Drinking the Algarve 2022

A Great Place to Drink Wine, So Why Ignore the Local Producers?

Who Cares About Algarve Wine?

Portugal

Even a cursory glance at Eating the Algarve shows that a glass of wine is the essential accompaniment to any Portuguese meal. Fish being our usual choice in most restaurants, we have inevitably absorbed a considerable quantity of ‘house white’ over the years.

There goes another bottle of house white

You cannot travel far in the Algarve without stumbling over a vineyard, but a far more intensive search is required to find a restaurant with an Algarve house wine; the locals, it seems, do not rate their own product. Portugal is awash with wine, with something to suit everybody’s taste and pocket, so who cares about the Algarve's wines?

The Comissão Vitivinícola Regional (CVR), That’s Who

Portuguese wine regions

Before Portugal joined the European Community (now EU) only a few wine regions had been designated and the system was rudimentary. Since joining in 1986 they have developed a system as all-embracing and intricate as those of France or Italy. Twenty-six regions have Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) status, several with multiple sub-regions and ‘special designations’, 4 regions have Indicação de Proveniência Regulamentada (IPR) status and should be upgraded to DOC eventually, and there are 11 Vinho Regional (VR) designations for more basic wines, or for winemakers who do not want to play by the strict DOC rules.

The adjacent map shows the DOC and IPR areas. The Algarve, ringed in red has four DOCs, from west to east Lagos (pronounced LAH-gush and definitely not the largest city of Nigeria), Portimão, Lagoa and Tavira, and these areas, have been designated almost as long as there has been a system. Why the Algarve received such special treatment is a mystery, but they have failed to take advantage of it. We have stayed in Carvoeiro, in the Lagoa municipality, every year for the last 17, so have drunk several Lagoa wines, enjoyed a couple of good Portimãos but never seen a bottle of DOC Lagos or Tavira.

Sir Cliff Richard, That’s Who Else

I am old enough to remember Cliff Richard as a lip-curling teenage rebel somewhat unconvincingly marketed as the British Elvis Presley. In the 2011 version of this post, I wrote that the same girls who screamed at him in 1960 have recently been queuing overnight for tickets for his new tour. The ‘girls’ may now be grandmothers, the teenage rebel has become Sir Cliff and an official national treasure, but little else seems to have changed. If such longevity seemed unlikely sixty years ago, it was an even more remote possibility that the same Cliff would play a major part in revitalizing Algarve winemaking, though that, too, came to pass. (I say re-vitalizing, but no one remembers when it was ever vitalized.)

Sir Cliff planted a vineyard on his estate near the village of Guia in 1997. He built the Adega do Cantor, a state-of-the-art winery, next door and suddenly premium wine was being made in the Algarve. In 2006 I described Cliff's Vida Nova as the best and most expensive Algarve wine I had ever drunk - though the bar was not set high in either case. In June 2019 Vida Nova Reserva Tinto 2015 was judged ‘Best Wine of the Algarve’ at the 12th Algarve Wines Competition (see Algarve Resident 13-Jun-2019).

Sir Cliff, the granny's heartthrob, hawks his wares on the streets of Lagos 2014

Cliff has now sold the Adega do Cantor to businessman Joaquim Pires who has great ambitions for the winery (Portugal News, 14-Apr-2022), but by creating a ‘boutique winery’ in this previously unloved corner of the wine world, Cliff opened the door for those who follow.

Some Boutique Wineries

By 2011 most supermarkets had a ‘local wine corner’ now they have a whole shelf or two. Prices vary widely, as does the quality. As a general rule you get what you pay for, but like all rules there are exceptions.

In previous years, from the boutique-y end of the market I have enjoyed the wines of Herdade de Pimenteis near Portimão, and Borges da Silva and Monte da Casteleja in Lagos. With an oenology degree from Montpellier University and a masters from Wagga Wagga in Australia, Guillaume Leroux (French father, hence the name) at Monte da Casteleja epitomises the new wave Algarve wine farmer. The peasant winemaker – indeed the Portuguese peasant – died out last century.

