The product of a climactically challenging year, the 2016 Vintage shows all the characteristics of a wine that could reach great age, whilst also providing drinking pleasure at any time in its maturation cycle.

The wine is a deep dark ruby with violet undertones, and the nose offers lush plum, grape and blueberry aromas supported by rich spice notes, a lovely combination of freshness and intensity. On the palate dense, powerful fruit and rich tannins are well balanced, robust and compact, just what you want for a classic Vintage Port.

At this point it seems every year is an “atypical” year for weather in the Douro, and 2016 gave us challenges different from 2015’s atypical pattern. The winter months were warmer than usual and January and February wetter by far than the historical averages. The spring months (March – May) were cooler than normal but also extremely rainy. Then came a hot dry summer, and a perfect warm and dry harvest period which began mid-late September, after a welcome light rainfall that gave the grapes that last bit of freshness before harvest.

The 2016 Vintage Port blend rather unusually includes grapes from Quinta das Mós. With over a kilometer of river frontage, this low, north-facing quinta is usually our driest and first to harvest, but it seems 2016’s unusual weather patterns suited it well and the grapes matured to Vintage greatness.

In Portugal it is traditional to have fish the evening of the 24^th – bacalhau, octopus or skate. We would recommend a white for these dishes, particularly Claudia’s White 2015. In fact, this wine would also be superb with the turkey which is typical of English and North American Christmas dinners. A finely balanced blend of five different Portuguese grapes, Claudia’s White 2015 has an elegant and complex aroma that will delight your senses with an intriguing blend of slightly smoky and bright citrus notes. On the palate it delivers a well-structured and complex flavour with great freshness and minerality.

If your holiday meals will feature richer meats, such as a roast goose, game, or a crown roast of beef, or the Portuguese cabrito (roasted goat) or a rich lombo assado (roasted loin of pork), then you will want a superb red, and we recommend Q Grand Reserve 2014. Made from a trio of classic Port grapes this wine is maturing beautifully in bottle. Rich dark fruit flavours dominate both nose and palate, with a whiff of spices and a chocolatey richness, and power that extends into a wonderful long finish.

Finally… what to drink with the dried fruit flavours of fruitcakes and mince pies, or the wonderful eggy sugary richness of Portuguese fried Christmas sweets such as rabanadas, filhoses or sonhos? Port, of course. But here, we would recommend the 30 Year Old White Port. The flavour is too complex to put into mere words, but Claudia, who blended this, noted “at a certain point, it smells like honeycomb.” The finish never seems to end. That said, the refreshing acidity is just what you want to cut through the richness of your desserts. Also, honestly, this Port can be enjoyed as a well-earned dessert in and of itself – you may not want any pudding.

Enjoy your holidays!

“Quevedo is a family wine business”. Yes, but lots of families make wine, after all.

At Quevedo, being a family wine business means so much more than the fact that a lot of family members are involved in the enterprise. There are many small stories and details of family history that have shaped the flavour of our wines and the basis of our business in ways that are not immediately obvious. Here are a few such instances:

Why are Quevedo Ports a bit drier than the average?

Once I asked my grandpa João Quevedo this question, and I never forgot his answer. He said that sugars hide flavours. Sugars work like makeup, hiding what is behind, both good and bad flavours. “If you believe in your grapes and in your Port”, he says, “why make the Port so sweet? Let the sugars of the grapes ferment a little bit longer, make your Ports a bit drier and you will have more expression of your fruit”.

The ups and downs of the family business

There are some events during the last century that had an indelible effect on the evolution of the family business. One of these happened to my great grandfather Raul, when a foreign merchant based in Vila Nova de Gaia, that had been buying the Port from my family, went bankrupt. The merchant left my family, and certainly other families as well, with no payment for the previous two vintages.

This major financial loss for our small business created a financial and emotional drama within the family, and my grandfather believes that this setback, so late in a life which had been spent fighting to raise the family business, strongly affected his father-in-law Raul. It is one of the reasons that as soon as laws permitted, in the 1980s, the Quevedo family decided to establish our own independent wine brand, and to produce and sell finished wines, rather than sell all our grapes or harvest wines to the big Port shippers.

Realizing that Mum doesn’t need to know everything

When people ask me when I started tasting Port, I don’t recall it very well. Maybe at the age of 4, 5 or 6 years old. What I do remember is going to my grandparents’ house, where my grandpa João would give me a freshly made cookie and share with me few drops of a Port that he would get from a barrel in the basement of his house. I would have only a sip or two, but that would be enough to make me smile and feel the sweet perfume of grapes.

However, for a reason that only now I understand, for several months, maybe even a few years, there was no sipping of Port when having the cookie at grandpa João’s house. And I believe that happened because I told my parents, during dinner, that grandpa João gives me a drop of Port when I have a cookie. After that day, when my Mum furiously looked at my father without saying a word, no more Port with cookies was served by grandpa.

