Cálem Port Cellar Tour & Lunch at Uva

During my trip to Portugal last fall, we stayed for a few nights at the Yeatman Hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia, which is across the Douro River from Porto. Gaia is the location of numerous Port Houses, the places where they age their wines, and you can visit and tour many of these Houses. You can learn much about Port wine here, and experience Ports of which you aren't familiar, such as aged White Ports. During our stay in Gaia, we made a stop at Cálem for a brief tour. 

Cálem was founded in 1859 by António Alves Cálem, who desired to export wines to Brazil, which was not the typical market at that time for such wines. Britain and other European countries were the primary markets, but there was a significant Portuguese population in Brazil, so Cálem's idea had merit. 

In 1998, the Spanish-owned company Sogevinus was established and its first purchase was Cálem. It would later purchase other Port producers, including Burmester, Kopke, and Barros. Sogevinus concentrates on Port Wine, and in 2020, about 7.8 Million bottles of their annual production of 8.8 Million were Port. In addition, their Cálem Velhotes brand is the top seller in Portugal, accounting for about 25% of all Port sales. That's a huge portion of the market!

Cálem owns about 33,000 acres of land in the Douro, including 3 high-quality, A-1 vineyards. As they need more grapes than they grow, they also purchase grapes from other growers. Cálem annually exports about 12 Million bottles to around 50 countries. Their symbol is a caravel, a small sailing ship which was popular from the 15th-17th centuries.  

At Cálem, you can first visit their small museum, which deals with the Douro region and Port production, a good way to learn some basic information about this fascinating region.  The official tour then begins with a 4 minute movie and you're given special glasses to wear so you can see some special effects during the film. In addition, the seats vibrate at times, creating more of an immersive experience. 

After the short movie, the tour moves into the cellars, and I'll note that the Cálem cellars are even older than the winery's founding in 1859. I'll also note that most Cálem wines are not made in lagares, except for some special still wines, and Cálem doesn't produce aged White Ports. The winery uses about 14 white grapes and 15 red grapes for their wines. And their last Vintage Port was in 2020.  

One of your first stops in the cellar was in front of one of their great vats, which can hold 74,000 liters of wine. These huge barrels take 8 coopers about two weeks to construct, and we saw a vat that had been made in 1917. It was very cool that the winery showed a number of lighted displays on the great vat. I thought this was a fascinating and memorable way to educate people about the winery and Port wine. The addition of this visual display enhanced the tour, making it better than simply a dry recitation of the facts.

The tour comes from a wine tasting, but we skipped the tasting as we were headed to a Port tasting at the nearby Kopke store.

At the end of your tour at Cálem, you can stop at their store, where you can purchase Port and Still wines to bring home. The Cálem 1961 Colheita Port is the oldest wine they have available for sale. I would definitely recommend a tour of Cálem if you visit Vila Nova de Gaia. 

After our tasting at Kopke, we were invited by the winery to have lunch at Uva By Cálem, which is located on the banks of the Douro River (providing some great views). The restaurant opened in 2019 and is headed by Chef António Vieira. It has a casual elegance and the menu is diverse, with dishes to appeal to any preferences.

We started off lunch with the 2022 São Luiz Rosé, made from the Tinta Coa grape sourced from the São Luiz vineyard in the Douro, which is owned by Kopke. With an appealing aroma, this Rosé was delicious, elegant and subtle, dry and crisp. Tasty flavors of red fruits, some floral hints, and a backbone of minerality. Easy drinking but not overly simple, and an excellent way to begin our lunch.

Our first course was slices of Seared Tuna, which were tender and flavorful, and the dish looked beautiful as well. The sesame seeds added a nice textural component, and the roe added a taste of the sea.

Our second wine was the 2020 São Luiz Reserva Tinto, made from a blend of red grapes, and it too was delicious. Fruity, with flavors of red and black fruits, a hint of spice and a touch of smoke. Good acidity, a pleasant finish, and smooth tannins. Neither of the two São Luiz wines are yet available in the U.S., but the Tinto may be in the near future.  

Our second course were tender and tasty Slices of Beef, accompanied by a vegetable mix and crisp French fries. The dish went well with the red wine. 

Dessert was a rich and decadent Chocolate Brownie with berries and a raspberry sorbet. We enjoyed a 2008 Kopke Colheita Port with dessert, which was nicely sweet, with delicious flavors of caramel, nuts, vanilla and baking spices. 

