Red delicious

At the top end, Portugal's more traditionally made wines claim most of the attention. But what of the country's smart new breed, made by winemakers open to new ideas? A Caterer panel finds out which fares best, with Susan Low as judge.

Perhaps it's port's fault. The crusty pipe-and-slippers picture the drink conjures up hasn't done much to help Portuguese table wines cultivate a trendy image, despite the best efforts of recent marketing campaigns. For most punters, Portuguese wine is still considered to be decidedly Old World.

If you want big, powerful, tannic red wines, the sort that turn your teeth black before you've even managed to pull the cork, fine. But if it's modern, soft, fruit-forward styles you're after, perhaps you'd better look elsewhere, right? Not necessarily. While it's true that Portugal has done an admirable job of sticking to its wonderful native grape varieties and resisting the urge to make wine that tastes like alcoholic grape juice, that isn't to say that New World winemaking techniques haven't made an impact.

The confusing thing is that, unlike France, for example, where the name Languedoc-Roussillon has become virtually synonymous with New World-style wines, things are more complicated in Portugal. Even winemakers who come from outside the country, such as Australian David Baverstock at Esporão, are making a point of promoting native Portuguese varieties such as Touriga Nacional. And although Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are planted to good effect here, no single part of the country has been turned into an Australia or California wannabe. Wines made from international varieties are just one facet of the current Portuguese wine story.

Nonetheless, even at the top end of the price spectrum there is a distinct difference between wines produced in a more modern style and those produced in the traditional (tannic, high acidity, high alcohol) mould. Winemakers such as José Neiva, for example, who is working in Estremadura, is making wines from both native and international varieties for his Vinho Regional Grand' Arte range. With these wines he is focusing on softer tannins and more forward fruit flavours, whether they're made from Cabernet Sauvignon or Touriga Nacional.

But, at the same time, the more traditional wines continue to claim most of the attention and the highest prices in restaurants. Names like Redoma, Quinta do Côtto, Fojo and Casa Ferreirinha still earn the most street cred.

But when put side by side, which style of wine, traditional or modern, stands up best to scrutiny? And should restaurants be giving more space on their wine lists to Portuguese reds? To find out, Caterer put a selection of top-end Portuguese reds to the test.

The panel

The tasting took place at the Witchery by the Castle restaurant in Edinburgh. The Witchery has received numerous gongs from British and US magazines for the quality of its wine list. Overseen by sommelier John Power, the 800-strong list majors on Europe - particularly France - with Australia and New Zealand its main New World strengths. The panel was led by Caterer wine editor Fiona Sims and included John Power; James Sankey, proprietor of the soon-to-open Oloroso restaurant in Edinburgh; Martin Irons, proprietor of Martin's restaurant in Edinburgh; Adam Keatinge, head sommelier at the Club Room fine-dining restaurant at the Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh (due to open in September); David Austin, head sommelier at the Balmoral hotel; and freelance food and drink writer Susan Low.

The tasting

The panel tasted 29 DOC and Vinho Regional reds from a number of regions, including Estremadura, the Douro, the Minho, Terras do Sado, Ribatejo, Alentejo, Dão and Bairrada. There were a couple of wines from the 2000 vintage, with other samples going back as far as 1992. Prices ranged from £58.80 to £229.74 per 12-bottle case, duty paid, excluding VAT. They were tasted blind, from young to old.

The verdict
Given the diversity of ages, prices and regions, it's perhaps not surprising that tasters found these wines a complex bunch. The range of styles and flavours added to all that tannin made the tasting hard work. David Austin wasn't alone when he reported that, "Overall, I found them a bit confusing at some points. The colours of them all were quite similar, despite the difference in ages." Generally, though, tasters were pleasantly surprised by the wines and gave high marks accordingly. According to Sankey, 60-70% of them were very good, with which the rest of the panel agreed.

There were some problems, though. As Sankey pointed out, a number of the older wines were quite sulphurous. In addition, a few of the wines were rustic to the point of tasting unclean. Some were decidedly old-fashioned, with very high levels of tannin and acidity. The better ones had fruit to balance, but some never reached that point of balance before the fruit fell away. As Power put it: "There were still a lot of dried-out, stewed, over-extracted wines. All the fruit had disappeared. There were old-fashioned wines that I didn't expect to see."