Both the impression made by those first few sips, and then missing the treat for those few years after I told Mum, are part of what made me appreciate Port even more as I grew older, and drew me into the business as an adult.

2015 was the best year ever for our family business. Actually, I did not want it to finish! And the cherry on the top of the cake arrived few weeks before Christmas when the latest reviews from the American magazines were published: Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine & Spirits. For those that like these ratings, here are the results:

Prior to the publication of these reviews, other publications had tasted and reviewed our wines and Ports. On the image above you can find the most relevant reviews given to our wines throughout 2015.

But, before I finish, let me remind you of this: You, dear lonely consumer, are the most important wine critic of all. Without you, we wouldn’t exist.

Cheers,

The Winter was cold and dry, and although Spring brought warmer temperatures well above the long-term averages, rain was still too low. The vine cycle started about a week earlier than normal. In terms of quantity, it was a regular year, with about 3,5 tons per hectare. Summer arrived and stayed slightly cooler than it normally does, which was a great sign. The vines didn’t have plenty of water reserves, but at least July and August were not being too severe, and even more important, the overnight temperature in August was as low as 12ºC.

In September, the grapes were looking great, no diseases, no dehydration or raisins. All was in line for a good harvest, but far from fantastic. And when the rain arrived on Tuesday, September 15th and Wednesday, September 16th we immediately got very concerned. The two previous years, 2013 and 2014, were severely damaged by rain during the harvest. But surprisingly 2015 was different. The steady rain came in two days and was followed by strong winds that quickly helped to dry the grapes and leaves.

When the rain started pickers were sent home for a few days. And what happened was that the quality of the grapes improved tremendously day after day. We were very happy on Monday, September 21st when we resumed harvest and started crushing grapes again. It was amazing to see that this generous amount of rain in the middle of the harvest was changing the quality of the wines so much.

Hope you taste this story soon, in our wines. And if you want to read more about the harvest in the Douro check Graham’s blog article.

Cheers,

Claudia, Teresa and Oscar

Now that the harvest of the white grapes is over, I thought you might want to know a bit more about the most popular white grapes of the Douro. How do they look and taste like. I kindly asked the tireless and enthusiastic Tanya Garnham to photograph representative bunches to show you the on-going process. On the other hand, I researched online an accurate description about four of the most planted grapes in the Douro. On the website of the Portuguese Wine Club Co Uk there is a great description about dozens of Portuguese classic grape varieties either red and white. Here are the main four we use in our blends:

Arinto

This is a versatile grape, grown in most of Portugal’s wine regions. In the Vinho Verde area, it goes by the name of Pedernã. It makes vibrant wines with lively, refreshing acidity, often with a mineral quality, along with gentle flavours reminiscent of apple, lime and lemon. Arinto-based wines can keep well but are also delicious young. Because it keeps its acidity even in hot climates, Arinto is often added to other lower-acid white grapes to improve blends – especially in the hot Alentejo and Ribatejo. Its good acidity also makes it a great ingredient for sparkling wines.

Gouveio

This Douro grape is now planted right across Portugal and has recently become particularly popular in the Alentejo. It produces fresh, lively wines with good acidity, plenty of body, and fresh, citrus aromas, along with notes of peach and aniseed resulting in a lovely balance. It ages well in bottle. For years it was known as Verdelho in the Douro, which led to confusion, as Gouveio has nothing to do with the Verdelho of Madeira.

Malvasia Fina

This is a grape of inland northern Portugal, especially the Douro, Dão and Beira Interior. Malvasia Fina wines are subtle, not particularly intense, reasonably fresh and moderately complex. You may detect a hint of molasses, a suggestion of beeswax and nutmeg, and the wine may appear slightly smoky even if it has not been matured in wood. Generally used for blending, it also contributes to base blends for sparkling wines in cooler areas and/or when harvested early, for instance in Távora-Varosa and Lamego.

Viosinho

This grape survives for the most part scattered here and there in the old mixed white vineyards of the Douro. Traditionally, Viosinho has been an unpopular variety with growers because of its very low yields. It’s only recently that winemakers have realised what a treasure it is, as a component both in Port and in unfortified Douro white blends. It makes full-bodied but fresh, fragrant, well-balanced wines, performing best in hot, sunny climates.

Other grapes could be mentioned here, such as Códega or Rabigato. Maybe for another post!

Now that we know what each grape brings to the blend, I’ll run to the winery to see if our blends smell and taste like what we read above!

Cheers,

Oscar

Before we turned on the engine of the pick up truck that drove us to the fields, we knew that this year at the 10th of August we would find grapes with higher content of sugar than any of the previous years. Despite the cold and wet Winter, Spring arrived earlier and brought plenty of warm weather. And that means that vines started the new production cycle a few days before its normal timing. March’s bud break happened before and since then green shooting and new grapes growth has been consistent, as there was no cold temperatures to slow down the cycle.

