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Wines from Cristiano van Zeller, Douro
We are delighted to release these wines from Cristiano van Zeller, with whom we have now been working for a good number of years. In many ways, Cristiano pioneered the wave of innovation which has brought so many small independent producers to the fore. He recognised that the future for such growers requires their achieving niche status, being singled out for quality and individuality.
Manager and co-owner of Quinta do Noval until 1993, it was small wonder that Cristiano set his sights initially on the Douro – a rich and diverse region of inimitable beauty, complex geography and geology, as well as possessing an ideal climate.
2007 Vintage Report
2007 in the Douro, along with so much of Europe, was a rather gloomy year - one which perhaps would have been more difficult in the past and which, even with all that modern techniques could throw at it, veered so often towards disaster only to come very good - perhaps great - in its final days.
Winter was wet and welcomed as such. The Douro often has really hot summers when the vines have a real need for water reserves. In fact, 2007 broke the series of summers which had heat waves– but the availability of water was nonetheless providential. Spring was initially warm which made for a healthy and even start to the year. June however brought in rain and this, allied to the prodigious growth afforded to healthy vines, demanded intense work in the vineyard, curtailing excessive canopy to allow for aeration of the bunches and to avoid mildew. Summer was essentially cool and damp but September began with a glorious Indian summer and good weather continued into October, allowing for both sugar and phenolic maturation due to an extended harvest, without threat of rain. Estates were able to wait for full maturity without concern, producing wines which combine finesse and elegance with elevated aromatics and freshness.
Vale Dona Maria is a wonderful property in the Rio Torto Valley. Cristiano’s wife Joana’s family property, it was formerly let to the Symington family, the production used for blending. Cristiano took back control in 1996 and has since forged a formidable reputation not only for Vale Dona Maria but for the Douro Valley generally. The estate is planted with at least 41 different grape varieties presenting something of a chef’s mise en place, with one variety for colour, another for spice, yet another for body, aromatics and so on. A multiplicity of grape varieties is often seen as one of Portugal’s difficulties but Cristiano and fellow winemaker Sandra Tavares de Silva regard this as a wonderful opportunity, offering complexity and uniquely Portugese character.The deeply rooted, extremely old vines of this farm produce, year on year, excellent port and table wines. Traditionally made, within a state of the art cellar, the grapes are foot trodden in stone lagares and matured in French oak for around 18 months.
Casa de Casal de Loivos enjoys one of the most spectacular sites, overlooking the Douro. In 1998,Cristiano van Zeller, joined by Manuel Sampaio Pimentel, decided to create and develop a great Douro red Wine from the tiny 1.6 hectare vineyard lying below the house. Cristiano and his fellow winemaker and business partner, Sandra Tavares, selected grapes from the oldest part of the vineyard, a field selection of around 30 indigenous varieties. The vines, with an average age well over 50 years old, produce intense, concentrated wines of great complexity. Cristiano and Sandra brought to the project their combined experience at Dona Maria; it is here the grapes are transported for fermentation, élevage, maturation and bottling, in the newly renovated cellar. The wine was aged in French oak, 50% new for 18 months.
Wines from the Tavares family, Estremadura
Quinta de Chocapalha is a real success story, the result of vision, investments and enduring hard work. Owners Paulo and Alice Tavares da Silva bought Chocapalha in the Eighties, totally convinced about its true potential. They immediately embarked on an investment programme, starting in the vineyards. By 2000, the most recent plantings were reaching maturity and quality had already greatly improved. At this time most of the production was sold on to larger cooperatives. Whilst Paulo and Alice were making progress at home, their ex-model daughter, Sandra, was fast establishing her reputation as an extremely talented winemaker, working alongside Cristiano Van Zeller at Vale Dona Maria in the Douro. With Cristiano’s encouragement, the family elected to refurbish their chais and start producing their own wines.
A lovely estate, it comprises 40 hectares of vines within the parish of Aldeia Galega, in the Alenquer region, within Estramadura. The vineyards are now over twenty years old and the wines today show greater intensity than when we first discovered Chocapalha, due, in part, to the increased maturity of the vineyard.
Sandra has kindly agreed to come over to London to hold a winemaker’s dinner exclusively for Corney & Barrow customers on the 27th January 2010. Taking place at Corney & Barrow Wine Bar, Jewry Street, London, it will be a fantastic opportunity to meet Sandra and taste a selection of these delicious wines.
For more information or to book tickets, call 020 7265 2522 or email events@corneyandbarrow.com.
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Quinta de Chocapalha Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Port Variety Blend, 2007, Dry, Full bodied, 13.5%, Cork
Drink now / lay down 2010 - 2013
Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2007
Port Variety Blend, 2007, Dry, Full bodied, 14.5%, Cork
Drink now / lay down 2010 - 2016
Casa de Casal De Loivos 2007
Port Variety Blend, 2007, Dry, Full bodied, 14%, Cork
Drink now / lay down 2009 - 2016
