A Great Place to Drink Wine, So Why Ignore the Local Producers?
Who Cares About Algarve Wine?
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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).
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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...
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| 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….
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| Well sometimes a beer is necessary |
… is a beer.
