SommSelect’s “Explore 4” club is about adventure: Curated around a monthly theme, it’s a guided tour of the grapes, places, producers, and practices any true wine lover needs to know. This one-time offer is a chance to experience one of our recent club releases, “The New Douro,” which takes an in-depth look at Portugal’s dynamic Douro Valley.
Many tourists have traversed the Douro Valley, perhaps not realizing that this cavernous, terraced, UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered the first “protected region of origin” in the world. Historically, vintners floated their produce downriver to merchant-shippers (most of them British) in Oporto, the coastal city which eventually lent its name to the region’s famous fortified wines.
This region is most famous for Ports—sweet, fortified wines that are no longer very fashionable—but one of the biggest stories in wine right now is the Douro’s pivot to dry table wines, both red and white. Here are four favorites, culled from countless options. Douro table wines are the “growth stocks” of the moment. Here’s what’s in the box:
Luis Seabra Vinhos, “Xisto Ilimitado” Douro Branco 2021
Luis Seabra is a Portuguese wine celebrity and an influential mentor to other producers. Much like Spain’s Raul Pérez, Seabra took the measure of Portugal’s incredible stockpile of ancient grapes and heritage vineyards and reinterpreted them for the modern era. “Xisto Ilimitado” is his Portuguese answer to village-level Burgundy; the native grapes Rabigato (60%), Gouveio, Códega, and Viosinho are fermented 90% in used oak and 10% in stainless steel, then aged in the same mix of vessels for one year on lees.
QuantaTerra “Terra a Terra” Douro Reserva Branco 2021
This fleshy white is a blend of the native grapes Viosinho, Gouveio, and Rabigato sourced from the Alijó area of the Cima Corgo, which is known for its granitic subsoils. The finished wine was aged in a 50-50 combination of used French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, which lends a touch of creaminess without any heavier toast/spice notes.
Quinta de Ventozelo, Douro Reserva Tinto 2020
Ventozelo perfectly encapsulates what’s afoot in the Douro: First farmed by Cistercian monks in the Middle Ages, the property eventually became one of the region’s Port houses. In 2014, it was acquired by Gran Cruz, the country’s largest Port exporter, who not only modernized winemaking operations but now operate a chic hotel and restaurant on the property. Crafted from a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet and Sousão aged in 500-liter French oak barrels, this wine is a concentrated, well-structured style with an ink-purple hue and some firm, grainy tannins.
Wine & Soul, “Manoella” Tinto 2020
Jorge Serôdio Borges and Sandra Tavares da Silva are a high-profile husband-wife winemaking team in the Douro. Jorge was once the enologist at Niepoort, while Sandra became the first female winemaker in the Douro; together, they created Wine & Soul to showcase several distinct vineyard parcels across the Douro, including the Quinta da Manoella. This showstopper is an old-vine blend of 60% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Roriz and 5% of the obscure Tinta Francisca from the Quinta da Manoella vineyard, foot-pressed in traditional granite lagares after an eight-day fermentation/maceration. The finished wine is aged for 16 months in used French oak barriques.
We hope you enjoy this four-pack as much as we did—and walk away with some added insight besides. That’s what Explore 4 is all about, so if you like the format, check out our Wine Clubs page to make it official with a subscription. We’d love to have you along for the ride!
Please note, this item is a pre-packed selection chosen by our team of sommeliers and will ship on its own (free Ground shipping is included). Therefore, it does not count toward the 6-bottle free shipping minimum and is not eligible for Build a Case shipping.
Cheers,
The SommSelect Team
