I’ve not visited Quinta Vale Das Escadinhas/Quinta da Falorca, but their wines were a stand out at a generic Dão tasting I attended last year in July on my 50 Great Portuguese Wines’ quest (reported here). In fact, after much deliberating (such was the quality of the candidates) by December, when I finalised my 50 Great, Falorca T-Nac 2007, an unoaked Touriga Nacional, emerged victorious. This tasting took place on 10th February, on the eve of the 50 Great tasting in London (which tasting is reported in detail here).
Because I’ve not visited, I can’t give chapter and verse on the estate. I did just visit their rather eccentric website here, showing footage set to Portuguese folk music, with no written information! But bear with the grainy, juddery footage of the Dão landscape and vineyards and you can follow the process from vine to wine. And to be fair, it does lift off the page the Dão’s green, forested landscape and go some way to explaining why the region’s wines are typically “cooler” and more elegant in style than those from the neighbouring Douro. Look closely and you’ll spot lots of pine trees, whose resinous notes often find their way into Dão wines. You’ll also get a feel for the Dão’s rocky granite bedrock. It features in the huge building blocks of the houses and winery, also the shallow lagares in which reds are fermented and foot trodden. I take it back – lots of information on the website, albeit not written.
If you still hanker after some written text, check out their UK distributor, John Armit’s website here, but to summarise, the 23ha estate has belonged to the Costa Barros de Figueiredo for five generations. Thirteen hectares are planted to vines, its four distinct vineyards (Vale das Escadinhas, Barreiro, Esmoitada and Falorca) each located on the steep banks of the Dão river facing south with full exposure to the sun – happy days for red wine! Like the Douro, the Dão has many old vine mixed vineyards, but this estate was modernised 30 years ago, so vines are largely block planted, mostly to Touriga Nacional.
Quinta da Falorca Touriga Nacional Rose 2009 – a pretty, dry rosé with delicate red cherry and raspberry fruit and fresh acidity to the finish. £134.40/case of 12 at John Armit
Quinta da Falorca e-falorca 2006 – very peppery with juicy sour plum and red fruits; long, persistent finish. £115.25/case of 12 at John Armit
T-Nac by Falorca 2005 – a very good vintage, initially quite jammy one nose and palate but with time starting to show inky/floral notes, sadly shading into more animal brett notes.
T-Nac by Falorca 2006 – a trickier vintage, reflected in a lighter frame, this is firmer and fresh with pomegranate fruit and pithy pomegranate tannins, with hints of pine needle. Rounds out with time in glass. Good in a relatively austere way, so better with food and not a keeper.
T-Nac by Falorca 2007 – my 50 Great choice so excellent of course! Actually I’ll confide I was a little surprised by the tannins at first – not as silky as I remembered, but the wine sat in glass it fleshed out and, as I’d remembered it, this wine has Touriga’s lavish, heady floral nose and palate without overdoing it in the mouth (partly because T-Nac is unoaked). A deep fruited mid-palate features bright red cherry and raspberry. Has the structure for mid-term ageing but plenty of upfront bounce too.
T-Nac by Falorca 2008 – a fleshy, sappy youthful Touriga with darker fruit than the 07 – black cherry and fruits of the forest with dark chocolate in the mix. An elegant, nicely balanced palate.
Quinta da Falorca Reserva 2001 – very classic, just starting to develop an attractive savoury spectrum of flavours to nose and palate, thought the fruit (red cherry and berry) remains well-defined, the tannins fine – it’s quite Burgundian with nice length and balance.
Quinta da Falorca Reserva 2003 – darker, more savoury (smoky, resiny) and expansive in this drought year. Ripe black fruits have a touch of balancing sourness, the tannins (ripe) are smudgy and expansive too. £92.10/case of 6 at John Armit
Quinta da Falorca Reserva 2004 – I queried if this had some American oak since the oak character is surprisingly overt, albeit that this is from a hot vintage which produced some big wines. Apparently not – just the sweet confection of a hot year; no trouble finding its sweetspot but needs time to centre and settle down.
Quinta da Falorca Touriga Nacional 2002 – a smoke inveigled nose and palate with juicy red fruits, a touch dilute with firmish tannins behind. Drinking well now; not a keeper.
Quinta da Falorca Touriga Nacional 2003 – plenty going on here in this hot year, quite smoky on the nose. In the mouth it has a jammy edge to its plum and red berry fruits, with big bony tannins behind. Lots of get up and go.
Quinta da Falorca Touriga Nacional 2005 – my favourite wine of the flight – I’m a sucker for the 2005 vintage which has produced wines of great balance and finesse. This is no exception with a lovely freshness and balance, fine tannins – its structure immediately harmonious and pleasing. Nice depth and length with juicy, persistent plum and damson fruit. Top.
Quinta da Falorca Garrafeira 2003 – a big, youthful wine with no shortage of girth or sucrosity. There’s an edge of vanilla sugar to its corpulent plum and raspberry fruit, supported by fine grained tannins.
Quinta da Falorca Garrafeira Old Vines 2004 – I often find Dão 2004s a little too ripe for my palate, but old vine fruit seems to keep any tendency to flab well in check. Another lovely wine with a fine, floral nose and, in the mouth, a swirl of ripe, round fruits of the forest, red cherry, raspberry and pine needles. Serious, sinewy tannins beneath harness the fruit, making for a long, poised finish.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
(Wines tasted 10 February 2010)
