The
wines of Douro Family Estates
A new collaborative venture in Portugal's Douro, involving Quinta
do Soque, Quinta das Bajancas, Brites de Aguiar and Quinta dos Poços
This
is an interesting collaboration, beginning in 2009, of four wine
producers from Portugal’s Douro Valley. The four - Quinta do Soque,
Quinta das Bajancas, Brites de Aguiar and Quinta dos Poços – are
collaborating in both marketing and winemaking, in order to achieve
a critical mass so they can have more of a presence on export
markets.
The
four are equal partners in their common brand, DFE, which has three
tiers: Classic, Premium and Signature. These wines aim at offering
good value for money, and the grapes for them are sourced from the
92 hectares of vineyard the partners own. They also produce estate
wines under their own names.
Soque,
Bajancas and Brites Aguiar are situated in the Cima Corgo
sub-region, while Poços is situated in the Baixo Corgo sub-region.
The
four estates share a common enology team headed by António Rosas
and Pedro Sequeira, called 2PR.
The
wines:
DFE
(Douro Family Estates)
DFE
is the collaborative banner under which wines from the four estates
are blended and then bottled together.
DFE
Classic White 2008 Douro
12% alcohol. Very fresh mineralic nose with taut citrus fruit.
Precise and bright on the palate with citrus, grapefruit pith and
mineral notes. Fresh and clean with lovely flavour. 89/100
DFE
Signature 2007 Douro
15.5% alcohol. Sweet, lush, aromatic nose with liqueur-like dark
cherry and blackberry fruit, and a minerally, spicy edge. The palate
is rich and sweet with some alcohol evident and also nice grippy
tannins, as well as spicy, mineral notes. Very attractive, if a bit
alcoholic. 89/100
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Brites
Aguiar
Website:
www.britesaguiar.com
The
vineyards of Brites Aguiar border the Rio Torto at Várzea de Trevões,
and the property is run by three siblings, Lúcia, Paulo and António
Brites Aguiar. It’s 200 hectares in all, with 45 hectares of vines
and also cherry orchards, sweet chestnut trees, walnut trees and
woods making up the remainder.
The
vineyards were replanted and modernised in 2003/4, and now consist
of 17 ha Touriga Franca, 12 ha Tinta Roriz, 7 ha Touriga Nacional, 3
ha Tinta Amarela, 3 ha Tinta Barroca and 1 ha Tinta Francisca.
The
winery was built in 2003, and since 2004 oenology consultant firm
2PR have been involved.
Brites
Aguiar is the flagship wine, and other wines are made under the
Bafarela label.
Brites
Aguiar Grande Reserve 2008 Douro
14.5% alcohol. Very sweet, lush, perfumed liqueur-like dark
cherry and black plum nose, with some subtle spicy notes. The palate
is ripe and silky with sweet dark fruits and subtle spiciness. Quite
pure and lush. A very modern style but balanced. 92/100
Brites
Aguiar 2007 Douro
15.5% alcohol. Dense and quite rich with bold blackberry and
dark cherry fruit combining with spicy new oak. Very rich and full
with nice concentration, rich fruit and strong oak influence. A
bold, ripe, modern wine with plenty of ripeness, and it may develop
well. At the moment a bit oaky. 90/100
Bafarela
2006 Douro
13% alcohol. Lovely aromatic sweet cherry fruit on the nose.
Seductively perfumed with hints of spice and minerals. The palate is
sweet and quite lush with lovely minerally, spicy definition. Subtly
gravelly edge to the finish. 89/100
Bafarela
Reserva 2008 Douro
14% alcohol. Tight, reductive nose with some roasted, spicy
matchstick notes. The palate is fresh, spicy and quite tannic with
fresh berry fruits, more red than black in profile. Fresh with nice
potential for development. Savoury and reductive now. 88/100
Bafarela
17 Grande Reserva 2008 Douro
17% alcohol. Lush, sweet, pure nose with ripe raspberry and
cherry fruit. Rich and smooth. The palate has very ripe, smooth
blackberry and raspberry fruit with some warmth. Finishes spicy. A
bit like a high quality, dry Port. 90/100
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Quinta
das Bajancas
António
Alfredo Lamas’ property is located in Trevões. After a spell
working in Lisbon, he returned home and planted 4 hectares of vines
in 1994, naming the parcel Bajancas. Reds are Touriga Nacional,
Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Francisca and Tinta Amarela,
while whites are Rabigato, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and Códega do
Larinho. Lamas also uses some ancient Tinta Francisca vines that
existed on the estate in ‘pilheiros’ (a centuries-old method in
which the vines are grown in holes in schist walls).