Monte de Casteleja's Maria

Ironically in a region famed for its fish, the red wines are more reliable. Other sun-drenched seaside areas, like Provence and Corsica, specialise in rosé, and maybe the Algarve could, too. In 2011 I enjoyed rosés from the Quinta dos Vales in Estômbar and João Clara in Alcantarilha (about whom more later). They are both crisp and bone-dry. Those as old as I am will remember Mateus Rosé from their early wine drinking days. The bottles made fine bases for lampshades, but the contents, slightly fizzy and slightly sweet, were regrettable. The modern rosés are different beasts.

No doubt there are many new wineries since 2011, and many older ones I missed, so absence from the short list above is not an implied criticism. All the producers above are still in business (and may or may not accept the description ‘boutique winery’).

2022, Trickledown Treats

Traditionally wine regions grow from the bottom. Wine is produced in bulk, some favoured vineyards or more careful winemakers acquire a reputation of quality, others attempt to follow their lead and a quality wine industry develops. The Algarve is trying to do this in reverse, balancing new wineries with an accent on quality on a rickety base of a modest quantity of modest quality wines. Will it work and will there be some trickledown, encouraging all the region’s winemakers to strive for higher quality?

This year I decided that all the wine we drink ‘at home’ (i.e. in our rented apartment) would be Algarve wines from the cheaper (€4-8) end of the market. Alentejo just to the north (region 20 on the map) produces a vast quantity of very drinkable wine in this price range, but what about the Algarve?

Reds

2018 Lagoa Estagiado Tinto

According to Google translate ‘Estagiado’ means ‘Intern’ - maybe something is lost in translation. This is from the cheaper end of the price spectrum, but nonetheless a DOC Lagoa wine (DOP on the label means the same) produced by the Lagoa Co-operative winery. It is made from a typical Portuguese blend of Castelão, Trincadeira and Tinta Negra Mole.

Lagoa Tinto

According to the back label this garnet red.. wine..,exhibits… aromas of red fruit and jam. The soft tannins give… a balanced and enjoyable structure and finishes with notes of ripe fruit. (their translation)

My verdict: A host of flavours wander round in this meagre soup of a wine, some enjoyable, some less so. A thin and mean tannic finish.

2018 Porches Tinto, Vinho Regional Algarve

Another wine from the local cooperative, this one named after a village in the Lagoa region.

A dark red with a pleasant warm nose and gentle tannins. A little more acidity would improve it, but there is a pleasing depth of flavour. An Aragonez, Trincadeira and Castelão blend and as Aragonez is Portuguese for Tempranillo, some quality would be expected. Easy drinking, full of warmth and sunshine with a hint of sweetness in the finish.

2018 Porches Tinto, VR Algarve

A Vinho Regional from the same producers as the DOC Lagoa, but a much better wine. In the Algarve DOC does not always mean very much.

Rosés

2021 Villa Alvor Rosé, VR Algarve

Avelada are a major Portuguese wine producer based in the far north. They opened Villa Alvor in 2019, nestled, according to their publicity, between the Ria de Alvor and the Serra de Monchique - more prosaically on the flatland north of Alvor between the N125 and the A22 motorway. It is, though, pleasantly surrounded by vines and orange trees.

Villa Alvor Rosé - it's a wine that causes silly grins

It is a thin-bodied fully dry rosé. More acidity would give it crispness, some fruit would make it smile, but as it is, it is not particularly pleasant. The back label, oddly, calls it a true Mediterranean rosé. The Portuguese version later mentions an influencia maritima, the English and French versions more honestly Atlantic influence of influence atlantique.

It shows growing faith in Algarve wines when the corporates start to arrive. The spelling of Villa (Portuguese has a single ‘l’) and the use the word ‘Mediterranean’ suggest they are looking for a style from elsewhere. They have a long way to go yet.

2021 Herdade Barranco do Vale, Negra Mole Rosé Reserva, VR Algarve

Herdade Barranco do Vale is a family business in São Bartolomeu de Messines, well away from the coast and tourist hordes. Their philosophy, they say, is to create their own style of wines, using the ‘Algarve’s Mediterranean and Atlantic influences’ and its traditional varieties. At €8 this was one of the more expensive Algarve wines I tried.

