My first trip abroad with Tesco was also my introduction to Portugal. Lisbon’s 17 degrees was a welcome change after a grey January day in London. We dumped our bags and headed straight into the bohemian heart of the city, where I got my first real flavour of Portugal.
We found our restaurant on a narrow cobbled street, nestled between the colourful tiled buildings typical of the region. After greeting our winemaking hosts we were served the Quinta Foz de Arouce Cerceal 2009. This delicious white grows in the Beiras region from a family run estate owned by Falua, the same producers of whom we were visiting. Cerceal (also know as Sercial on Madeira), is one of the many Portuguese indigenous stars, making white wines of great depth and complexity, capable of great ageing potential. This example was straw gold in colour, packed full of citrus fruit, bay leaf and honey, framed by a wonderful mineral zing.
With a diverse menu, there was a lot of friendly discussion about what to eat, but after some inside insight from Roque, our Portuguese host, I ordered Bacalhau, the famous local salt cod. It did not disappoint! The dish was both flavoursome and delicate, with gusty and sweet flavours of the sea - the perfect accompaniment to the mineral freshness of the Cerceal. We finished the evening with a round of Bicas - the Lisbon expression for Espresso.
We rose to a glorious winter’s day, and once breakfasted we drove 40 minutes to the winery, through the alluvial plains of Tejo. The modern Falua winery is an industrial concrete building surrounded by ancient gnarled olive trees, a brilliant composition between the old and new. We were lead into a large airy room, overlooking expansive rows of quietly maturing barrels to conduct the tasting. The 2011 was a quality vintage, although scale was down to about 70% the usual annual volume the prestige of the wines were exceptional.
The first wine we tasted was for was the Finest* Vinho Verde, which is from Antinina the winemaker parents’ estate in the North of Portugal. All of our options were perfumed and elegant, high in limey fragrance, typical of the Louriero grape. We decided on a slightly riper style, which had a plumper mid palate still showing bags of classic Vinho Verde sherbet zap. We then moved into the Finest* Touriga Nacional Rose, the proposed blends were from a nearby vineyard and all had a glorious Morrello cherry hue, intense red berry fruit with a soft lick of green herbs. After carefully blending two of our favourite options, everyone was happy with the outcome, which had a strawberries and cream character and brilliant green freshness.
We then moved onto the reds, all showcasing the quality of the 2011 vintage. The first we tasted was our Finest* Douro Red which was too early in its life to finalise, but it was evident that the deep chocolate and rich fruit characters were going to evolve into a stunning wine when ready to bottle. Last on the list, we explored the options for our Finest* Touriga Nacional Red. The grape, Touriga Nacional, is considered by many to be Portugal's flagship red varietal. The grape gives small harvests of dark fruit which translate into deep and concentrated wines with vivid berry notes and firm structure. The outcome of our tasting was a complex wine with amazing purity of forest fruit, cigar box spice and juicy plum weight, supported by wild herb notes and integrated tannins.
After a tour around the rest of the winery, and a discussion about the wines we had just tasted over some lunch, we hit the road again with plenty of time for our evening flight home. Our hosts were kind enough to take us to one of the vineyards, where we saw a dedicated team pruning in preparation for next year’s harvest. We then took the scenic route back to Lisbon, through the centre of cork making country, drinking in the view of wild rolling hills and woodland. Cork trees take at least 30 years to develop into cork-producing trees. After the bark is harvested, it takes nine years for the tree to be ready for its next stripping. Just a thought for when you next pop the cork from your next bottle!
Once we had driven back over the Vasco da Gama Bridge, we parked in the Lisbon marina, to see some of the sights before our flight back to the UK. We wandered around the picturesque waterfront, with its abundance of wide open spaces and stunning modern architecture. The site was developed for the 1998 Expo when the whole area was rejuvenated from a prior industrial refinery, with one lone inactive smokestack standing as a memento of the past. Something I didn’t expect to see on the skyline was an alpine-like gondola lapping the marina's waters edge. With the opportunity for a memorable voyage and bird’s eye view of the area we all clambered into one of the revolving cabins. I may be used to seeing snowy peaks and pine forests from the windows of a cable-car, but the sunset over metropolitan Lisbon and Tagus estuary was an experience I'll never forget.
My first 24 hours in Portugal was a trip to remember. Portugal is a fascinating place, and so unlike its Iberian neighbour. From what I encountered of the county, I took away its scenic rugged landscape, friendly and welcoming people and its world class wines. Salute!