Ahmed hails Portuguese whites

Wine writer Sarah Ahmed has spoken of a "revolution" in the quality of Portuguese white wines and how her confidence in the region’s white offerings is growing all the time.

Ahmed presented her choice of 50 Portugese wines on behalf of the 5th ViniPortugal tasting at the Caledonian Club on Thursday 11 February.

The standout addition to the event were the 14 white wines on offer. The first such tasting in 2005 was  comprised solely of red wines.

Ahmed said that this was “testament to a revolution in the quality of Portugal’s white wines” and gave her “confidence in their white wine making abilities".

She also made her choice of wines from the Douro to "show that the Douro is not just about big vintage Ports and red wines.

“Rather the ‘nose to tail’ possibilities presented by this 100km stretch of the Douro shape an increasingly glorious array of wines – red, white, sparkling and sweet, oaked and unoaked.”

The confidence of Portugal’s wine makers and their increasing skill with their native grapes was also a hot topic.

Ahmed said: “The Portugese native grapes are one of the country’s fantastic advantages.”

However, there was also acceptance that the huge diversity of Portugese grapes and wines were at times “a double-edged sword”.

Danny Cameron, director of Raymond Reynolds Limited, said: “Portugal does well to have higher expectations but diversity makes it hard to to get the message through.

“Portuguese wine does best with fewer links in the chain, the more links you put in the more diluted the message becomes.”

Raymond Reynolds, chairman of Raymond Reynolds Limited, thought that there was a need to keep the distinctive Portuguese styles and grape varieties, but added it is “more important is to get people enjoying the wine and the style and then asking ‘what’s in the blend?’”

He also said: “In the last 5 years the biggest shift has been in Portugal itself, with big companies with big ambitions who have woken up to other markets.”

The on-trade and independent retail market remained Portugal’s strongest allies. Portuguese wine has registered a 10% increase in volume and 14% increase in value within the UK and Ahmed expressed her belief that Portuguese wine would continue to thrive in these arenas.

Cameron noted that nearly 50% of the 2007 Douro vintage was sold en primeur which showed a substantial shift in buying trends and displayed an increased level of trust from the consumer regarding the quality of Portuguese wine.

Rupert Millar, 15.02.2010