14 top international sommeliers among whom Mattia Spedicato of Copenhagen 3 Michelin star restaurant Geranium and Melania Bellesini of the acclaimed The Fat Duck in the UK have visited the Douro Valley to visit the ‘Douro Boys‘ which is composed of five wine estates, the Quinta do Crastro, Niepoort, Quinta Vale D. Maria, Quinta do Vallado and Quinta do Vale Meao.
Over the course of three days, the 14 sommeliers visited the five wineries. There, they were able to learn things that they had always known about the Douro Valley and experience wines that have always wanted to taste.
They were given five detailed presentations addressing topics like indigenous grape varieties, the longevity of the red wines, the mineral characteristics of the white wine, the various styles of Ports and the particular nature of the Vinhas Velhas that are often eighty years or even older.
Mattia Spedicato, the restaurant manager and sommelier at Geranium said that Douro red wines offer a wide range of choices for the customer, austerity, elegance and simple everyday drinking as well as more complex for food pairing.
Brian K. Julyan, the chief executive at the Court of Master Sommeliers worldwide, UK said that Douro white table wines are really rising stars. “The best white table wines from the Douro, like with the reds, made up of blends and their steady development is continuing. An excellent balance between fruit, acid and alcohol with a long finish is being obtained and there is every possibility in the future that some really outstanding wines will be produced.
Beatrice Bessi, Sommelier at 67 Pall Mall, in London said that the trip changed her opinion about the Douro. “I discovered a lot of different things and definitely I will change my selling about Douro reds and whites,” she said.
Leave a Reply