to its most structured variety, Alicante Bouschet and, for over a century, it has been foot-trodden and whole-bunch fermented in lagares, then aged in old 5,000-litre Portuguese oak barrels (tonels). Created in 1996, Tonel No 3-4 is a single-varietal, particularly vigorous Alicante Bouschet from the best vineyard (Carapetos) and best tonels (numbers 3 and 4).

Inspired by Mouchão and French, Italian and Spanish classics, dentist Miguel Louro planted his Quinta do Mouro vineyard in 1989, located in Estremoz at 402m on schist. Louro favours terroir-driven wines of character, structure and freshness over fruit. Masterful blending of varieties (including 10% Cabernet Sauvignon), ageing in new French oak and a draconian barrel selection lend perfume and finesse to Rótulo Dourado, first trialled in 1999.

Two single-quinta Douro wines highlighted this mountainous northern Portuguese region’s diverse terroir and house styles. First making wine in 1994, Quinta do Crasto is based in the Cima Corgo sub-region, Port’s heartland. In 1998, a southeast-facing centenarian field blend parcel was ring-fenced for Vinha Maria Teresa, an explosive, opulent red (especially in 2011, a powerhouse year).

It starkly contrasted with Casa Ferreirinha, Quinta da Leda 2008’s classical lines – a house style forged by the Douro pioneer in 1952, with Barca Velha. In the drier Douro Superior sub-region, the extreme diurnal temperature range accentuates structure. Made from Leda’s block-planted vines – six cosseted parcels, also earmarked for Barca Velha – the earlier drinking Quinta da Leda is poised, especially in 2008, which was a mild year.

Top echelon ports are usually multi-quinta blends, for structure and balance, but not Quinta do Noval Vintage Port or Kopke Colheita Port. Continuing the single-quinta theme, they are forged from exceptional terroir.

That terroir surely accounts for Quinta do Noval’s history of eccentric vintage declarations, starting with the Pinhão Valley quinta’s legendary 1931 vintage, and explains why it stands out in generally declared years, such as 2000.

Bottled on demand, after lengthy barrel-ageing, the supreme skills of the cellar master – a great Portuguese tradition – come to the fore at Kopke and Blandy’s, in Madeira. It also helps that grapes are sourced from the middle and upper terraces of Kopke’s Quinta de Sao Luiz. Rising to 600m, it contributes to Kopke’s supremely elegant house style.

Freshness, indeed bracing acidity, is a given in Madeira’s Atlantic climate. Buying over 50% of the island’s Malmsey grapes to produce Madeira’s sweetest style, the expertise of Blandy’s shines in the precision and balance of the 1981, the last remaining barrel of which was bottled in 2019 – producing just 999 bottles.

Rare museum wines tasted and rated by Sarah Ahmed

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