Portuguese grapes varieties for red wine
Main Portuguese grapes varieties used for red wine.
In Portugal there are several types of grapes varieties
used for red wine. Some create fantastic monovarietal wines or wonderful
blended wines.
There are over 4,000 varieties of grapes identified and
catalogued globally. Portugal ranks as the country with the second largest
number of indigenous grape varieties, not found in other parts of the world.
Since it’s almost impossible to write about all the
grapes varieties founded in Portugal, continental and islands, we will bring to
you some of the most available grapes varieties used in our red wines.
Castelão
This is one of the most commonly-planted grapes in the
south of the country.
It is especially popular in the regions Tejo, Lisboa,
Península de Setúbal and Alentejo, and is happiest in hot climates and dry,
sandy soils.
It performs at its best in the Palmela region of the
Setúbal Peninsula south of Lisbon, in old vineyards in the hot, sandy soils
around Peceirão.
Castelão grapes from carefully-managed, low-yielding old
vines can be made into well-structured wines with plenty of tannin and acidity,
and fruit reminiscent of redcurrants, preserved plums and berries, sometimes
with a hint of well-hung game.
Castelão is rarely able to shake off a rustic
character. The best examples can age very well, sometimes resembling fine old
Cabernet when mature.
Alicante Bouschet
Despite not being an indigenous Portuguese grape variety,
Alicante Bouschet is so deep-rooted in Alentejo and the Setubal Peninsula collective
patrimony that it is often assumed to be Portuguese. In fact it is a displaced
variety, the result of conjoining the French varieties Petit Bouschet and
Grenache.
It is one of the world's very few colouring grapes, able
to provide concentrated, deeply coloured wines, a feature that has earned it
the nickname "Writing Ink".
Alicante Bouschet's natural habitat has always been the
Alentejo. Introduced here over one hundred years ago by the Reynolds family.
Its many wine attributes include structure, firmness,
tannins ... and color, lots and lots of color! Alicante Bouschet is seldom
bottled as a varietal wine, reinforcing its image as a rustic, structuring
grape that could produce pungent and extraordinary wines.
It does wonders to a blend, adding color, vigour and
volume, as so many Alentejo and the Setubal Peninsula wines will attest to.
The aromas it evokes are of forest berries, cocoa, olives
and vegetal notes. Alicante Bouschet is assuredly our most Portuguese
non-Portuguese grape variety.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most international of all
French grape varieties, being widely grown across all five continents.
It has found a special niche and style in the Setubal Peninsula
and Alentejo, one of the few Portuguese winegrowing regions where it can ripen
to perfection.
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of those varieties that can be
termed "enriching"; deeply colored and thick-skinned, it can spice up
blends, imbuing body and consistency to well-composed, perfumed, fruity and
spicy wines.
It is rarely bottled as a varietal wine in the Alentejo,
but is present in small amounts to give structure in many regional Alentejo
wines.
Appreciated for its versatility, resistance and
correctness it yields wines of immense longevity that age with elegance and
security.
Tannat
Tannat is a red-wine grape whose origins lie in the
Basque country, on the border between France and Spain.
Here, in the shadow of the Pyrenees Mountains, the
terrain is rough and rugged, so it is only fitting that Tannat should create
wines which are equally deep, dark, dry and rustic.
Since its early days in southern France, Tannat has
migrated with relative ease and is now planted in Argentina, Australia, the
U.S. (California, Oregon and Virginia), Brazil, Portugal and even in southern
Italy's Puglia region, where it is used as a blending grape.
Tannat found a privileged terroir and climate in the
Setubal Peninsula and it has produced wines of exceptional quality.
Tannat is characterized by its firm tannin structure,
deep color, high alcohol and its ability to age well. The aroma profile is
gently tarry and redolent of stewed red berries ("warm raspberry jam"
sums this up well).
Syrah
Though Syrah is a well-known French grape varietal from
the Côtes du Rhône region, it has successfully been diffused to other regions
of France and worldwide.
In the Setúbal Peninsula, it occupies approximately 300
hectares of vineyards. Grown in warm, poor Alentejo soil, Syrah wines come
close to those from the New World.
The wines from this grape have a rich aroma, a
consequence of the different terroirs, climates and winemaker knowledge.
In the Setúbal Peninsula region it has found a privileged
terroir and climate, for even with the different knowledge of local winemakers,
it has produced wines of exceptional quality that have won medals both
nationally and internationally. If there was any doubt in this regard, it was
dispelled at the 2008 Vinailes Internacionales competition in France, where a
Syrah wine from the Setúbal Peninsula competed in a blind tasting of red wines
from 36 countries and won the Trophée Vinailes for the best red wine.
Big robust and full-bodied wines with lots of fruit, some
pepper, usually spicy, sometimes powerful and alcoholic.
Wines from early-ripening grapes are accessible when
young, smooth and inviting with good cellaring potential.
Varietal Syrah wines are made but they are few in number,
usually being used in small amounts in many of the Alentejo's most emblematic
wines.
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