In the last week of February, I flew to Porto with my wife Efi, our two daughters Anaïs and Noémie, and our granddaughter Rosalie. Maître Philippe & Filles were on the road again. The destination of our trip? Two important wine fairs were taking place in Porto that week: Essência do Vinho, at the Palacio da Bolsa, and Simplesmente Vinho , in the ruins of the Monchique Convent.
At the Essência, we had an appointment with our most important suppliers from Portugal: Luís Louro and Inês Capão from Adega do Monte Branco . They had brought their new Alento Rosé and Branco wines with them, and we took the opportunity for a small tasting. Since the wines were—how could it be otherwise?—very good, we immediately jumped at the chance and increased our rosé reservation. Aside from this pleasant reunion, the "Essência" wasn't particularly interesting for us, as it was mostly attended by large groups. However, the old, magnificent building is definitely worth a visit.
The Essência do Vinho in the Palacio da Bolsa
Philippe Causse, Inez Capão, Luís Louro at the Essência do Vinho
That same evening, Luís invited us to dinner at the famous Paparico restaurant. The food was truly excellent, and we first enjoyed a very nice "old" Alvarinho from Alselmo Mendes, followed by Luís' Monte Branco Tinto. It was actually quite a bit better than the wine the proprietor had recommended: a Covila Tinto made from Cabernet Sauvignon, although that, of course, was also quite good. After this direct comparison, we realized once again that Portugal doesn't really need foreign grapes—there are so many excellent native grape varieties there, more than 300!
Simplesmente Vinho, the other trade fair, was a more important event for us because it featured smaller, more interesting wineries. Here, we were able to taste many exciting new wines, reconnect with some familiar suppliers, and, above all, meet many nice new winemakers.
First, we met Antonio Madeira, the "Frenchman from the Dão," who visited us last year for our "Festa Portugesa" in Berlin and whom some of you may still remember. Anaïs and Noémie tasted his entire range and thoroughly enjoyed it. We still have a few bottles of his Vinhas Velhas 2012 in stock, so if you haven't yet, you should hurry. The wine is light and expressive, with a mineral, slightly iodic flavor that reflects the granitic soil in which it grows.
Antonio Madeira at Simplesmente Vinho
Afterwards, we had a long chat with Miguel Louro, the owner of Quinta do Mouro (and Luís's father), and took the opportunity to taste all of his wines, which, as expected, we thoroughly enjoyed. It was a good thing we were able to get our hands on the last 120 bottles of Quinta do Mouro 2009 in advance, because after the Parker scores were awarded – it received 95/100 – the wine was completely sold out.
We also visited the stand of Luis Pato from Bairrada, who wasn't there himself but was represented by his heavily pregnant youngest daughter, Maria. From her stand, we moved on to Marta Soares of Casal Figueira, whose white wine we thoroughly enjoyed. It's made north of Lisbon from the indigenous Vital grape variety.
Right next door was the Quinta da Bageiras stand from the Bairrada region, a region famous for its Espumantes (Crémants). We were particularly impressed by the 2011 Espumante Branco Brut without Dosage (made from the Bical grape), freshly disgorged, with a very fine mousse and a complex freshness in the mouth. We also really liked the 2013 Espumante Rosé made from the Baga grape (also "Zero Dosage"). We tried it a day later as an aperitif at the restaurant " O Gaveto " in Matosinhos, the old fishing port north of Porto. Quinta da Bageiras is definitely a winery we could imagine collaborating with.
A particularly important stop was, of course, the booth of the Young Winemakers from Portugal, including Rita Marques Ferreira , with whom we already work very successfully. She was also present at our "Festa Portuguesa."
The Vinho Verde "Clip," made from 100% Loureiro by her colleague Pedro Maria Barbosa, will replace our current Vinho Verde. It's very pleasant, fresh, and fruity, with no residual CO2 and a lovely minerality. If all goes well, it will arrive just in time for asparagus season.
Noémie Causse and Pedro Maria Barbosa at Simplesmente Vinho
At the Young Winemakers, we then met Frederico Lobão from Gerações de Xisto, a very small producer of high-quality olive oil from the Douro Alto. Frederico gave us a sample bottle of his olive oil, which we were truly impressed with. It is dense, complex, golden with green reflections, powerful and elegant, and bears distinct notes of fresh artichokes. Added to that is an incredible price-performance ratio, which is especially surprising when you consider that the olive oil from the Douro Alto is the result of hard, authentic, traditional craftsmanship.
Olive harvest in the Douro
In addition to the olive oil, we were able to bring home two other particularly beautiful souvenirs from Porto: the Contraste Rosé from Conceito (Rita Marques Ferreira) and a white port wine, the result of a collaboration between Rita and the renowned Madeira producer Barbeito. The rosé impressed us and the entire team so much that we promptly purchased the entire production. There are "only" 1,200 bottles, but given the quality, we're not sure if that will be enough for the summer...
The wines of Nuno Mira do O were a complete new discovery, bringing Portugal back to the top of the world wine scene. Like many of his colleagues, Nuno is in his 30s. He trained as a winemaker, then studied ecology, continued his education abroad (often in Bordeaux, California, or New Zealand), and then worked hard at a quinta in his home country before deciding to settle down as a "garage winemaker" in Dão and Bairrada. We particularly liked his white Druida, made from 100% Encruzado, which we immediately ordered—along with a couple of equally fantastic red wines. They will arrive soon, and then you can see for yourself.
One final, life-changing experience, unrelated to wine, occurred during our visit to the restaurant "O Gavetto" in Matosinhos. Miguel Louro recommended that we try the local specialty, "Lampreia a Bordelesa." However, we didn't dare, opting instead for the classic bacalhau. Would you have dared to try this prehistoric animal?
