Algarve Wines in Daily Telegraph
- Written by Paul Rees
Robert Joseph writing in the Travel section of this Saturday's Daily Telegraph (August 13th 2011), gave readers his summary of what's worth seeking out on holiday in europe's wine producing countries, including Portugal.
'"Every year in the nineties, when writing the entry on Portugal in The Sunday Telegraph Wine Guide, I used to describe it as the sleeping beauty of the wine world: a country with brilliant grape varieties, an ideal climate and some sophisticated port producers, but few world-class reds and whites. The eyelids finally began to twitch noticeably a decade or so ago with the arrival of a new generation of winemakers who focused on developing the deep, plummy-mulberry potential of the local touriga nacional grape.
Today, sommeliers across the globe are falling in love with rich reds, particularly from the port-producing country of the Douro in the north and the Alentejo to the south. The list of top wines is growing every year, but names I would look out for would include Lavradores de Feitoria, Quinta do Vale D Maria, Quinta do Vallado, Pintas, Crasto, Esporão and Pera Manca from Adega da Cartuxa.
Good wines are even being produced in the Algarve. Most of the attention here goes to Cliff Richard's Adega do Cantor, but it is Quinta dos Vales that is winning the gold medals in London."
Top marks to Karl Heinz Stock's and his total regeneration of 'Quinta dos Vales' in Estombar, Algarve which now is paying dividends as his medal winning wines continue to impress judges in Portugal and export markets.
