Port anD the Douro 75straightforward elsewhere. The importance of many of these old and gnarled interplanted
vineyards should not be underestimated. Although different grape varieties continue to
be harvested at varying (uneven) degrees of ripeness, old vines still provide the core for
the finest, most concentrated vintage Ports just as they did in outstanding years like
1927, 1945, 1963 and 1966. However, with mechanisation unfeasible and yields steadily
declining, many older mixed vineyards are now uneconomic. A number of producers have
been examining ways to increase the viability of their vinha velha (old vines), including
bottling as a separate lot and selling the wine at a premium.
A number of leading growers are starting to believe that their forefathers were right
after all and are returning to mixed planting and co-fermentation. In what he terms
‘precision viticulture’ at Quinta da Roêda and Quinta de Terra Feita, António Magalhães
has been inter-planting both patamares and vinha ao alto with a number of different
varieties according to exposure in order to make up mixed lote. These include the top five
grape varieties alongside Tinta Amarela, Tinta Francisca, Alicante Bouschet and Rufete.
This varietal make up is a reflection of the reawakening of interest now being taken in
irrigation: a new PoleMiC
irrigation is proving to be an increasingly controversial topic in the douro. although the
european Union theoretically prohibits irrigation, some form of irrigation is nonetheless
essential in order to establish a vineyard in the douro. young vines are often watered
for the first two years from a bowser or by hand. Recurrent drought, however, has led
to some growers establishing vineyards with permanent drip irrigation, ignoring the
laws that prohibit it. there is already an excess of production in the douro which could
be exacerbated by further irrigation, though many growers maintain that controlled
irrigation is beneficial for balancing the plant and aiding maturation of the grapes. But
in an article in the Publico newspaper published in March 2012, david Guimaraens set
himself very publicly against irrigation for a number of reasons. he argues that the
region has survived without irrigation for three hundred years and that it is only since
the replanting of vineyards, many on less then ideal soils, that irrigation has become
necessary. added to which, the block planting of a limited number of varieties has
made douro vineyards more susceptible to drought than the old interplanted vineyards
which included varieties that were drought resistant. he goes on to state that it takes
ten years to establish a vineyard and that today’s growers ‘no longer have any patience’.
once they start irrigating their vines, the deep root systems that are so important to
producing a great wine never develop properly, making the vines even more prone
to drought and totally dependent on irrigation. Guimaraens concedes that there is a
need for irrigation in the douro superior but questions why so many producers have
migrated there, especially with concerns about climate change. a question of sour
grapes, perhaps?