It’s that time of year to replenish and to share with others your cellared memories of Quinta do Tedo! Lucky you, we’re just on schedule to release the newest editions of our Douro DOC wines to broaden your choice horizons and satisfy your taste for Tedo this holiday season and through 2022.
Seeing as the benefício (Port production allowance) for our grade-A vineyards is 21hL/hectare, the permitted yield is 55hL/hectare and our actual production is 35hL/hectare, in 2003 we launched our first Douro DOC wine to make use of our 10-15 “extra” hL/hectare of high-quality, hand-harvested, native Douro grapes. Today, our award-winning and crowd-pleasing Douro DOC wine portfolio has expanded to include three reds and one rosé.
These are fresh, fruit-forward, soft and mouth-filling expressions of Douro Valley’s classic winemaking style and our award-winning winemaker Jorge Alves’ savoir-faire. Balanced and complex, with soft spice, herb and schist rock nuances, they can be enjoyed young or cellared for years - their concentration evolves beautifully in bottle!
Get a feel for our newest releases by reviewing the first awards they’ve received from the national Paixão Pelos Vinhos magazine (we’ll send more bottles out for review by other notable international competitions in February 2022!) and the Bouchards’ tasting notes below.
Douro DOC 2018
88 points - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, November 2020
This house-style blend represents Quinta do Tedo’s baseline high-quality standard through each unique harvest. Equal parts Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roris are fermented in stainless steel and aged in part stainless steel and part 228L new and used French oak barrels for 10-12 months. Of a bright and clean ruby colour with an almost-fuchsia outer rim, it gushes red fruits - cherry, currant and pomegranate - with a hint of wet soil, vanilla, dried tobacco and lavender. It has a tart, fresh and slightly green character and is an easy-drinking and -pairing crowd-pleaser that we produce 7,000 bottles of each year.
Douro DOC Reserva 2018
16.5/20 points - Very good - Revista Paixão Pelos Vinhos
A limited 3,500 bottles of this step-up from our Douro DOC are produced only in great years and from a barrel-selection with a higher concentration of Touriga Nacional (Portugal’s so-called “noblest” grape variety). It ferments partially in stainless steel and partially in 228L new and used French oak barrels before ageing for 18 months in 228L new and used French oak barrels. It has a deep and intense ruby-verging-on-purple colour, aromas of ripe blackberry and cherry, cacao, rockrose and hints of jalapenõ, black pepper and fresh mint - its expression in the mouth mirrors all the above (plus liquorice!) with a strong but elegant structure and lively finish.
Douro DOC Grande Reserva Savedra 2017
17/20 points - Very good - Revista Paixão Pelos Vinhos
Usually, we alternate every year between producing our Reserva and Grande Reserva Savedra, - more complex, serious and luxurious wines that complement our lighter annual Douro DOC. On average, we produce 2,000 bottles of Grande Reserva Savedra (a barrel selection produced only in the best years) from our oldest Savedra parcel - a 60+-year-old field blend of 18+ native grape varieties - and age it for 24 months in new and used French oak barrels. This is an extravagant plum-coloured wine and resembles our Vintage Ports in quality, complexity and concentration. Ripe, black fruits, purple figs, hazelnuts, dark chocolate, coffee, mahogany wood, wet schist and bergamot flowers engulf its layered nose and full mouth, balanced by fresh acidity and well-integrated tannins.
We are extremely proud of our small, but mighty range of Douro DOC wines which express the full potential of our terroir and please every kind of wine-lover, occasion and budget!
What’s left? Just your opinion!
Taste our new Douro DOC wines for yourselves by visiting our estate or online shop, where you’ll also find our 2021 holiday promotion - this year, we are including 4 cork coasters with your purchase of 5 or more bottles, OR 4 cork coasters AND one estate jam or mini Extra Virgin Olive Oil with your purchase of 11 or more bottles!
These products will land stateside in 2022 via Farah Trading Co (who’s lucky to still have in stock their past editions - steals for their quality, age and price!)