Caves da Raposeira: Portuguese Bubbly

Were you aware that the Portuguese produce Sparkling Wine in the Douro region? 

On our recent trip to Portugal, we visited Caves da Raposeira, the largest producer of Sparkling Wine in Portugal, with about 10-12 million bottles stored in their caves. The history of bubbly in Portugal extends back to the late 19th century, when agronomist José Maria Tavares da Silva began experimenting with the Méthode Traditionelle, the same method used to make Champagne, where secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. Then, in 1898, Caves da Raposeira was established in Lamego, with the objective of producing sparkling wine. 

In 2002, the winery was purchased by the Sociedade Agrícola e Comercial da Varosa, which also owns Caves da Murganheira, another producer of sparkling wine. They now constitute about 60% of the sparkling wine market in Portugal. One of the primary differences between these two producers is that Raposeira uses more indigenous grapes. 

Raposeira owns about 30 hectares of vineyards, but as they need about 100 hectares to produce all of their bubbly, they purchase grapes from a number of local farmers. The first pressing of their grapes is used for their best sparkling wines, while the second pressing is used for their regular sparkling wine. They then sell the skins and such to a spirits distillery. 

We walked through their oldest, underground wine cellar, which is all natural, keeping the wines at a constant, proper temperature, and the cellar holds about 2 million bottles of sparkling wine.  

The winery sells about 2.5 Million bottles each year. 

Riddling, turning the bottles so the sediment gathers in the neck of the bottle, is done by hand, and it takes about four weeks to complete. This process can be mechanized, but they continue to do it manually, the traditional way.

After our tour of the cellars, we tasted a couple of their sparking wines. The 2015 Raposeira Velha Reserva Brut is their top wine, made from a blend of Chardonnay and Cerceal. Cerceal is an indigenous Portuguese white grape, grown mostly in the Douro, and which generally adds acidity to white blends. The wine was aged in the cellar for at least seven years. With a pleasing aroma, this bubbly was dry and complex, with an intriguing melange of flavors, including green apple, lemon, citrus, and a touch of brioche. It possessed a lengthy, satisfying finish and certainly would remind you of a fine Champagne. I was impressed with this Sparkling Wine and bought a bottle to take home.

The Raposeira Super Reserva Rosé Bruto is a blend of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, which spent at least five years in the cellar. With a deep pink color, the nose burst with red fruit and on the palate, it was dry and fruity, with strawberry and cherry flavors, enhanced with a touch of savoriness. A less complex wine than the Reserva Brut, but it still was interesting and tasty. It would be a nice aperitif,  especially in the summer. 

Quinta dos Murças: Historic, Traditional, Organic & Delicious

Back in 2011, I first tasted a wine from Quinta dos Murças, the 2008 Quinta dos Murças Reserva, and it was superb! I previously stated, "It had an enticing and exotic nose, with an earthy and spicy smell mixed in with blackfruit. On the palate, it delivered on the promises of its nose, with a complex melange of earth, spice, vanilla, blackfruit and even mild hints of herbality. The tannins were moderate and the finish was long and pleasing. This is a wine to slowly savor, relishing its complexity, as well as a perfect wine for wild boar, lamb, or a juicy steak." It also ended up on my list of Top Ten Wines Over $15 of 2011. 

Since then, I've tasted the wine several more times, and it's remained a top favorite. I've also tasted a few other wines from Quinta dos Murças, enjoying them as well. So, when I was planning my recent vacation to Portugal, I wanted to visit Quinta dos Murças in the Douro valley. Arrangements were made, and one morning, we drove to the winery for a tour and tasting, led by our personable, charming and knowledgeable host, Silvia Santos. 

The known history of the estate extends back at least to the early 18th century, although it's possible it could even be older. It's known that the estate existed in 1714, under a different name, and was owned by António Cardoso de Vasconcelos. The estate wouldn't be known as Quinta dos Murças until 1770, when that name was first documented in a wine shipping log. During the next 170 years or so, there were multiple mentions about the quality of the estate's wines, but unfortunately, at times, the vineyards were neglected and the estate passed through a series of different owners.   

In 1943, the estate was acquired by Manuel Pinto de Azevedo, a leading industrialist and entrepreneur, who hired José de Freitas Sampaio, an agronomist, to renovate the estate, replant its vineyards and build a new winery. The wines of this estate would then regain their excellent reputation. This would also lead, in 1947, to the introduction of the first vertically planted vineyard in the Douro region. Then,  in 2008, after 65 years, the descendants of Manuel sold the esteemed property to the Esporão group. 