Such old-fashioned winemaking, though still being practised by some producers, is definitely on the wane as producers adopt more modern techniques. In fact, one of the interesting points to arise from the tasting was the difference in style of the younger wines compared with the older vintages.

In recent years wines such as Neiva's Grand' Arte range have emerged, seemingly with the aim of making more modern, New World-influenced wines. Power found that this new breed of wines was "more international. They were more fruit-forward, with not quite as much acidity, not as much tannin. More for the international market." Austin agreed. "The earlier [younger] ones were more New World in style, with softer tannins. The older wines were much more rustic," he found, "while some of the earlier ones could have come from the New World."

"Although they were attractive, they didn't say much about regionality," he concluded.

One region stood out both for the quality and for the recognisable regionality of its wines: the Douro. Four of the six wines in the three-star (best quality) category were from the Douro. According to Sankey, "There was a marked difference between the Douro and the non-Douro wines."

"The Douro style is more generous and denser," he said. These wines also had the fruit to balance out the big structure of the wines, which no doubt helped to earn points. Generally, Douro wines tend to have the heftiest price tags, too, so it should come as no great surprise that the quality is - usually - suitably high.

The tasting may have been a tough one, but it helped to underscore the fact that Portugal does have an important USP: individuality. New World techniques haven't yet conquered the whole of this corner of Iberia. The wines aren't always perfect, but they're seldom dull, which is cause for applause in a wine world in which conformity is on the increase.

Portuguese premium reds with food

Portuguese red wines, like Italian wines, have been saddled with the label of being good "food wines". With all that tannin, acidity and alcohol, the theory goes, these wines aren't designed for mere sitting and sipping. Based on the results of this tasting, do Portuguese reds deserve their "food wine" label? As evidenced by the panel's black teeth and exhausted palates, yes.

Apart from the few wines that were intentionally made in a fruit-forward, low-tannin style, these are wines that show their best alongside hearty food.

One of the tasters, restaurateur Martin Irons, found that there was "a lot of tannin and a lot of acidity" in these wines. "They really needed food," he concluded. He added that, as a restaurateur, he would be inclined to list more Portuguese wines on the basis of this tasting, simply because they do suit food, which makes them more logical choices for restaurants than, say, supermarket shelves.

But what kind of food do they go with? These wines aren't the sort of thing you'd want to have with delicate shellfish or flatfish, although the Portuguese would happily drink red wine with meaty fish such as cod. For British palates, though, hearty, wintry braises and stews are natural choices. Rich, autumnal game dishes are also a natural match. The spicy, leathery tones in many of the wines would also work well with Middle Eastern spicing and meaty tagines, provided the wine had enough fruit to complement the inherent sweetness of these dishes.

Portuguese premium red wines - results

Prices are per case of 12 DPDexcluding VATunless otherwise stated

* Recommended
Very good
* Best quality

* Casa Ferreirinha Reserva 1992 DOC Douro

£199.20, Berkmann Wine Cellars 020 7609 4711
"Concentrated berries on the nose along with strawberry, vanilla and some curious herbal scents." FS

* Quinta do Fojo 1996 DOC Douro

£229.74, Winefare 01483 458700
"Christmas pudding and Fernet Branca nose; big, big, big! A mouthful of fruit and dark chocolate." DA

* Casa da Alorna Colheita Seleccionada 1999, DOC Ribatejo

£51, Laymont & Shaw 01872 270545
"Soft summer-fruits aroma. Warm and clean with mellow, spicy flavours." AK

* Quinta do Crasto Tinta Roriz 1997 DOC Douro

POA, Enotria Winecellars 020 8961 4411
"Aromatic wild berry fruit with a touch of oak. Concentrated wild strawberry fruit. Savoury, with a lengthy finish." JS

