256 Port anD the Douro
Quinta do Portal
Celeirós do Douro, 5060 Sabrosa
tel: (351) 259 937 104
http://www.quintadoportal.pt
Huge amounts of capital have been poured into this property near Celeiros, owned by Oporto
accountant Eugenio Branco. With ninety-five hectares of vineyard split between four different
sites in the Pinhão valley (mostly at a fairly high altitude) and an up-to-date winery designed
by Álavro Siza Viera, Portal has all the right ingredients to make some fine Douro wine.
Portal’s wines have a style of their own, helped by Frenchman Pascal Chatonnet, the self-styled
‘wine alchemist’. The range is huge; perhaps too large and too eclectic to send a clear message.
Portal’s whites are lifted with a portion of Moscatel from Quinta de Abeleira near Favaios.
There’s a rosé, varietal reds and some ripe yet well-balanced Reservas and Grande Reservas.
Prats & symington
Prats & Symington Lda
travessa Barão de Forrester, 4400 – 034 Vila nova de Gaia
tel. (351) 223 776 300
http://www.chryseia.com
Prats and Symington is a joint venture between Bruno Prats, former owner of Château Cos
d’Estournel in Pauillac, and the Symington Family, owners of Cockburn, Dow, Graham and
Warre. In 1998 the two families resolved to make a top-class red in the Douro, combining the
Symington’s knowledge of the region with Prats’ reputation as a producer of fine red Bordeaux.
A few experimental lotes were made in 1999 to identify the best grape varieties and vineyard
plots and in 2000 they produced their first wine. The wine was named Chryseia, the classical
Greek translation of Douro which means ‘of Gold’. Since 2009, the wine has been based on two
vineyards, Quinta de Perdiz in the Rio Torto and Quinta de Roriz. Roriz is north facing and
produces well-defined, minerally, aromatic wines; Perdiz yields softer, riper reds. Both estates have
high proportions of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with smaller quantities of Tinta Roriz,
Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão occasionally incorporated into the blend of second wines, Post
Scriptum and Prazo de Roriz. All the wines are made at Roriz. There is a strong French input.
After triage (grape selection at the winery), vinification and élevage follow Bordeaux methods,
with the aim of producing a wine with more finesse than is usual in the Douro. Aged for between
eight and twelve months in new 400-litre French oak barrels, Chryseia has developed as a big,
structured style of wine with fine-grained tannins lending some Bordelais finesse.
Ramos Pinto
Adriano Ramos Pinto (Vinhos) SA
avenida Ramos Pinto, 380, 4400-266 Vila nova de Gaia
tel. (351) 223 707 000
http://www.ramospinto.pt
João Nicolau de Almeida took over from where his father, Fernando (of Barca Velha fame),
left off. Their backgrounds could hardly be more different. Whereas his father learnt about