As our tour began, we boarded a vehicle, driven by an agricultural manager, and visited various vineyards, sometimes driving on narrow roads or dirt roads. The views were amazing, the great beauty of the Douro region such a marvel. The steep slopes were impressive, especially considering the difficulty of managing the vines on those slopes. Running any vineyard is a difficult job, but running a vineyard on such steep slopes is even more difficult. 

Quinta dos Murças owns about 155 hectares of land, 48 of which are vineyards, located along 3.2 kilometers of the Douro River’s right bank. It has been determined that the estate possesses eight different terroirs, with various altitudes and sun exposures, schist soils, and more. Numerous indigenous Portuguese grapes are grown in the vineyards, generally in field blends, and there are also almond, olive and orange trees on the estate. The olive trees are generally used to mark the boundaries of the fields, although they also make a small amount of olive oil. 

The first vertical vineyard, from 1947, constituting about 1.5 hectares, still exists, and the 75+ year old vines are used mostly for their Port wines. In addition, about 82% of their vineyards are now vertically planted, which permits a greater density, deeper roots, better aeration of the vines, and improved protection to the soil from erosion. 

Starting in 2015, the vineyards were made organic, all of them becoming certified organic in 2020. Thus, all of their estate wines are made from organic grapes. 

The estate is also located on the border between the Baixo and Cima Corgo sub-regions of the Douro. Due to the climate in this position, the grapes generally lead to wines which tend to be fresher and more elegant, with good acidity. In addition, as the estate is on the right bank of the Douro, most of the vineyards face south, helping to ensure the grapes have high concentration.

The estate also has a north facing vineyard, the Whistle Vineyard, so-named because the wind in this section seems to whistle. It's located at an altitude of about 300 meters and was just replanted this year. It receives less sun, and the lesser temperatures lead to more acidity and fruitiness. 

The lower vineyard, the Vinha do Rio (River Vineyard), is at an altitude of about 170 meters, and used primarily to produce Port wines and the Margem label. "Margem," which means "margin," was so-named as it was the closest vineyard to the river. The vineyard faces the south and west, which leads to riper grapes. These low vineyards are generally the first to be harvested each year. 

There are plenty of forests on the estate, including some land which was once planted with vineyards. After the devastation caused by phylloxera, some of the vineyards weren't replanted and forest was allowed to grow over the land. This forest helps the biodiversity of the estate, which assists in sustainability, an important aspect of the philosophy of the owners. The company states that "zero" waste is their objective.

The ruins of an old building, sitting in the middle of a vineyard. At some point in the future, maybe they will renovate and rebuild this building.

This is an insect house, which is intended to appeal to the type of insects which consume the bad insects, which could harm the vines. Also on the property are bat houses, which are also used to consume the bad insects. In addition, they have bee hives, as they are good pollinators, and they harvest a bit of honey too. Wild boars are an issue, and can damage the vineyards, and some hunting is allowed. They might then end up in a traditional boar stew.  

There are also five water springs, called "minas" in Portuguese, on the estate, and above you can see one of those springs. These springs help to keep the vineyards cooler. 

I was told that 2023 had been a good harvest, a sentiment repeated by other wineries, although there's a question whether or not it was good enough to be declared a Vintage. 

After visiting a few of their vineyards, we then toured the winery. The current winemaker and agricultural manager of Quinta dos Murças is Lourenço Charters (who also occupies those same positions at Quinta do Ameal). On the left side are some grape presses, and on the right are refrigerated, fermentation tanks. 

To ferment their Assobio line of wines (non-estate), there are about 20 epoxy-lined concrete tanks and 18 stainless steel vats. The photo show two, tulip-shaped natural concrete tanks, which are used primarily for maturation of their Minas wines. 

The concrete tanks are located on the right side, each holding about 33,000 liters, and the inside of each tank is lined to prevent oxidation.

All of the estate wines and Port wines of Murças are fermented in traditional, granite lagares, with natural yeast. The winery has 8 lagares, and usually five people work in each lagare, trodding grapes by foot from about 8pm-Midnight. This process is supposed to yield fine, silky tannins as it's a more gentle process on the grapes. These lagares were initially constructed back in 1955, but were renovated in 2010. Today, few wineries in the Douro still use lagares, and if they do, it's often only for a limited amount of their wines. Murças is one of the only wineries where all of their estate wines are fermented in this traditional manner. 

