“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.” – Norman Maclean
I love the lines above, which are from the book A River Runs Through It, but in final scene of the movie they are voiced by Robert Redford, which is chilling. The lines relate to a man who has lived a long life fishing the rivers of Montana, haunted by the family and friends who have come and gone. They are also appropriate for our topic this quarter. All three selections come from either side of the river that originates in the Spanish highlands as the Ribera del Duero, traveling 557 miles and terminating in the Atlantic Ocean in northern Portugal. Along the banks of the river in both countries this river has been home to winemaking for nearly 2600 years with styles that have come and gone. Right now there is seismic shift happening as young, modern winemakers are rebelling against the idea the wines from these extreme climates must be powerful. These producers are striving to achieve wines of elegance and above all, a sense of terroir. It is a far cry from the examples of the past three decades, but I believe you will agree, a style whose time has come.
Download Full Club Write-upWine and Soul Pintas Character 2022
The wines of Sandra Tavares da Silva and Jorge Serôdio Borges are the perfect place to begin this journey. Jorge is a 5th generation winemaker, born in the Douro Valley and never desired to live or work anywhere else. In 1999 he was working for a prestigious winery when he met Sandra, a young intern from Lisbon. The two fell in love and married in 2001, at which time they also launched Wine & Soul, dedicated to wines made from ancient vines.
When they created Wine and Soul they owned no vineyards, but thanks to a lifetime spent in the Douro Jorge knew where the best vineyards lie. With fortified wine, or Port wine, sales declining many of the best old vineyards were/are being abandoned or sold for rock bottom prices. Initially working with leased vineyards and making wine in their garage, the couple purchased the Pintas vineyard which is a 4 acre parcel of 100 year old vines in 2004. They have since acquired neighboring sites and it is from a combination of Pintas and 4 surrounding sites that this wine is made. These sites have vines that are more than 70 years old, many well past 100, and are planted to a mix of 30-40 different grape varieties. While this may sound extreme, I have spoken with many growers in the Douro who have similar parcels of old vines. This is the way the producers a century ago would build wines with balance, long before they new anything about wine chemistry.
To emphasize the terroir of the wine Silva and Borges still believe in some of the old techniques in the cellar. The grapes for this wine are hand harvested, as the slopes are so steep machines are impossible. They are partially de-stemmed before being placed in old, granite lagars. These are shallow tanks in which the grapes are then foot trodded for a couple of hours to pulverize the thick grape skins. The resulting juice is fermented for 10 days with skin contact, then racked to French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic conversion and aging. When you prepare to serve this wine decant for up to two hours before serving and chill to cellar temperature. The nose is quite ripe, with notes of cooked blueberry, blackberry, dark chocolate, dried black plums, graphite and rosemary. The feel on the palate starts out with a lot of density, then suddenly lifts and there is a surprising finesse that carries into the finish. Drink 2025-2030.
Maria Izabel Douro 2016
The origin of Quinta Maria Izabel is very different from that of Wine and Soul, but their goals are the same, to craft modern Douro wines that express the terroir of their sites. This estate was established by João Carlos Paes Mendonça and his brother Reginaldo, who own Grupo JCPM, a massive construction and development company in Brazil. Lovers of the wines of the Douro they purchased nearly 325 acres of land in the tenderloin of the region, assisted by none other than
Dirk Niepoort. Niepoort is the scion of an eponymous house that has been making fortified wines since 1842. Many attribute the movement of terroir driven table wines to Niepoort and his kids with fostering the low intervention, “natural wine” movement in the Douro.
All of the vineyards in the Douro Valley lie on a ribbon of schist soils that surround the river on both banks, rarely stretching more than 1000 feet from the water. This has been exposed by millions of years of erosion as the river carved a deep trough in the granite rock of the region. In order to plant on the ridiculously steep slopes of the river the land is often terraced which can allow for some use of machines. Schist soils are very poor in organic material and hold very little moisture, so the vines are forced to send roots deep to the bedrock in order to survive. This is why so many producers lean into the powerful style of winemaking as the grapes can be harvested very ripe and almost dehydrated after a hot, dry growing season.
The site used to produce this wine has two different vineyard blocks. The first is 90 years old and planted to a mix of different grape varieties. The second is 40 years old and planted only with Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Francisca, and Tinta Amarela grape varieties. To make this wine the older block is harvested and foot trodded in lagars before the juice is moved to large oak casks for fermentation. The younger block is harvested but fermented in stainless steel tanks. The blend is then made and aged for 3 years in new French oak barrels, then an additional 6 months in older casks before bottling.
What struck me about this wine is it weighs in at only 13.5% ABV, a rarity in Douro wines. This is apparent in the nose as this wine displays more red fruits in the form of cooked cherry, red plum, dried green fig, white pepper, graphite and a kiss of tomato leaf. The palate is also different, with a medium weight feel and surprisingly high toned fruit and a very slate-y intensity that carries into the finish. This one still needs some time so drink 2028-2035.
Picaro del Aguila Ribera del Duero 2021
For the final selection we cross the frontier and land in the far eastern edge of the Ribera del Duero appellation of Spain. The Dominio del Águila winery is the blood and sweat of Jorge Monzón Pascual & his wife Isabel Rodero. Together they craft their wines in almost open defiance to the conventional styles of the region. Where so many estates in the Duero produce high alcohol, over extracted and oaky examples, Jorge and Isabel make wines that are fresh and lively, with impressive intensity. This is no surprise when you consider that Jorge began his winemaking career at the famed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in the Burgundy region of France. In fact, he showed up at their door of DRC with no experience, or recommendations, and did not even speak the language. Somehow he convinced them to bring him on as an intern, learning under the legendary maître de chai, Bernard Noblet. Returning to the Ribera del Duero he landed at none other than Vega Sicilia, the most important winery in the region, where he was tasked with creating a white wine.
During this time Jorge began purchasing old vineyards in danger of being replanted with newer, higher yielding clones of Tempranillo. Recognizing that these undesirable vineyards were ancient, unproductive massale selections of Tempranillo mixed with a diverse range of other varieties, including a high proportion of white grapes. These vineyards are primarily Tempranillo interplanted with Albillo, Tempranillo Gris, Cariñena, Garnacha, Bobal, Bruñal and others so obscure that they haven’t been identified yet. Ranging in age from 60-150+ years old, these old vines were a snapshot of how complexity and balance were achieved in the vineyards before modern winemaking. Today Jorge and Isabel produce a series of wines from these old vines including this wine and a Clarete that was featured in our Everything-But-Red club in March.
Looking at the grape list for this wine it is surprising it has been granted appellation status, as it is a field blend of Tempranillo, Albillo, Garnacha, and Bobal. This property is a mix of dozens of small parcels planted to very old vines. They have organic certification for the entire property and the winery is a 15th century renovated cellar under their home village of La Aguilera. Grapes are harvested as whole clusters and are foot trodded for an hour before going into concrete tanks for fermentation. Jorge uses the natural yeast for fermentation and then the wine is moved to large French casks for 12 – 20 months before bottling.
Decant this wine for a half hour before serving, longer is even better. The nose is a surprisingly restrained combination of fresh black raspberry and dark cherry, dried cranberry, graphite and dried sage. On the palate this wine is also quite firm given the lighter color, with finely grained, integrated tannins. Drink 2025-2030.