The
wines of Quinta do Casal Branco
One of the leading estates in Portugal's Tejo region
Website: www.casalbranco.com
Jose Lobo de Vasconcelos and Dina
Luís
Located on the left (east) bank of the
River Tagus, in the Ribatejo (now known as just ‘Tejo’) region,
Casal Branco is a significant estate of 1100 hectares, with 140
hectares of vineyards. As well as focusing on wine, Casal Branco is
an important stud farm from the pure-bred Lusitano horses, and other
agricultural activities also take place.
Jose Lobo de Vasconcelos is the man in
charge here. His family has been running the estate since 1775, and
he first got involved in 1986. We met with him and his enologist
Dina Luís.
Old vine
Previously, there were 200 hectares of
vines here, primarily on the less well-suited alluvial soils which
were simply too vigorous for quality wine production. There were
official incentives to reduce vineyard area in the region, and so
these was taken advantage of, with some vines removed altogether,
and a shift to planting more vines on the better sandy soils on the
estate.
New vineyards
As well as moving and removing vines,
Jose and his team changed the varietal mix a bit, introducing the
likes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. Whites now
include Fernão Pires, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Alvarinho and
Gouveio (aka Verdelho), and reds include Castelão (a traditional
variety for the region that is the most planted here), Cabernet
Sauvignon, Trincadeira (it has proved to be too humid here for this
variety to thrive), Touriga Nacional, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah,
Alicante Bouschet, Aragonês and Alfrocheiro (the last two are still
young and so no varietal wines have yet been made from them).
A new winery has been constructed; this
was finished in 2004. Since 1990 there has been quite a shift here,
moving from large yields of bulk wine to smaller quantities of
better quality wine. In the vineyard, there has been a shift from an
agricultural production of grapes to having a team of people just
working on viticulture.
João Portugal Ramos was involved as a
consultant here from 1988–2001. Before his involvement ended he
prepared a team of people to take over, one of whom was the current
winemaker, Dina.
70% of the production is exported, with
the UK and US the most important, but Macau (China) is rising fast.
There are 20 different lines of wine.
THE
WINES
Capoeira Branco 2009 VR Tejo
Very well priced (£5.99
retail). A varietal Fernão Pires; 13% alcohol. Fresh citrus pith
nose is nicely aromatic. The palate is crisp and fresh with lemony
fruit. Nice acidity counters a hint of sweetness (6 g/l rs). 87/100
Terra de Lobos Fernão Pires
(70%)/Sauvignon Blanc (30%) 2009
Well priced, again. 13% alcohol. Rounded,
bright, fruity and herby with nice freshness. Very fruity and
attractive. Still closed but will open up. Lovely. 87/100
Quartilho Branco 2009 VR Tejo
13% alcohol. Varietal Fernão Pires. Lovely fresh grapey, herby
aromatics. The palate is vibrantly fruity with some melon, herb,
grape and citrus character. Fresh and full flavoured, and very
attractive. 86/100
Quinta do Casal Branco 2009 VR Tejo
13% alcohol. Taut, herby, melony and fresh with a waxy, pithy
edge. Attractive bright fruit with a herby edge and a bit of
pithiness on the palate. Taut and appealing. 88/100 (Laithwaites
stock this in the UK at £6.29)
Falcoaria Branco 2007 DOC Ribatejo
Fernão Pires, 50% barrel fermented. Classy nutty, toasty nose
with some fresh fruit. Sophisticated, fresh palate with classy oak
supporting the fresh, intense fruit. Finishes pithy. Very stylish
with a nutty edge. 89/100 (UK retail of £8.99)
Terra de Lobos Rosé 2009 VR Tejo
A blend of lots of red varieties. Pink/red colour. Very fruity
and fresh with lovely focused cherry fruit and some herby notes.
There’s a bit of grip, too, and good acidity. A fresh, dry style
of rosé. 84/100 (£5.99 in Adnams in the UK)
Capoeira Tinto 2008 VR Tejo
Castelão, mainly, with some Trincadeira and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Bright, fresh and cherryish wth a nice herby edge to the fruit. Very
focused with some savoury, spicy notes. Fresh cherry fruit; easy to
drink. 84/100
Terra de Lobos Castelão/Cabernet
Sauvignon 2008 VR Tejo
A bit richer and fruitier with nice ripe plummy blackberry and
cherry fruit. Juicy and bright with nice focus. Lovely fruit here.
85/100
Quartilho Tinto 2008 (cask sample)
Castelão, Alicante, Touriga Nacional, Merlot and Syrah. Nice
elegant, vibrant cherry and raspberry fruit. Juicy with nice fruit
purity and good definition. 88/100
Quinta do Casal Branco Tinto 2008
13.5% alcohol. Fresh, focused and bright. Quite elegant with a
leafy edge to the fruit. Quite elegant and focused with some
Cabernet character. A fresh style. 87/100
Quinta do Casal Branco Touriga
Nacional 2007
13.5% alcohol. Very fresh, bright and cherryish with nice floral
aromatics and fresh herbiness. Grippy structure on the finish. A
light, bright expression of Touriga. 88/100
Falcoaria Tinto 2006
Very nice sweet blackcurrant nose with some lush dark fruits and
hints of tar and spice. The palate is elegant with ripe blackcurrant
fruit and lovely freshness. Some richness and good quality oak
making an appearance, too. 91/100
Falcoaria Reserva Tinto 2007
Smooth, lush dark fruits nose with a bit of tar and hints of
mint. The palate is quite fresh with elegant berry fruits, some
spice and tar notes, and grippy tannins. Lovely focus and acidity.
Needs time to integrate the oak and flesh out a bit. 90/100
Capucho Petit Verdot 2008 (cask
sample)
Tarry, spicy and tannic with intense berry and cherry fruit.
Savoury and plummy with high acidity – Italianesque. 87–89/100
Capucho Alicante 2008 (cask sample)
Tarry, spicy, coffee-ish nose with some fresh dark cherry and
plum fruit. The palate is rich, powerful, plummy and spicy with nice
structure and good acidity. Good food compatibility. 88–91/100
Capucho Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Highly aromatic with appealing green minty, leafy, subtly earthy
characters. The palate is fresh and herby with leafy blackcurrant
and cherry fruit as well as notes of earth and spice. This is
evolving nicely. 91/100
Monge sparkling wine 2007
This is a blanc de noirs made from Castelão, using the
Champagne method. 15 000 bottles made. Very fresh, bright and fruity
with a subtle herby edge. Attractive with good acidity – a fruity
style. 86/100
See
also:
Tasting
notes of Portuguese wines
Wines
tasted 03/10
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
Back
to top
|