Portugal
Alvarinho grapes
Portugal has potentially the longest period of uninterrupted winemaking in history, and having recovered from the 20th Century – phylloxera, Salazar & poverty - this beautiful country is one of the richest and most exciting wine producing areas in Europe today, offering an excellent point of difference and value for money.
Galets or pebblestones, famous in France’s Rhone Valley- as well as in Monção-Melgaco.
While there are gems in the southern half of the country and its islands, the cooler climate in the northern regional zones of Beiras & Minho make the northern-half of Portugal ideal for winemaking. Here, we represent producers from Vinho Verde, Douro Valley, Dão & Bairrada; with a view to adding producers from other notable appellations in Portugal.
Portugal was the inspiration for DTF Wines and is the spiritual cornerstone of the portfolio. Their wines are becoming ever-more understood and appreciated by New Zealanders and are a must for all lists and shelves.
Vinho Verde DOC
Vinho Verde, “green wine” - pronounced “Veen-yo Vurd” - is both a regional appellation and a style of wine that begins at the Minho River on the border with Spain and continues until the famed Douro River.
It’s cold and wet here, making for a lush green landscape and wines of a crisp refreshing nature- both white and red. Across the Vinho Verde wines, expect strong acid profiles, minerality and a refreshing nature. Beyond that, depending on the varieties used and the winemaking employed, we can find everything on the fruit spectrum, flowers, herbs, beeswax and spice. Forget the Vinho Verdes with a slight spritz: This comes from malolactic re-fermentation in the bottle due to imprecise winemaking. Vinho Verde should be still (unless the intention is to make a sparkling wine- which they also do well), and this is what the top producers focus on.
Map from Survives on Wine
Our producers are working with indigenous varieties. Alvarinho is commonly known by its Spanish name, Albarino, although there’s a good argument that it originates from Portugal. In any event, it’s great in both countries, and in Portugal it grows best in Monção & Melgaco. There it typically gets very ripe, exhibiting stone & exotic fruit, but also chamomile, green almond and white flowers. Loureiro tends to come from Barcelos & Lima, and literally translates to “smells like laurel [bay leaf]”, giving lots of herbs, flowers, green apples and citrus. Avesso means “inside out” or, perhaps, “inverse”: While Vinho Verde grapes are typically high in acid and low in alcohol, Avesso offers breadth in texture along with ripe peaches and nectarines, adding complexity in Vinho Verde blends. For the reds, Alvarelhão (Brancellao in Galicia) is the principal variety, making excellent light reds with juicy red fruit. Pedral (Espadeiro) adds refined fragrance while Verdelho-Feijão an earthy, rustic nature.
Douro DOC
The Douro is hotter and dryer in the eastern Superior zone, becoming colder and wetter further east. Baixa Corgo is where grapes for bulk wine and Ruby Port are produced, where as Cima Corgo is the source for grapes going into the best Port and table wines from the Douro. Dalva’s grapes are grown in the general vicinity of Pinhão.
Underneath the valley fog are hills full of schist - no alluvial soil to speak of - providing an excellent terroir from which to produce high quality grapes. On the schist, vineyards are historically co-planted with indigenous varieties that complement each other in regards to ripening periods, flavour & structure profiles. Furthermore, they were typically picked, processed and fermented all together. The wines are more of place than of grape, however, the grapes contribute to the place.
Curiously, it is only since the 1990’s that unfortified wines have been taken seriously here. Prior to that, the best grapes always went to Port, with the surplus turning into questionable wine. With a focus being given to both styles of wines now, coupled with the integration of modern wine making techniques (stainless steel, small format oak temperature control, pressing etc.) alongside traditional methods (stomping, fermenting in open concrete vessels - Lagares - ageing in large format, old oak), there is an increase in the quality and consistency of winemaking as well as a broadening of what is available.
While one could simply finish a conversation on Douro wines by saying that only terroir matters, the grapes being inconsequential, that would be overly reductive and limit our understanding of these wines. As with wines from Bandol, for example, the grapes matter- each bringing something to the table, tried and tested over time.
Dalva works with three varieties for both the white and red wines - brancos & tintos - in its blends.
For the former, Viosinho is a low yielding variety that tends towards oxidisation- earthy, savoury. Also brings body and acid, with floral notes, apricot and peach. Malvasia Fina (Boal in Madeira) is considered the most important of the Malvasia varieties, offering aromas of white peach, wildflowers, green almond, basil, and seashell. Produces full-bodied wines with ripe, honeyed, floral aromatics, subtle sweetness and nutty characteristics- and can be broad in structure. Finally, Códega (aka Roupeiro, Siria & Crato) is one of Portugal’s oldest white varieties, known in the Douro for its fresh, fruit-forward profile with pear, peach, and melon notes. Light-skinned and aromatic, it yields well and produces soft, low-acid fruit with a delicate, elegant character.
In the reds, the varieties used will sound much more familiar. Touriga Franca displays notes of blackberry, pomegranate, graphite, rose petal, and pink peppercorn. Characterised by full sugars, deep colour, and a supple structure, with a distinctly earthy, rustic edge. Touriga Nacional is a complex, harmonious variety with intense aromas of blueberry, violet, plum, mint, and wet slate. Rich in colour, it offers vibrant acidity, refined tannins, and a velvety yet structured palate. Youthful notes include crushed blackberries, cinnamon, white pepper, and damson, while age brings layers of leather, tobacco, and floral nuances. Noted for its freshness, precision, and long finish. Lastly, Tinta Roriz (aka Aragonês, Tempranillo, Tinto Fino, Tinto del Pais) offers notes of cherry, fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. Characterised by dark, softly tannic fruit, with the schist soils of the Douro affording a mineral freshness, poise, and a refined, nervy tension—an effortlessly sophisticated expression of the variety.