Tasting Douro wine brings me joy unlike any other: This ancient land is where I cut my wine teeth, so when I taste one that performs at such a high level for so little, it’s worth a grand unveiling.
“I am convinced that the Douro can also produce great unfortified red wines, capable of long aging and capable of taking their place among the great wines of the world,” says legendary Romainera owner Christian Seely. I’m right there with him. Having worked in the Douro Valley during my early years and tiptoed along its vertiginous, vine-covered hillsides, this place and their wines hold a dear spot in my heart. And today’s 2013 “Sino da Romaneira,” with its masterful blend of indigenous grapes, six years of maturation, and remarkably low price, has awed our entire team. This is one of the finest undercover values in wine, and there’s absolutely no rush to enjoy it because every ounce of freshness that was originally captured has staunchly remained in the bottle.
Vines have been planted at Romaneira since the mid-1700s and their inaugural vintage of Port wine was 1872, but due to the rigmarole of wine politics, their name wasn’t displayed on a bottle until 1986. Since that time, many other changes have come: Bordeaux and Portuguese expert Christian Seely, along with winemaker António Agrellos, purchased the estate in 2004 and immediately began a massive undertaking that involved re-energizing their old vines and building a brand new, mostly underground winery. Also owners of neighboring Quinta do Noval, another benchmark of Douro, they are a powerful duo that create some of the region’s best reds and Ports.
If you were to take a peaceful cruise along the winding Douro River, there would at some point come a continuous two-mile stretch of vines solely owned by
Quinta da Romaneira. Their estate includes some of the largest tracts of land anywhere in the Douro. Like report cards, vineyards in Douro are simply classified from ‘A’ down to ‘F,’ and all 86 hectares that Romaneira owns hold esteemed ‘A’ classifications. In 2013, their range of indigenous grapes (Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional) were picked throughout September and a warm vinification occurred in stainless steel vats. The resulting wine was then transferred into mostly used French
barriques for 14 months. Bottling occurred in the summer of 2015 and further aging was allowed. This ‘13 is their
current release!
Though Sino da Romaneira is priced like a “second wine” (modeled like Bordeaux, where both Seely and Agrellos have worked extensively), it certainly doesn’t lack the flavor and complexities of a Grand Vin. It pours a deep, healthy dark ruby and with just a few minutes of air starts releasing powerful aromatics. Though bushels of wild berry fruit dominate, the wine showcases meaty savor, garrigue, sun-baked earth, and exotic spices that further enchant the senses. There’s rich layers of black cherry, plums, and black raspberry to be had, but there isn’t a single moment where it lingers and saturates—the freshness here is off the charts! The palate is a constant interplay of elegance and ripeness, always walking a fine line, never straying. As such, it’s important to serve in large Bordeaux stems around 60 degrees in order to enjoy this brilliant gem to the best of its ability. Fire up the grill later this summer, grill up a goodly amount of Portuguese beef skewers, and uncork several bottles of Romaneira—if that isn’t considered a good time, then we are very different breeds! Cheers!
