Port’s Moment in the Sun

The wines from the rugged mountains of the Douro Valley in northern Portugal are closely linked to English pride. Alongside the ubiquitous umbrella and bowler hat, Port is considered a quintessentially British accessory. Long associated in India with Goa, Indians are now beginning to discover true Port as a cult drink, writes Joel B Payne

Although archaeological finds at Quinta da Ribeira and Fonte de Milho attest that wine was produced on the Iberian Peninsula long before the arrival of the Romans, Port was never predestined for its current success. Nonetheless, the Portuguese proudly recall the seven century Visigothic Codex, which later led to the formal, legal regulation of viticulture in the Douro Valley by Marquês de Pombal in 1756, a first in all of Europe.

About the same time, English merchants discovered that the wines they had largely ignored were not only much easier to transport, but also sold better when blended with brandy. This technique had long been known to sailors, yet no one had previously come upon the seemingly absurd idea of adding alcohol to wine while it was still fermenting to retain a hint of residual sugar. A peasants’ brew thus gradually transformed itself into an aristocratic nectar.

Until well into the last century, Port remained the most widely consumed wine in Great Britain. Among Albion’s countless devotees, the legendary English Admiral Nelson found a most elegant way to indulge his passion. Legend has it that he would sketch out his ingenious battle plans on a mahogany table using his index finger dipped in Port!

The Douro Valley stretches westward from the Spanish border for about one hundred kilometres. Sheltered from the Atlantic coast by jagged mountains, the entire region consists primarily of schist. The soil in the narrow valleys is so weathered that vines must penetrate deep underground to access moisture. With vertiginous gradients, the slopes are so steep that only a fraction of the valley is suitable for viticulture. On this meagre soil, thousands of small farmers earn their living. The remainder consists of pine forests, olive groves and almond trees.

Near the river’s mouth on the Atlantic in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the shipper’s lodges are located, slender boats known as barcos rabelos bob in the murky waters. In the past, Port was transported in such sailing vessels. Today, these relics are little more than a tourist attraction.

Upstream, above Régua, is where most of the grapes for Port are grown. There, the vineyard terraces have literally been carved into rock. Each of the innumerable plots is classified according to an eight point scale. The higher the rating – determined by location, state of cultivation and vine age – the more the winegrower receives for the fruit of his vines.

Over 40 different grape varieties are authorized to produce Port, yet serious estates cultivate only a handful of them, with indigenous varieties such as Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca and Tinta Cão being the most widely planted, very often in the old blocks as field blends.

After harvest, it was once customary to tread the grapes with bare feet in stone vessels known in Portuguese as lagares, which traditionalists still employ. Fermentation of the must is then halted by the addition of grape spirit when approximately half of the natural sugar remains. The alcohol shock effectively intoxicates the yeasts, causing them to die, but leaving a significant amount of residual sweetness and a higher alcoholic content. These components provide Port with its excellent aging potential, but at 20% by volume, they are admittedly not exactly light drinks for a summer afternoon on the terrace.

Ruby or Tawny
Aside from the modern dry whites, Rubies are the simplest and most affordable Ports. Bottled relatively early to preserve their youthful fruit, they sport a brilliant ruby red colour, hence the name, and their pronounced sweetness shows no signs of age. The English generally appreciate full bodied Rubies during the winter season. The largest consumer market, though, is – surprisingly – France.

Young Ports with a more pronounced character and greater concentration are matured as Tawnies. The name refers to the rusty brown colour that results from years of barrel aging. Tawnies generally taste somewhat drier than Rubies and often exhibit a slightly nuttier flavour, above all in the often spectacular 10 and 20 Year Old variants. Intended for immediate consumption, their quality improves but little through extended bottle aging.

In Portuguese, the term for vintage is Colheita. This designation is used for aged Tawnies that must originate from a single vintage and be matured in wooden casks for at least seven years prior to sale. Both the vintage and the bottling year must be indicated on the label. Although ethereal Colheitas are rare, houses like Niepoort have made a specialty of this style, providing a notable exception to the rule.