The results for the pollen counting that took place during flowering showed higher than average production. We were expecting about 20% more of grapes to be harvested from our vineyards. However, the very dry Spring and Summer dropped this forecast because, due to the lack of water in the soil, berries are not as big as in other years. They are actually, quite small. So, this harvest we may have more berries but they are certainly smaller resulting in what we expect to be a similar vintage to the average in terms of quantity.

In terms of quality, things are showing very good. There are no deceases, berries are small which will bring concentration and tannins. In terms of colour, the pigmentation is still low, so we will need to wait several days to see how easily the skin will release the colour to the wine, and this is a critical point to achieve the best quality – Vintage Year – in 2015.

In terms of acidity, the cold nights have been helping to keep the figures at acceptable levels, freshness of the grapes has not been affected by the hot weather.

We don’t know yet when start the harvest. But by looking at the sugar level and day we started in the previous year, we can say that it shall be in early September:

• 2007 10.49%, September 19th
• 2009 11.86%, September 14th
• 2010 10.05%, September 18th
• 2011 12.07%, September 12th
• 2012 9.13%, September 28th
• 2013 10.9%, September 23rd
• 2014 11.2%, September 8th
• 2015 12.38%, ?

This being said, when we returned home after the visit to Quinta Vale d’Agodinho there were shy smiles on our faces. The picture is quite fine, but we still have in mind that the odds of the two previous harvests were changed during the harvest by several days of intense rain. And this year it can happen the same. But if it doesn’t, then start finding some room in your cellar, you will want to stock up on this vintage’s Port!

Oscar

Many years later, in 1985, as a result of massive emigration, urban migration or bad demand projection, the Spanish side stopped the train connections to the Portuguese border. Three years later, in 1988 the Portuguese Prime Minister Mário Soares took a similar decision and canceled the connection to Barca d’Alva. The last train stop from Porto was now Pocinho, located 19km northwest of Barca d’Alva. Since then, between Barca d’Alva and Pocinho lies a dead railroad, almost eaten by the nature. But on this narrow path you can enjoy breathtaking landscapes of the Douro valley. There, you feel an outsider, totally out of place. Despite the very dry and arid weather conditions, locals insist in getting something from the land, and plant olive trees, vines, almond trees and sometimes citric trees along the river. These natives never give up!

Few months ago my friend and former blogger here, Pedro, challenged his friends to walk from Freixo de Espada à Cinta to Pocinho in two days. And that is what we did last weekend. First day, on Saturday, we walked from the beautiful, old and generous town of Freixo de Espada à Cinta to Barca d’Alva. Once in Barca d’Alva and after a refreshing dive in the Douro river and a beer at Chico’s Bar, we followed the old and inactive railroad and walked a couple of km further west. At 7.30pm, after walking for 10 hours, we found an abandoned house next to the railroad and made it our base for that night.

On the next morning, after sleeping for 7 hours outside under an intense and cool moonlight, and without any incident, we continued to walk along the old railroad towards Pocinho. We got there by 4.30pm, very tired, but on time to catch the train to Porto. On our way to Pocinho we crossed several vineyards, among them Quinta da Granja (Ferreira), a new plantation and hotel of Quinta do Vallado, Quinta da Cabreira (to Quinta do Crasto) and Quinta de Castelo Melhor (Duorum). In total we walked over 50 km, many hours with temperatures above 30ºC. We figured out how hard and boring is to walk along the railroad – stones – railway s – stones – wood stave – stones…. But with good friends and an unforgettable view this marathon is well worth. It was a weekend to remember, and certainly to share with you as this is among the most extraordinary adventures I have ever done.

Oscar

Oscar

Related articles

• Port beyond a digestive

To dispose of this young sediment, we wait until the solid particles are already at the bottom of the container and then decant the wine. Time and cold temperatures help to sink the particles to the bottom.

The question being, what do we do with the sediment that represents about 1.5%-2% of all wine? If we wait too long, it will continue to concentrate. But there is another option, sediment can be filtered by a machine.

In the video below, you can watch a rotating cylinder filtering out the sediment through a tight filter. On the surface of the cylinder, we put diatomaceous earth, a fantastic filtering agent. The wine, which we don’t see in the process, is clarified before returning to the tank. What comes out from the cylinder is a dense, rather dry, not toxic sediment that is later used for the spirits industry. This sediment we sell to distilleries as they can still use it to make spirit, through distillation. It can also be used to make tartaric acid.

But in case you want to have the same experience as the old English lady, drop us a line and we will keep a bit of sediment for you. Or better yet, come over to our winery and enjoy sediment with a glass of wine!

Cheers!

Oscar