A
second phase of planting involved 8 hectares in 2000. The high
altitude of the 70 hectare estate (averaging 500 metres) helps to
make fresh wines with good acidity.
It
wasn’t until 2004 that Lamas produced the first Quinta das
Bajancas wines, in partnership with 2PR.
Bajancas
Branco 2009 Douro
13.5% alcohol. Modern-style packaging is effective. A blend of
Rabigato, Malvasia Fina and Gouveio. Crisp, fresh and fruity with a
hint of grapiness. Some lemon fruit. Nicely fresh with pure fruit
and a hint of herbiness. An appealing unoaked style. 87/100
Bajancas
Private Selection Branco 2008 Douro
13% alcohol. Lovely fresh nose with herby, citrus, lemon, floral
notes as well as subtle toast and vanilla oak notes. The palate has
bright fruit and a savoury, woody note. Very lively and youthful
with high acidity, but will need some time for the oak to settle
down. 86/100
Bajancas
Tinto 2006 Douro
14% alcohol. Modern packaging. Midweight and quite elegant with
some vanilla oak and sweet plum and cherry fruit. Fresh palate with
nice bright fruit (berries, red cherries) and good acidity, as well
as some grippy tannins. 87/100
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Quinta
dos Poços
Website:
www.quintadospocos.pt
Located
in the Baixo Corgo subregion of the Douro, this is an old estate
with vineyards surrounding an 18 th century manor house. There are
21 hectares of vineyards, all of which are red, with the following
varietal make-up: Touriga Franca (21%), Touriga Nacional (24%),
Tinta Roriz (20%), Tinta Barroca (12%), Tinto Cão (5%), Donzelinho
(3%), Tinta Francisca (4%), Sousão (7%) and Rufete (4%).
There’s
a winery with six granite lagares, and three different reds are
made: Quintas dos Poços Colheita, Quinta dos Poços Reserva and
Quinta dos Poços Grande Reserva.
Quinta
dos Poços Reserva 2005 Douro
Sweet, slightly baked nose of cherry and plum fruit, with
caramel and vanilla notes. Midweight with some cherry and spice
notes on the palate. Warm. Some elegance, but made in an oxidative
style. A little Burgundian. 85/100
Quinta
dos Poços Colheita 2005 Douro
14% alcohol. Cherry and herb nose with a lifted, slightly
volatile, appley edge. The palate shows fresh savoury cherry and
plum fruit with a bit of spice. Juicy and bright in a midweight
style. 82/100
Quinta
dos Poços Grand Reserva 2005 Douro
15% alcohol. Sweet, aromatic nose with earthy, spicy, mineral
notes and slightly baked sweet fruit. It has alcoholic warmth but
there’s some nice minerality here. Finishes with savoury
spiciness. A terroir-ish wine but too alcoholic. 88/100
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Quinta
do Soque
Website: www.quintadosoque.pt
A 20
hectare estate on the left bank of the Torto, with 17 hectares under
vine. It has been owned by the Vicente family for 20 years, and the
vineyards were replanted and modernized in the early 1990s. A new
winery was built in 2005.
Quinta
do Soque Reserva 2005 Douro
14% Some development here. Sweet ripe cherry fruit with some
firm spiciness and coconut oak notes, supported by gravelly
minerality. Quite sophisticated with real elegance. The oak is
prominent but has integrated quite well. 90/100
Quinta
do Soque Vinhas Velhas 2007 Douro
15% alcohol. Sweet, lush dark fruits nose. Aromatic and pure
with some warm, spicy, coconutty oak notes. The palate is dense and
sweet with powerful, rich, smooth blackberry and dark cherry fruit,
alongside some oak influence. Modern styled and rich. 89/100
Quinta
do Soque 2007 Douro
14% alcohol. Spicy and sweetly fruited with attractive cherry,
plum and blackberry fruit with nice texture and some richness, as
well as a hint of savoury earthiness. Nice depth of flavour and also
some Douro terroir. Quite elegant. 90/100
Wines
tasted 08/10
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