There are wine regions in the world, particularly Europe, that make wonderful wines that need time to age. Sadly, due to commercial needs, these wines often appear on the shelves years before they are ready for drinking, and are consumed way too young. Inexpensive Bordeaux is a perfect example of this, with some 2007 vintages appearing on the shelves already, and despite this being a forward drinking vintage, the wines are nowhere near ready for consumption.
The Douro valley of Portugal is another region that has this problem. Their wines are often overshadowed by their fortified wines, but the Douro has, and continues to produce, world class wines. The only problem is that they take years to age or hours to open up, neither of which most people want to do.
I visited the Douro in 2005, and one of the places I enjoyed visiting the most was Quinta de Macedos. It’s 7 hectares of vines, in the Torto river valley, were originally planted between 1920 and 1945 and has been fortunate to not have had all the old vines ripped up and replanted. It is owned by Paul and Philippa Reynolds, and Paul’s brother’s company, Raymond Reynolds, imports this wine into the UK. The wines from Macedos are a real family affair.
Macedos’ entry wine, the Pinga do Torto (approx £12), is made of fruit from young Touriga Nacional and some ancient vines. It is, very obviously, a wine that isn’t supposed to be put away in a cellar for decades, but even the 2005 vintage, with four years of ageing, is still a bit too young. You get cherry and a little menthol off the nose, with aniseed and some tar coming soon after. A light, raspberry element comes off at the end of the sniff, but the nose is very subdued and closed. The palate is dark, lots of liquorice, very firm tannin and a lot of bark and just a touch of coconut husk. Bramble then fights it's way through with plum stone and cherry skin, but again, you just get the impression that this wine needs a few more years to open up and reach it’s full potential. It is a lovely wine, and I’ve had more mature vintages which have been wonderful, and it is unfortunate that a lot of this wine is going to be drunk too young. With time to breathe, this wine had the darker elements subside and it revealed a wonderful fruit dominant wine with stunning balance and a sprinkling of spice and liquorice around the edges. There is still a bit of tannin hitting you, showing that this wine is still too young, but it is still a wonderful example of a Douro red. The problem still remains that, in that most cases, people won’t give this wine the five hours it needs to breathe, and the Douro needs to provide the world with an open and pour wine that shows the style of the region but with instant gratification.
Elsewhere in the Douro is another family producing wine, by the name of Niepoort. Dirk Niepoort’s wines are always of the highest quality (and sometimes of the highest price!), and, like Macedos he produces an entry level wine. The difference is that Niepoort’s ‘Drink Me’ is intended to be drunk young, as the ‘Ronseal - does what it says on the tin’ name suggests!
The 2007 vintage is a blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela and Tinta Barroca, ‘Drink Me’ offers up a much more open aroma. There is initially a touch of confected fruit on the nose, some cherryade and a little bit of dust. Then with a few swirls in the glass, you start getting cherries in syrup, a bit of Highland Toffee, some chocolate too and then a stalky element. The palate kicks off with a little bit of alcohol at the front, then this goes, revealing lots of darker fruit (blackcurrants and brambles) and a nice, subtle tannin. I really get hazelnuts and liquorice mixed with a clove and cinnamon stick flavour on the finish. This is so much more drinkable then the Pinga do Torto when they are both just opened, but it is not as good a wine. There is a lack of depth to the fruit and whilst it is a very nice drink, you just feel that this is going to be past its best when the Pinga is hitting it’s peak. Still, it gives you everything you want from a Douro wine, but without the need for ageing and that is exactly what the Douro needs to get people into these wines.
If you are buying a wine on your way home from work, get the ‘Drink Me’. If you are having a dinner at the weekend and can let the wine open up for five hours, buy the Pinga do Torto, it is a far better wine.
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