The
wines of Álvaro Castro: Quinta da Pellada and Quinta de Saes
A review of one
of Portugal's top winegrowers, from the exciting Dão region
Alvaro Castro in his vineyard
Álvaro
Castro is widely acknowledged to be the leading producer in
Portugal’s Dão region; in my book he's one of the top
winegrowers in all of Portugal. But it can be a bit of a challenge
keeping up with his work: he makes a large array of
wines from his two Quintas, some of which are collaborations with
other producers, and others of which are special projects.
Quinta da Pellada
I've visited him
a few times now. The first time was back in 2004, and this report is
probably a good introduction to his work. Most recently I visited in
March 2011, and it's clear that his wines, which he makes in
collaboration with his daughter Maria, have never been better. A few
years back, to augment the
production of his neighbouring Quintas of Pellada and Saes, he
purchased a large block of what used to be Quinta de Passarela from
Manuel Santos Lima. This Quinta provided the ‘PA’ in Alvaro’s
PAPE wine, so Castro knew what it could achieve.
Maria Castro
36 year old
Maria began working with her father in 2000, when she finished her
degree in biotechnology engineering. Alongside this, she has also
worked vintage in Bordeaux, and in Portugal with Dirk
Niepoort and José Neiva Correia, but cites her father, Ataíde
Semedo and the late enologist Magalhães Coelho as her greatest
influences. ‘I participate in every step of our business’, says
Maria, ‘mainly working as an enologist, but also working on the
commercial side with certain markets.’
The
Passarela vineyard
Álvaro cites his
great inspiration as being Cardoso de Vilhena, who was for many
years the head enologist at the Centro
de Estudos Vitivinícolas de Nelas (CEN) in the Dão region. 'If I
know something about wines, I learned it from him,' he says. A white
wine made by Vilhena from 1964 led Alvaro to try to copy this style,
which has led to his new Primus white wine.
Alvaro shares
much in common with, and is good friends with, that other great
Portuguese winemaker, Dirk Niepoort. Both aim at elegance and
finesse, and expressing their terroirs to the full. ‘I
hate alcoholic wines’, says Alvaro. ‘When they are fruity
enough I don’t feel the alcohol, but as they get older I do.
Alcohol is like salt in your food: you don’t want too much’.
His wines end up at 13–13.5% alcohol.
‘For grapevines,' says
Alvaro, ‘the longer the period of maturation from veraison the
better.' He’s experimenting with higher yields and harvesting
later so that the final stages of maturation occur when it is not
so hot. ‘In the old days we used to harvest in October,' he
says. ‘The problem is if it starts raining and then doesn’t
stop.'
Quinta de Saes
Reserva Branco 2008 Taut, complex, pithy and citrussy with notes of grapefruit and
lemon. Nicely focused with good acidity, freshness and complexity.
92/100
Quinta da
Pellada Reserva 2006 Wonderful dark fruit, black cherry and plum aromatics with a
hint of meatiness. The palate is concentrated and fresh with dense
yet elegant black cherry fruit with some herbal notes. Lovely wine.
95/100
Tasting notes
from July 2008:
Quinta de Saes
Reserva Branco 2007
Fresh, bright and floral with lovely aromatics and no wood. Crisp
palate with nice presence and rounded texture. There's some weight
here but it's very fresh and fruity. Stylish, textured and a bit
minera. 88/100
Quinta da
Pellada Primus Reserva Branco 2006 Tight, reductive nose with some matchstick notes and lovely
minerality. Complex and expressive. The palate is crisp and
minerally with lovely depth and intensity. Will age well.
91/100
Quinta da
Pellada Primus Reserva Branco 2007 Fruity, melony nose with a subtle reductive edge. The palate is
broad and fruity with a savoury, mineral streak. Tight but with real
promise. 89/100
Quinta de Saes
2006 Beautifully rich and ripe with pure blackcurrant and blackberry
fruit nose. The palate is fresh and pure with lovely sweet vivid
dark fruits and a nice bitter tang on the finish. Deliciously full
and pure, and a bargain. 90/100
Quinta de Saes
Reserva 2006 Sweet pure red and black fruits nose. Quite elegant and very
fruity with some complex spicy notes. The palate is dense with nice
sweet fruit and some earthy, spicy structure. Good acidity. 92/100
Quinta da
Pellada Reserva 2006 Smooth, elegant, pure lush red and black fruits. Really smooth
and sweet with some plum and raspberry notes. The palate is vivid
with good acidity and some fresh, brambly fruit, finishing tart.
