Organic viticulture in the Douro is not all that common. However, things may be changing. Two organic wines that have recently reached the marketplace are Symingtons Organic version of Altano,…
A Frenchman in Portugal: Francois Lurton’s Douro wines
Francois Lurton (website here) makes wine in France, Chile, Argentina, Spain and now Portugal. He bought his first Douro property in 2006 (Quinta Beira), and has subsequently added a second (Quinta…
Four videos from the Douro
Just posted four more videos from the Douro. It’s part of a big write up on a visit to the Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman group (includes the Port houses Fonseca,…
Lunch at the Harwood Arms followed by a great game
Had a brilliant day yesterday. It began with lunch at the Harwood Arms, together with Joe Wadsack, Will Willis and Stuart Bowman-Hood. Proceedings began with a pint of Sambrook’s junction:…
Scion: a tawny Port from the 1850s
A great privilege to be able to try this tawny Port, dating back to the 1850s. Taylor’s have acquired two pipes of it (a pipe is 600 litres, but with…
The New Douro tasting 2008
Yesterday was the New Douro tasting at the Tate Modern in London. It has been going for a few years now, and it’s a great event. But it could be…
Vale Meão 2008: latest release from one of Portugal’s greats
Vale Meão is one of the great Douro estates, responsible for some fantastic wines since their first vintage in 1999. This is the latest release: the 2008, which is a…
Some superb single-quinta Ports
Vintage Port is one of the world’s great wines. It’s also relatively affordable compared with other great wines. But there’s an even better bargain in single-quinta Ports from shoulder vintages…
Video: Quinta do Noval’s Nacional vineyard
A short film of a remarkable vineyard plot: Quinta do Noval’s Nacional, a 2.5 hectare plot in the Noval vineyard in the Pinhao Valley. The 6000 vines are ungrafted, planted…