A Burgundian in the Douro
Vincent Bouchard at Quinta do Tedo

Vins & Vignobles, 2001, Freddie Grimwood

Early on a crisp clear December morning, I start out across Eastern Portugal from Guarda, a historic city near the border with Spain. The leaves on the native oak trees have become deep tawny, but remain entirely in place, so punctuating the winter-green landscape ; the stark, rugged hills of the Beira Interior gradually crossfade into the equally dramatic vineyard terraces of the Alto Douro and, there on an isthmus, where the the River Tedo eases into the Douro, sits the Quinta do Tedo. These 14 hectares of vines belong to Kay and Vincent Bouchard, scion of the family Bouchard Père et Fils of Beaune, maverick Port producer, purveyor of French oak barrels to the California wine industry - and, as the man himself remarks, by way of introduction, I came from the Côte d'Or, moved to the Golden State and, here I am by the Douro - (River) of gold, in Portuguese.

The vineyards of the Quinta do Tedo were first recognised in 1754 and subsequently included in the Marquis of Pombal's 'feitoria' (large granite markers) of 1756, de facto, the world's first demarcation of a wine-growing region. The Quinta like all its neighbours is terraced, both with the deep traditional dry-stone walls and with a variation of the 'Patamar', where the schistous soil is bulldozed onto contour hugging shelves, here retained by stone. This latter is to prevent erosion, a major problem in the winter 2000 -2001, on account of the record levels of rainfall. The vines planted are Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão, Bastardo, and naturally, Touriga Francesa ! Ages range, from very young in the replanted sections, to over 50 years old. Due to the steepness of the terrain, it is hard to estimate vine density but it is somewhere between 4 - 6000 vines per hectare. The maximum permitted yield is 55hl/ha, but at Tedo it is rarely more than 35hl/ha., with the grapes being picked for maximum freshness, before becoming overripe due to de-hydration.

The bright ochre buildings of the Quinta itself, consist of an old farmhouse, the winery, and chais for the maturing Port, containing both traditional 550 litre pipes and larger upright, vertically slatted oak vats, that Bouchard sourced second-hand, from Cognac. Here too are the 'lagares', large open troughs for foot treading the grapes ; normally made of granite, these are concrete and shallower than usual, since in his relentless quest for freshness and purity of fruit, Vincent has run water pipes into the sidewalls and bases, so as to be able to control the temperature at every stage from arrival of grapes through to run-off of the still fermenting juice, a process which will, at this moment, be stopped by the addition of brandy. Typically, enough spirit will need to be added to raise the must from around 14º, up to 20º alcohol. There are 3 distinct stages to the treading process.

First comes what is known as the 'corte' (cut), where the 'roga' or group of treaders, 2 per 500 litres, do a rhythmic initial tread to break open the skins, which takes about 2 hours. After this, treading will continue on a less formal basis for a further 2 hours, by which time the grapes will have been transformed into a thick soup.Thereafter, once fermentation starts, the resulting crust will need to be broken up periodically by men walking on planks, placed over the lagar, wielding 'macacos' (monkey sticks). At Tedo there are 6 lagares in all, 2 x 4000 litres,2 x 5000 and 2 x 6000.The act of treading, requiring repeated raising of the knees in warm, viscous, liquid quickly becomes arduous, especially if one considers that the task is usually undertaken by the grape-pickers, after a long hot day in the vineyard.

Bouchard is insistent that all the work done in the winery be 'travail propre', which, in layman's terms, means being extremely careful at every stage that oxydation is kept to a minimum. Firstly, he is fortunate that all his vines are close to the winery, so travel time from picking site to lagar can be kept to a minimum ; then, as we saw, the sides and base of the lagar can be cooled, so the temperature of the grapes ,which may be very warm on arrival at harvest time, can be controlled. The grapes themselves are hand-picked, with sloppy pickers being disciplined on the spot, and checked again upon arrival at the winery, where they undergo 100% de-stalking. There is no filtration whatsoever at Tedo, and the vats are topped up assiduously every 15 days, by resident wine maker and cellar master, Jorge Alves. If there were any doubts about this methodology, the tasting notes clearly show how successful anti-oxydation has been, both in preserving fresh fruit flavours and a deep ruby colour, even in the older wines.

In terms of volume, Quinta do Tedo with only 14 hectares is a very small 'produtor engarrafador' (Port producer), making a Single Quinta Port, all of whose grapes must come from the property. This should not be confused with the practices of the large companies who can buy grapes from all over the DOC, for their blended products. Readers in Quebec will be happy to learn that, at the time of my visit, they were consolidating a full container (1000 cases), for the SAQ. The range extends from Finest Reserve and Special Select, blends from different harvests bottled after a 2 year minimum of aging, through Late Bottled Vintage with 3, and Vintage with 2 - 3 years in wood before bottling. The advantage that Single Quinta status confers is that it allows the producer to decide when his wine is of Vintage quality, rather than having to wait for the Instituto do Vinho de Porto to make a generally declared Vintage, something they only do,on average, 3 times each decade.

TASTING NOTES

Special Select - Ruby - Don Tedo: Deep ruby, pink at the rim. Good ripe red and black berry fruit on nose. Sweet attaque with good grip, a touch of chocolate in mouth. Good acidity on fruity finish. 16

Finest Reserve - Quinta do Tedo: Darker colour with a red rim. Spicy ripe red fruit on nose. Well defined damson fruit on attaque, harmonious in mouth with a long elegant spicy finish. 16.5

LBV 1994 - Quinta do Tedo: Similar colour and rim. More defined elegant fruit on nose with hints of spice. Well balanced attaque with damsons, ripe plums and a hint of tobacco in the mouth. Longer finish. 17 +

LBV 1997 - Quinta do Tedo: Similar colour. Rather different nose of licorice, black fruit and chocolate. Sweeter but more tannic on the attaque, with more extract in mouth. Long complex finish. Altogether bigger than '94. 17.5 +

Vintage 1995 - Don Tedo: Similar colour but more dense.Touch of sous-bois on nose with ripe black fruit under. Harsh tannic attaque. Good fruit in mouth but lacks exuberance of LBV's. Long finish showing some complexity . Needs more time perhaps ? 16.5 +

Vintage 1997 - Quinta do Tedo: Deep ruby, pink rim, less dense than '95. Plenty of ripe red fruit on nose with hints of menthol mint and spice under. Chocolate tobacco and ripe fruit on attaque with some complexity coming out in the mouth. Long complex finish. This has all the qualities of LBV '97 but more so ! Well balanced for the future. 18 +

Vintage 1999 - Quinta do Tedo: Deep ruby, blue-pink at rim. Complex,ripe red and black berry fruit on nose, hints of vanilla and licorice + a touch of vegetable matter under. Heaps of fruit with good acidity and suave tannins on attaque. Very well balanced in mouth with good grip and a long finish. As the late Harry Waugh used to say, 'will make a good bottle' ! 18 + +