The pinnacle of production is undoubtedly Vintage Port, which is made only in exceptional years. Renowned producers – known as shippers – declare a vintage only two or three times a decade. Only the finest grapes are selected for this purpose. After fermentation, the young wine is aged in small wooden casks known as pipes for about two years before bottling. Aged thereafter in cool cellars, this prestigious style of Port matures for decades toward its peak drinking window. After roughly twenty years, a fine Vintage Port first attains its incomparably fragrant delicacy and oily richness. Great Vintage Ports, though, can improve for a hundred years and more.

Like highly prized Bordeaux, Vintage Ports are generally sold, to use a French expression, en primeur, which means before their physical release. Some of these transactions are highly speculative in nature. At famous London houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, hardly an auction takes place without Vintage Ports coming under the hammer. Past trends – evidenced by steadily rising prices – show that financial investment in these wines has certainly paid off for both merchants and Port enthusiasts, who are now found throughout the world.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port, on the other hand, should not be confused with Vintage Port. Although it benefits from the image of its illustrious sibling due to the similarity in name, they are better viewed as a cross between Colheita and Vintage. Having been aged in casks for four to six years, these Ports share the charm of both categories and often offer excellent value for money. The 2019, 2018 and 2017 vintages are currently showing particularly well.

Who’s Who
Most of the leading producers remain largely under British ownership. Taylor’s is arguably the oldest, quality conscious shipper. Led by the ebullient Alistair Robertson, the house makes incredibly powerful, full bodied Vintage Ports. London market valuations attest to Taylor’s exceptional standing, a status further confirmed by the results of most tastings by the world’s leading wine magazines.

Close on its heels come the more austere Ports from their sister house, Fonseca, along with Quinta do Noval, Niepoort and, above all, the three finest thoroughbreds from the Symington stable: Graham, Dow and Warre. Now managed by Charles Symington, Graham is renowned for producing particularly rich Vintage Ports. While Warre features subtle fruit and herbal spices, Dow specializes in Ports that are intensely tannic and possess an almost dry, astringent character in their youth. The Symington family also owns Cockburn and one of the region’s crown jewels, the Quinta do Vesúvio, whose single vineyard Capela now rivals Noval’s Nacional.

However, not all Port wine houses are under British ownership. In Portugal itself, Ferreira dominates the market. In the last century, under the leadership of the courageous Dona Antónia, it was the wealthiest in the entire region. Even today, their Barca Velha is Portugal’s most expensive table wine.

The Dutch, too, have traditionally played a role in the Port trade. The van Zeller family long owned Quinta do Noval, beautifully situated above Pinhão. A plot within the estate, planted with ancient vines, yields the grapes for their Nacional. In good years, the estate, which has belonged to AXA since 1993, makes some 3,000 bottles of this rare and expensive Vintage Port, which is actually allocated rather than sold.

Niepoort is also Dutch and ranks among the highly respected merchants. Dirk van der Niepoort, though, also holds a German passport through his mother. Anyone wishing to visit him, however, needs to know the way. Only a rusty doorbell hints that a fortune in aged Ports lies behind the garage door.

Until Portugal joined the European Union, an influential lobby had managed to legally reserve export rights for Port exclusively to such shippers. Antonio Barbaso Vinagre was one of the first estate owners to attempt to break free from the yoke of the powerful merchant houses. In 1967 he released his Ports under the Quinta da Romaneira label, but was not allowed to export them until 1986.

Compared to the soaring quality of the wines, the standard food on offer in the upper Douro Valley was often, much as in Britain at the time, rather meagre, consisting of little more than cornbread, beans and goat cheese. Over the past generation, though, the fare on offer has changed dramatically, especially in or near Porto, the region’s economic hub. Palatial dwellings like the Pestana or Yeatman now count among the leading hotels of the world. Similarly, restaurants like The Door, Bacalhau, Dos Mercadores or Vila Foz cater to discerning palates looking to pair choice Ports not only with nuts, Stilton cheese or chocolate, but also traditional Portuguese dishes like Caldo Verde, Tripas à moda do Porto or Sardinhas Assadas that have been refined, like Port itself, for more festive occasions.

The chosen few, however, who are taken by a member to lunch at the Factory House – the private club of the English shippers – are truly to be envied. Such an invitation is regarded to this day as a mark of honour. In their grand old building from 1790, where until recently no women were allowed to enter, an austere atmosphere of bygone centuries still lingers in the air.