Herdade Barranco do Vales, Negra Mole Reserva Rosé

It is a pretty salmon colour. Well chilled and with crisp acidity its initial impact is delightful… then it just fades away to nothing. Negra Mole is certainly a traditional variety; grown all over Portugal and known as a large-cropping workhorse grape useful for blending. For €8 I don’t expect Shergar, but I was hoping for something better than Dobbin.

2021, Monte da Ria ‘Estate Blend’ Rosé, VR Algarve

Monte da Ria seems to be an Algarve off-shoot of the Douro based Dom Vicente company, though I have been unable to locate their Algarve base. This is the pale ‘Estate blend’ they also do a darker ‘Field blend’ rosé, both are priced at €6.99 on their website.

Monte da Ria, Algarve rosé

A pale salmon rosé. A lot of fruit on the nose by Algarve standard and a distinct strawberry aroma. Crisp and clean on the palate, and the flavour persists, unlike like the Barranco do Vale above. A well-made and enjoyable rosé.

Whites

Quinta da Francês, Odelouca Branco, VR Algarve

Quinta do Francês is a family estate, with 9 hectares of vineyard, in the Odelouca River Valley a little north west of Silves. Some of their wines sell for surprisingly large sums (Tanners of Shrewsbury sell their top red cuvée for almost £20) but not this example.

Odelouca Brance, VR Algarve

Brighter than many Portuguese whites with a nice shine and the faintest greenish tinge. A fresh nose with plenty of fruit, perhaps gooseberry, maybe greengage. It starts well on the palate, crisp and fruity, then it fades and disappears. Wine needs acidity, but this has a little too much for my taste.

Quinta de Penina, Foral de Portimão Branco, VR Algarve

Vinhos Portimão own the Quinta da Penina vineyards, north of Alvor and adjacent to those of Villa Alvor (see above). The first wines under the Foral de Portimão brand were made in a borrowed winery in 2005. Since 2021 the company has a new winery between Portimão and Lagoa, equidistant between their estate at Quinta da Penina and vineyards at Quinta Palmeirinha.

Foral de Portimão Branco

Made from Viognier, much grown in the Rhône Valley and the rarer Arinto de Bucelas, used mainly in Vinho Verde in the north. A pleasant nose, plenty of fruit at the front of the palate and enough body to hold it together to the end. The Arinto provides acidity and a squeeze of lemon. A well-made and well-structured wine.

And last, but by no means least,

João Clara Branco, VR Algarve

I have already said that I enjoyed João Clara rosé in 2011. This year (2022) we went for lunch on our final day (traditionally chicken piri-piri) at O Barco on the little square by the beach in Carvoeiro. This year, for the first time, their wine list was proudly headed by two Algarve wines, the cheaper of which turned out to be unavailable, so we went for the João Clara Branco. I paid €23 for an Algarve wine! Madness? Well perhaps...

João Clara Branco, O Barco, Carvoeiro

… but we enjoyed clean fruitiness, crisp acidity (so often baked out by the southern sun) and enough body to carry a hearty rather than elegant meal. We felt very happy with our choice.

Conclusion

These 8 wines are a mixed bag. None were actively unpleasant, though one verged on it. Three more were best forgotten, another three made pleasant drinking and one was outstanding. Most were inexpensive but… and this is a rather important but… at every price point there is a better wine available from neighbouring Alentejo. I think Algarve wines are improving, I will continue to check out one or two each year, but most of the wine we drink in Portugal will be, as they were in the past, from Alentejo.

Now, after all that wine what I need….

Well sometimes a beer is necessary

… is a beer.

Algarve Posts

The Algarve: Delights and Depredations(2010)
Mexilhoeira Grande and a Long Lost Cousin (2013)
The West Coast (2013)
Lagos (2014)
Castro Marim and Vila Real do Santo António (2015)
The Boxes of Carvoeiro (2016)
Mertola and Alcoutim: Strongholds by the Guadiana River (2017) - Also under Alentejo
Silves, Former Capital of the Algarve (2018)
Drinking the Algarve (2022)
Eating the Algarve (2024)