Dao

Earlier this week we tasted eight types from a Spanish wine importer and we brought them all in except for the one that was equally fine but just a little too hard to sell.  We especially liked the red and white Prunus labeled wines which the importer avowed were, in fact, her best sellers.  

That these wines were Portuguese, not Spanish, in origin was good information that we must have missed at the time of our tasting; but it makes sense that the Portuguese would be the cream of the crop based on our history with the region.  Spain is, of course, one of the great wine regions of the world but Portugal is seriously underrated.

If you consider Mateus Rose during the college years, we have a fifty year history with Dao region Portuguese wines and that history has always been one of numbing, head scratching appreciation for what they do.  They just don't get credit for making wonderful wines over there.

Dao is located in north-central Portugal just south of Douro, the great Port region.  It is a plateau with vineyards at 500-1,500 feet elevation sheltered on three sides by mountain ranges.  That shelter moderates temperatures and protects the wine country from heavy weather off the Atlantic.  The name comes from the Dao River.

Dao is an old wine region, receiving its DOC back in 1908.  For most of the twentieth century the region was run by wine co-ops which maintained an acceptable quality level for producers there but once the EU brought back competition in '89, everyone's quality improved.

The great red grape of the region is Touriga Nacional with Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) a worthy second best.  The esteemed white grape is Encruzado.  The reds are rich and full-bodied, cherry-ish wines.  The whites are fresh, fragrant, forward and stone-fruity.  You ought to try them both.