Great potential for development. 93/100
Quinta da
Pellada Reserva 2005
Beautifully complex nose showing dense, multilayered blackberry and
blackcurrant fruit. Vivid with a lush creamy dimension as well as
pure fruit. The palate is dense, structured and bold with lots of
fruit and good acid. 94/100
PAPE 2006 Sweet, pure, chocolatey, vivid nose with vibrant red and black
fruits. Elegant but forward at the same time. The palate is rich
with smooth sweet fruit and good acidity. Nicely structured. 92/100
PAPE 2005
Lovely vibrant, aromatic, elegant dark fruits with some subtle,
beguiling green herbal notes. The palate shows nice definition: this
is an elegant, Pinot-like wine with lovely freshness and purity, as
well as some spicy structure. 94/100
Quinta da
Pellada Carrocel 2003
Wonderfully dense, vivid nose with some subtle roasted notes as well
as spicy dark fruits. The palate is fresh and mineral with high acid
and lovely intensity. Grippy yet refined tannic structure. Great
future ahead of it. 93/100
Quinta da
Pallada Carrocel 2006
Sweet aromatic red and black fruits nose with some chocolatey
richness. Pure and focused with nice definition. The palate has some
oak evident but is also beautifully structured with bright acidity.
Real potential. 93/100
Quinta da
Pellada Baga 2000
Beautifully elegant nose is almost Bordeaux-like with smooth,
slightly green-herby fresh red fruits. The palate has a lovely
fresh, subtly green red fruits character with hints of earth. Pure
and smooth with refined tannins. 92/100
Quinta da
Pellada Baga 2005
Tight and fresh with pure red fruits nose. The palate is firm with
some spiciness and tight tannic structure under the smooth,
minerally, subtly green red fruits. Real elegance here. 93/100
Tasting notes
from March 2007:
PAPE
2003 Dão
A blend of Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional. The sweet spicy nose
leads to a supple palate with attractive spiciness and smooth,
ripe fruit. Finishes sweet: a nice, accessible style. 89/100
PAPE
2004 Dão Lovely elegance on the nose, which is spicy, full and lifted,
with pure red and black fruits. The palate is concentrated with a
lovely purity of fruit. Spicy, dense and structured. Delightful
fruit quality. 93/100
PAPE
2005 Dão A blend of Baga and Touriga Nacional. Very deep coloured.
Dark, full spicy nose shows vivid black fruits and nice freshness.
The palate is dense and full with real intensity and tannic
structure. Powerful, rich, bold, yet still fresh and intense.
Lovely stuff. 94/100
Quinta
de Saes 2005 Dão This inexpensive wine shows lovely bright fruit. It’s spicy,
rich and vivid. The palate is bold and full with intense spicy
fruit and a nice savoury minerally edge. Lively and appealing.
90/100
Quinta
de Saes Reserva 2005 Dão Smooth, intense, sweet spicy fruit on the nose, which is pure
and chocolatey. The palate is supple and pure with nice acidity
and lovely structure. Quite rich, but with a lovely minerally,
spicy presence. 92/100
Alvaro
Castro 2005 Dão Matured in old wood, this is a blend of Alfrocheiro and
Touriga Nacional. Lovely focused bright red and black fruits nose,
which is quite elegant and pure with a chocolatey edge. The palate
is vivid and pure with dense, spicy fruit, good structure and
fresh acidity. A pure wine of real class. 91/100
Dado
2004 A Douro/Dão blend, made in conjunction with Dirk Niepoort.
Smooth, pure, elegant bright red and black fruits on the nose with
some good structure. Attractive stuff with nice focus. 93/100
Dado
2003 Ripe and smooth, with some chocolatey notes. Richly fruited
with some softness to the elegant fruit. Quite stylish in a ripe,
fruity sort of way. 91/100
Quinta da Pellada 2003 Dão Sweet, smooth focused nose with pure fruit and a bit of
meatiness. The palate is smooth, supple and quite elegant with
good acid and some structure. An elegant style. 91/100
Quinta da Pellada 2003 Dão (Special Label) Smooth, dark, chocolatey nose. The palate is bold and structured with elegant smooth fruit dominating.
Quite tight and still developing, with some oak evident. A lovely
wine. 92/100
Quinta
da Pellada Touriga Nacional 2004 Dão Lovely perfumed nose showing intense spicy dark fruits. Really
perfumed. The palate is bold and intense with lots of structure
and spice. Fantastic. 94/100
Carrocel
2006 (Cask sample) This is quite unusual in that it is aged in two lots of new
oak: first the wine started off in Vicard and then it went into
Francois Freres. Very deep in colour. Vivid, intense, spicy and
bold with lots of structure and real intensity. It’s dark, spicy
and woody. Fantastic, and should age brilliantly. 92–95