The winery purchased an amphora in 2017, and are using it to produce a white wine this year.

The winery has about 300 French oak barrels, of various sizes, from 225 liters to 8500 liters, which are primarily sourced from Esporão. The darker barrels generally hold Port wines. 

 

Finally, we ended our visit with a tasting of several estate wines and a Port. We also got to chat more with Silvia, who evidenced her clear passion for the Douro and Port wine. She mentioned that in her family, everyone has birth year Ports put aside for them. For Silvia, the favorite part of wine are the "memories" it invokes. Silvia also discussed how she loved the serenity of the Douro region, and I've mentioned that aspect of the Douro before. It brings a sense of peace, and provides a deeper connection to nature, with the sounds of animals sometimes being the only break in the quietness. She also mentioned that she eats cod about three times a week, noting how there are at least 101 ways to prepare cod. 

We began our tasting with the 2021 Quinta dos Murças Minas. This is produced from a field blend of red grapes, from the Minas vineyard, which is south-facing and has five water springs. With a 12.5% ABV, the wine was fermented in the lagares and then spent about 9 months in concrete vats and used French oak. The wine has fruity aromas, and on the palate is fresh and crisp, with lots of red fruit flavors and a touch of spice. It's easy to drink, but it's not a simple wine. Silvia recommended pairing this wine with Bacalhau, fatty fish or octopus. In the U.S., this wine costs $15-$20, a good value considering it's organic, made in a traditional manner, and is delicious. 

The 2021 Quinta dos Murças Margem, is produced from a field blend, with mostly Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. The vineyard is located close to the Douro River, is mostly south-facing, and the grapes tend to be riper and more concentrated. With a 12.5% ABV, the wine was fermented in the lagares and then spent about 9 months in used 500-liter French oak. With a darker color than the Minas, the wine presents a nose of black fruit and spicy hints. On the palate, it is more tannic, yet still restrained, with good acidity, and a complex blend of flavors including ripe plum, black cherry, and black berries, with spicy accents and a touch of balsamic. Silvia described this wine as "a teenager with a lot of energy." This wine would best pair with beef or wild game. This is available in the U.S. for about $40-$50. 

The 2017 Quinta dos Murças Reserva is produced from a field blend (including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Sousão, Tinta Amarela, and Tinta Roriz) on some of the estate's oldest vineyards. The primary idea of this wine is to emphasize the terroir, and create an elegant wine which can age well. With a 13.5% ABV, the wine was fermented in the lagares and then spent about 18 months in used French oak. The complexity of this wine is evident from its intriguing and appealing nose, and that complexity is clear on the palate as well. This is a wine of subtle seduction, elegant and complex, alluring and delicious. The tannins are restrained, it has excellent acidity, is well-balanced, and possesses a long, lingering finish that you never want to end. A fascinating melange of flavors, including black fruits, spice, balsamic, and floral accents. Each sip brings something different to you. 

This is a wine said to pair well with comfort food, such as lamb or a stew, what Silvia might enjoy at a Sunday lunch with her family. My love for this wine continues, and I picked up three different vintages (2010, 2015 & 2016) at the winery to take home with me. This is available in the U.S. for about $40-$45. It's a superb wine and I highly recommended it! With the holidays coming, this is a wine worth the splurge, and would make an excellent gift as well. 

The tasting ended with the Quinta dos Murças 10 Year Old Tawny Port, made from a field blend including Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão. With a 19.5% ABV, the wine was fermented in the lagares and then aged in used French oak for an average of 10 years. I've previously tasted this Port and stated, it was ".., smoother and more complex, with delicious flavors of almonds, caramel, dried fruit, and a mild sweetness." At this tasting, the Port possessed a very light, translucent color with an appealing aroma. On the palate, it was smooth and complex, well-balanced and delicious, with notes of red fruits, almonds, dried fruit, caramel, figs and spice. Again, it was a winner, and I strongly recommend this Port.

Overall, Quinta dos Murças is an impressive winery, with a worthy winemaking philosophy. The estate wines are certified organic and they are produced in a very traditional manner, including the grapes being trod by foot in the lagares. The vineyards, most on steep slopes, are impressive and the areas is a place of beauty and quietude. Their wines are excellent, and delicious, and well worth seeking out. I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to visit Quinta dos Murças.