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The Golden Boys of Douro

The Douro Boys are not a Portuguese boy band but a group of five leading Douro families and estates
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The Douro Boys, in case you were wondering, are not a Portuguese boy band but a group of five leading Douro families and estates including the Olazabal from Quinta do Vale Meão, Roquette from Quinta do Crasto, van Zellar from Quinta Vale Dona Maria, Ferreira from Quinta do Vallado and Niepoort from Quinta de Napoles. 

 
The group of producers got together in 2003, and all five wineries have their own distinct wine styles and, being true pioneers, are producing some of the most exciting wines in Portugal. The Douro valley is one of the oldest demarcated wine regions in the world and is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. The viticulture industry has been established there for the past 2000 years but most of the wines have been indifferent over the last 300 years. Douro, roughly translated meaning “river of gold”, has been a traditional area for Port wine production, but the last 20 years has seen a sharp rise in the quality of table wines from this area.  
 
Portugal has a wide bio-diversity of soils, going from alluvial in the south, to schist and then granite at the top end, with granite producing probably the best wines. Generally, most of the varied and indigenous gapes such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cao and Tinta Barocca are all handpicked due to the sleep slopes. Portuguese producers also receive good reviews from international critics, with Wine Spectator leading the way, awarding three of the Douro group a spot on the Wine Spectator Top 100 wine list for 2011. There are also serious ratings from Robert Parker, widely regarded as the most influential wine critic in the world. 
 
I was fortunate enough to taste some of these wonderful wines recently at the Tasting Room by Galliot, Crown Towers, City of Dreams.    
 
Francisco ‘Xito’ Olazabal, winemaker for Quinta do Vale Meão and also for Quinta do Vallado, was Portugal’s ‘Winemaker of the Year’ for 2010. His father Vito, who I met in Porto, is the owner, local legend and ambassador for the region. He is also the great-grandson of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, the grand dame of the 19th century Douro valley. Recently on a trip to New York, I met another member of the family, Luisa Olazabal, so the family works very hard to get their wines on the international stage. We tried the excellent Quinta do Vale Meão 2008/2009, the second label Meandro and some vintage Ports 2003/2007, all first class, but the Quinta do Vale Meão 2009 was perhaps my favourite from the tasting.     
 
Quinta do Vallado, is a stunning winery overlooking the Corgo River from its steep terraces, and combines old traditions with very modern techniques. The owner is João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro.  We tried the Quinta do Vallado Reserva Field Blend 2009, Vallado Adelaide vintage Port 2009 and also the Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 2009 – with great wines like these and a brand new hotel, he is very much part of the new Douro.  
 
Cristiano van Zeller is the owner of Quinta Vale Dona Maria, a giant not only in size but also within the Port industry. Larger than life and well respected in the community, he is the onetime owner of Quinta do Noval, the famous Port house. We tried the Quinta Vale Dona Maria 2009 which Robert Parker rates at 96 points and the always impressive wine, CV (Curriculum Vita). Cristiano mentions that all these wines are foot trodden in traditional lagares, as is the way in Douro, and spend 9-18 months in French oak casks and are bottled unfiltered. 
 
Miguel Roquette is from Quinta do Crasto, which offered us the Quinta do Crasto Reserva 2009, an exceptional blend of up to 25-30 regional grape varieties, all made from old vines. Quinta do Crasto’s top two wines have to be the Vinha Maria Teresa and the Vinha Da Ponte. There is also a joint venture with Jean-Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages producing an elegant wine called Xisto, named after the schist soil that makes up most of the Douro valley.  
 
Quinta de Napoles is the home of Dirk Niepoort and his famous Port, and offers an extensive range of table wines from the white Redoma and Tiara to the elegant Charme, the powerful Batuta, and the interesting range of new experiments called Projectos. Dirk guided us through a tasting of the Redoma white 2009, Redoma red 2006, vintage Port 2000 and the wonderful named Charme 2007. He explained that the Douro Valley has the potential to be the best wine producing region in the world and if they keep making wines like these, who would disagree with him? 
 
The main goal of the Douro Boys is to “put Douro on the map”, and after meeting them, I would have to say that they are some of the most charismatic, down to earth and most talented people in the Portuguese wine industry, passionate about what they believe in and just the right people to bring these superb wines to the world. 
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