Sarah remembers occasions for enjoying red Douro wines.
It’s funny how wine evokes random memories. For me, and Esporão’s Douro red wines, it’s a wobbly table outside of a Dublin tapas bar in the middle of summer. It was unusually warm (and dry), and the street was buzzing with activity.
This might seem like an obvious setting for a zippy white wine instead – perhaps Vinho Verde – but despite their depth and fullness, there is something satisfyingly refreshing about Douro reds. Perhaps it’s the acidity, or the slatey minerality.
On that evening in Dublin, the wine threw me back to a trip to the Douro in 2017. That was when I first saw those steep schist slopes, basking in the summer sun. They tell a story about what is in the bottle: the sunshine and high temperatures during the day explainings the intense fruit profile.
But the varieties in these blends can stand the heat. In fact, the Douro’s flagship variety Touriga Nacional has proven to be so well adapted to warmth that it is now being planted in Bordeaux. Producers recognize its high quality and suitability in a warming climate.
Quinta dos Murças Minas, Douro red 2017
Touriga Nacional plays an important role in this wine by Esporão, which is a blend of indigenous Portugese varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão.
And – being suited to the warm climate – they produce a wine with intense flavors, yet moderate alcohol. This rings in at 13.5%, making it a little more weeknight friendly than most warm-climate wines.
With intense yet fresh fruit red and black fruit, refreshing acidity, and slatey minerality this makes for enjoyable drinking even on a warm Miami evening. Perhaps my next memory of the wine will involve South Beach.
This post was brought to you in partnership with Wines of Portugal, in celebration of an upcoming tasting in Miami. Tickets to the consumer evening event have now sold out. Members of the trade are welcome to contact Melanie Migliorato (mmigliorato@sopexa.com) to enquire about the trade tasting. It will take place during the day on Thursday November 10th.
