Sarah Ahmed – The Wine Detective

Portugal’s UK market share still hovers around a measly 1%, though if you take a look at retailers’ lists, you can be sure that wines from the Alentejo region, which I’ve just visited,  account for a fair percentage of them.  Why?

A clue lies in one of its nicknames, “the Australia of Portugal.” The building pictured (Quinta de Dona Maria a.k.a. Quinta do Carmo) is not exactly Australia, but the palm trees speak of a southerly, sunny location that translates into generously fruity wines with ripe tannins – a style with mass appeal.  In the last decade, new investors have seized the opportunity to get a slice of the export pie, resulting in a frenzy of planting of both native and international varieties in a rolling landscape much better suited to volume production than mountainous regions like the Douro and Dao.

What’s more, consultant viticulturists and winemakers have criss-crossed this region the size of Belgium to spread the good word and ensure that its precocious wines meet with today’s high standards and expectations.  So there are plenty of good commercial wines, plainly made with an eye to the export market – nothing wrong with that.

In terms of what excites me (and my 50 Great Portuguese Wines’ quest), I also tasted some immensely characterful and exciting terroir-driven wines from new and old players alike, the best of which have the structure and balance to age beautifully.  One particularly fine day we visited Quinta de Zambujeira, Quinta de Dona Maria, Quinta do Mouro and Mouchao, tasting some fabulous old wines and getting a real handle on Alentejo vintages – I reckon 2005, 2004, 2002 (initially maligned) and 2001 take some beating and 2008 looks very exciting too.

Find out more about the Alentejo in my regional report here which gives an insight into the philosophies of the estates I visited and tasting notes for all my hot favourites.  You can also find out the results of the Vinipax 2009 best red and white of show competition which I judged.

All best

Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective