DFJ Vinhos Grand'Arte Alvarinho 2009
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Born and raised on a wine and vineyard estate that many historians deem one of the longest established in the council of Alenquer and whose origins stretch back prior to the founding of the nation of Portugal - the Quinta de Porto Franco. It is from the excellence of this estate that José Neiva Correia, born in 1949 and one of the most productive winemakers in the country, sources much of the raw material put into producing the very best DFJ Vinhos wines. This was the company he launched over a decade ago and that has now reached an average annual production level of six million bottles, across 40 brands and 110 different wines deriving from all mainland Portuguese regions, from the Douro down to the Algarve, except the Vinhos Verdes region.
Descending from generations dedicated to the art of viniculture, both on his father's and his mother's sides, José Neiva Correia followed in his family's traditions not only out of preference but also with thorough professionalism. Those who know and work with him make regular mention of his creativity and the enthusiasm that goes into each of his many and sharply differing wines with their blend of improbable grape varieties and surprising results. Whether top of the range, high priced and produced in restricted quantities or in mass volumes designed to meet the needs of the major international markets, the demand for quality in the final product never wavers whatever the circumstances. His knowledge is extensive and underpins everything he does.
As a winemaker, he has played a pioneering role both in the introduction of new varieties in Portugal and in promoting healthy agricultural practices.
Bright and aromatic with distinctive floral and fruity characteristics, Albariño has enjoyed a surge in popularity and an increase in plantings over the last couple of decades. Thick skins allow it to withstand the humid conditions of its homeland, Rías Baixas, Spain, free of malady, and produce a weighty but fresh white. Somm Secret—Albariño claims dual citizenship in Spain and Portugal. Under the name Alvarinho, it thrives in Portugal’s northwestern Vinho Verde region, which predictably, borders part of Spain’s Rías Baixas.
Best known for intense, impressive and age-worthy fortified wines, Portugal relies almost exclusively on its many indigenous grape varieties. Bordering Spain to its north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean on its west and south coasts, this is a land where tradition reigns supreme, due to its relative geographical and, for much of the 20th century, political isolation. A long and narrow but small country, Portugal claims considerable diversity in climate and wine styles, with milder weather in the north and significantly more rainfall near the coast.
While Port (named after its city of Oporto on the Atlantic Coast at the end of the Douro Valley), made Portugal famous, Portugal is also an excellent source of dry red and white Portuguese wines of various styles.
The Douro Valley produces full-bodied and concentrated dry red Portuguese wines made from the same set of grape varieties used for Port, which include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Spain’s Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão, among a long list of others in minor proportions.
Other dry Portuguese wines include the tart, slightly effervescent Vinho Verde white wine, made in the north, and the bright, elegant reds and whites of the Dão as well as the bold, and fruit-driven reds and whites of the southern, Alentejo.
The nation’s other important fortified wine, Madeira, is produced on the eponymous island off the North African coast.