* Touriga Nacional 1999, Herdade do Esporão, Vinho Regional Alentejano

£36.59 (case of six), John E Fells 01442 870900
"Very dark colour. Very concentrated, but a bit closed. Excellent structure and good length. Good primary fruit." JP
"Juicy and clean with lots of warmth. Lots of acidity, but holds the fruit well." DA

* Quinta do Portal Touriga Nacional 1999 DOC Douro

£180, Charles Hawkins 01572 823030
"Interesting notes of lavender and rosemary on the nose. Macerated black fruits on the palate, with some sourness at the finish." SL

Quinta da Gaivosa 1997 DOC Douro

£57.95, HwCg Wine Growers 01279 506512
"Dark and brambly with some tar and liquorice showing through. Big wine with lots of alcohol, tannin and acidity." DA

Quinta dos Carvalhais Tinta Roriz 1998, Sogrape, DOC Dão

£56.30 (case of six), Stevens Garnier 01865 263300
"Coffee beans and hazelnuts on the nose, supported by dried wood and dark fruits." DA

Duas Quintas Reserva 1997 DOC Douro

£70.70 (case of six), Maisons, Marques et Domaines 020 8332 2223
"Rich, curranty fruit with chocolate notes. Rich, ripe and rounded, with silky tannins and a savoury finish." JS

Grand' Arte Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 Vinho Regional Estremadura

£33 (case of six), D&F Wine Shippers 020 8838 4399
"Sweet, slightly confected fruit with game and wild berry aromas mixed with new oak. New World style." SL

Quinta dos Roques Touriga Nacional 1997 DOC Dão

£142, Raymond Reynolds 01663 742230
"Inky, purple colour with a very intense, gamey black fruit nose. Very fresh." JP

Redoma 1996 DOC Douro

£162, Raymond Reynolds
"Raspberry jam and fleshy, red-fruit style. Dark and developed on the palate." DA

Quinta do Côtto 1997 DOC Douro

£52.80 (case of six), Villeneuve Wines 01721 722500
"Deeply concentrated nose, with blackberry fruit. Dry, full-bodied, concentrated cherry and plum fruit with alcohol and tannin in balance." JS

Cartuxa Reserva 1996 DOC Alentejo

£142, Raymond Reynolds
"Baked, slightly cooked nose, but rich, round and succulent on the palate." JP

Quinta da Alorna Castelão 1999, DOC Ribatejo

£51, Laymont & Shaw "Nice rich spice on the nose. Has a velvety feel to the tannins." SL

Quinta do Vale de Raposa Grande Escolha 1998 DOC Douro

£44.75 (case of six), HwCg Wine Growers "Rather delicate peach and redcurrant fruit on the nose. Wood still needs time to integrate." FS

** Periquita Clássico 1994 José Maria da Fonseca 1994 Vinho Regional Terras do Sado

£56.94, Forth Wines 01577 866001
"Light ruby in colour, with a jammy nose and a great fruit core." JP

### * Vinha da Defesa 1999, Herdade do Esporão, Vinho Regional Alentejano

£36.94 (case of six), John E Fells

### * Grand' Arte Caladoc 1999 Vinho Regional Estremadura

£29.40 (case of six), D&F Wine Shippers

### * Primum 1999 José Maria da Fonseca, Vinho Regional Terras do Sado

£30.70, Forth Wines

### * Casa Cadaval Trincadeira Preta 1999 Vinho Regional Ribatejano

£108, Raymond Reynolds

### * Marquàs de Borba 1999, J Portugal Ramos, DOC Alentejo

£31.20 (case of six), Winefare

### * Quinta dos Roques 1998 DOC Dão

£90, Raymond Reynolds

### * Casa de Saima 1998 DOC Bairrada

£80, Raymond Reynolds

### * Sogrape Reserva 1997 DOC Douro

£80, Stevens Garnier

### * Grand' Arte Touriga Nacional 2000 Vinho Regional Estremadura

£54 (case of six), D&F Wine Shippers

We also tasted

The Crooked River 1999 DOC Douro £80, Raymond Reynolds

Covela Colheita Seleccionada 1999 Vinho Regional Minho £44 (case of six), Europvin

Duas Quintas 1998 DOC Douro
£53.40, Maisons, Marques et Domaines