Quinta do Ameal Escolha 2003

Posted on 10 March 2009

A perfect substitution

I had a bottle of Chablis in the fridge to open with a Thai dish I cooked. But it turned out awfully corked. So I had to go down to the cellar to quickly find a replacement. My choice was the Quinta do Ameal Escolha 2003.

It all reminded me of stories of famous pianists or singers. Your career is deadlocked, you failed to make an impression on the critics, you’re about to leave that hostile Paris or London where musical competition is too strong. On your last day you go strolling to the zoo and when back at the hotel, a message awaits: the primadonna is ill, you need to replace here in Aida tonight. This Portuguese white behaved like an exceedingly good soprano on replacement. It sang all the notes right, and brought a sense of relief.

It is interested that I blogged on 2003 whites a couple of weeks ago. If there is one country you wouldn’t expect to deliver any interesting whites in this vintage, it has to be Portugal. It’s usually considered a red-only producer, even by experienced critics (e.g. see a recent discussion here). I think the best Portuguese whites, such as Bucelas, Encruzado from the Dão region, and some Douro whites are much underrated. And then there is vinho verde, ‘green wine’ from the granitic soils and rainy Atlantic climate of northern Portugal. Among the myriad of local grape varieties here, Loureiro is one that shines. Ameal’s Escolha, produced at only 5,000 bottles, is perhaps the grape’s best interpretation. Aged in oak – which very few local wines can survive – it is a wine built for ageing. But six years in a hot, low-acid vintage?

This has not only survived but now seems at peak. Oak is present on the nose and (less so) palate, but integrated with the rich, peachy, almost Viognier-like substance. On the finish there is a bitterish grapefruit pithiness of Loureiro peeking from underneath the oak. A round wine in texture but not flabby or fat (as in many other 2003s). I think part of the success lies in Loureiro’s inherent lightness, and part in the low alcohol (12%; the difference with the 14% Grüner Veltliner from Austria I reviewed recently is telling). I’ll be keeping my bottles of the 2006 vintage for a few more years.