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Story and photography by Manos Angelakis
SISAB 2010
“If lovers of wine and love go to hell,
Heaven must be empty”.
Rubayat, Omar Khayyam
The Portuguese Food & Wine industry hosted me for the 15th SISAB in Lisbon and, it was quite an experience.
SISAB is an international exposition that brings together producers and buyers of Portuguese food and wine products, as well as a few importers of food products from foreign countries to the Portuguese market.
Our group consisted of two food & wine writers from the East Coast, and wine importers from the tri-state area, Florida and the Midwest. We joined a group of buyers from Russia, Belgium, and France – all English speaking – that were interested in tasting the wines, as the quality of Portuguese wines has considerably improved in the last 10 years, while the export prices have remained low.
Two days prior to the opening of the fair, we were bussed to seven wineries, located about one hour North of Lisbon, in a viticultural area previously known as the Estremadura region, recently renamed the CVR Lisboa. Most of the wineries we visited were either individually owned properties with a long winemaking history or medium sized cooperatives. Even their entry-level product was quite remarkable, especially their red wines.
 The fair was well attended by buyers and sellers from all over Europe, China, Russia, Brazil, Angola, and, of course, from Portugal. At the fair, there were booths from most of the Portuguese wine DOs, including Madeira. The Madeira contingent was small, but considering that the island had just experienced devastating rains that resulted in mudslides killing numerous inhabitants, it was surprising that they were even there.
There were booths that exhibited fresh, frozen, and salted fish – Norwegian dry salted cod, Chilean Sea Bass, flash frozen sardines, octopus, and other fish and seafood. Also booths with hams, fresh and canned fruit, fresh flowers, honey, flash frozen desserts, chocolates, etc, etc.
 But of main interest to me were the wine exhibitors.
As I mentioned before, the quality of Portuguese wines has vastly improved over the last 10 years. And I’m not talking about Ports or Madeiras; these fortified wines have been known and considered of the highest quality since the 17th century when British took over the fortified wine export business in Oporto and Funchal.
What I’m talking about is red table wines, made from Iberian varietals or International grapes now flourishing in the Douro, Alentejo, Dão, and the area around Lisbon. And, of course Vinho Verde, the slightly effervescent, very fresh, white wine that goes very well with traditional Portuguese fare. 
Most of the reds I liked were blends of either two or more Iberian varietals or blends of Iberian varietals and International cultivars. There were a few monovarietal wines that I thought were also excellent, but my preference was the blends.
For example, the Reserva dos Amigos, from Vidigal Wines, in Leiria, a town over an hour North of Lisbon, was a line of red monovarietals (Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah) plus two whites (Sauvignon Blanc, and a blend). The reds were fine table wines with strong fruity flavors and firm tannins with a mouth filling richness. The 2007 Special Reserve was a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante, very Burgundy-like on the palate.
The same winery also gave us an exceptional blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. The 2005 Brutalis, is an age-worthy wine that I thought could rival, with a few more years of cellaring, any second growth Bordeaux.
And, talking about cellars and cellaring: our guide/translator, an intelligent young woman who freely admitted she new almost nothing about wines (she was an archeology major), kept telling us that we would be visiting some of the top area “celeries”. It took us a bit to understand that she meant cellars, not vegetables. But, I digress.
Another winery we visited, Quinta da Casaboa, whose origins date back to the 18th century, has been in the Ferreira dos Santos family for three generations - and getting ready for a fourth. I enjoyed two of their wines the 2005 Casaboa Reserva, an 100% Touriga Nacional wine, bottled in 2007. By the time we tasted it (2010), it had enough time in bottle for the tannins to soften, but the nose was still very aromatic, full of ripe red fruit. The palate was full, with balanced acidity and very good structure. The second wine I liked from the same winery was the 2007 Quinta da Casaboa, a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet. A lovely nose of wild forest berries with hints of vanilla and a palate with still young tannins and jammy black fruit flavors. This winery ages some of the wines in garrafas, i.e. large glass demijohns. This creates an ageing environment almost like stainless steel, but allows some micro-oxidation to occur, softening the tannins and building the aromatics.
 The Adega Cooperativa da Labrugeira CRL, is a medium sized cooperative in a region whose wine making history goes back to the Roman times.
The Fructus Colheita, was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Aragonêz (Tinta Roriz). A wine made with fruit from select blocks of the Montejunto vineyards. Aged in new oak, it has developed great complexity and, thanks to the small amount of Aragonêz, a highly aromatic nose. Aromas of very ripe black fruit, apricots, and chocolate with a hint of pepper and grassiness. Full body with soft tannins but a slightly firm acidity. Plums and licorice on the palate; this is a wine that goes well with game and roasted red meat.
From the same winery, a white Barão de Alenquer. A blend of Arinto, Fernão Pires and Seara Nova (all Portuguese white varietals). Lime, green apple, and  lemon on the nose, with sweet tropical fruit on the palate with hits of grapefruit zest. The vintage we tasted showed a bit of oak that was starting to subside.
DFJ Vinhos, S.A. (José Maria da Fonseca) was another vintner that had a stand at the fair and we also visited their Quinta do Porto Franco, so I had a double chance to taste their wines. This is a company that produces high quality wines at a very good price. They have an extensive repertoire from basic bottles to iconic, both monovarietals and blends. Interesting was their bivarietal blend line that utilizes the strengths of two grape varieties that complement each other.
From The Lisboa DO, two bivarietal blends, the Touriga Nacional/Touriga Franca and the Pinot Noir/Alfrocheiro were very interesting; both full bodied with appealing nose and palate, but could stand same cellaring to soften the tannins  that warrant age ability. Another bottle from the same group a blend of Caladoc/Alicante Bouschet was slightly lighter with softer tannins; ready to be drunk now.
From their Grand’ Arte line, the monovarietals Alvarinho (white) and Touriga Nacional (rosé) and their Special Selection Touriga Nacional (full-bodied red) were exceptionally crafted and extremely logically priced for the quality. Also from the Grand’ Arte line, the Pinot Noir and Shiraz monovarietals were ready to drink. Their Icon line characterized by two, three, or even four grape varieties in the blend was brilliant with the Francos Alenquer blend of Touriga Nacional/Touriga Franca/Alicante Bouschet, a bit tannic but will age gracefully and so will the Francos Alenquer Reserva that is a bit less tannic as it has spent an extra year in oak than the regular blend. The wine I wanted to taste the most was a blend of four varietals: 25% Shiraz, 25% Merlot, 25% Touriga Nacional, and 25% Grenache. Called Quinta do Rocio, and still bearing the Estramadura DO designation; I don’t seem to find it yet in the New Jersey area where I live. Green pepper and a bit of wild raspberries on the nose with hints of leather. A little fat on the palate. Balanced and well made.
These are some of the wines I liked. In another issue I will also mention some other wineries, like Casa Santos Lima and Companhia Agrícola do Sanguinhal, where I also tasted exceptional wines.
Note: Many of the Portuguese grape varieties are also found in Spain under different names. For example, Aragonês (or Aragonéz) is Garnacha or Tempranillo depending on the area – and in other areas of both Portugal and Spain Tempranillo is also called Tinta Roriz. Castelão is also locally known as Periquita though Periquita is also a brand name for a blend of Castelão, Trincadeira and Aragonés (Tempranillo); while the Periquita Reserva is a blend, but in this case of Castelão, Turiga Nacional and Touriga Franca.
To your health!
© March 2010 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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