Quinta de la Rosa Douro Red 2010
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Quinta de la Rosa was one of the pioneers of making and selling table wines and olive oil in addition to port directly from the estate. These products are produced, matured and bottled on the Quinta and not in Vila Nova da Gaia as is the case with other shippers. It can be argued that this helps give our ports a dry and stylish nutty flavour. A combination of the best of the old with the new, treading in granite lagares and using stainless steel and temperature controlled technology, together with careful handling of natural materials (such as oak casks for the table wine and large old tonels for the port), ensures that wines of the highest quality are made. As everything is grown, made and bottled on the estate, Quinta de la Rosa is one of the few true "Single Quintas"; it is not a second brand used by most large shippers for their "off Vintage" port years.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.