WINE: Younger producers in the Douro Valley are shaking off port's fusty old-man image and making great table wines, too, writes John Wilson
TEN YEARS AGO the Douro Valley meant Port - for centuries one of the world's greatest wines had been made from grapes grown on terraces carved into the solid slate soil on the vertiginous slopes climbing up from the river Douro. This is one of the world's great wine regions, almost untouched by tourism, with a stunning raw beauty. In summer, it can be baking hot, often reaching 40 degrees or even more, perfect for producing very ripe grapes with thick skins.
Until recently the market for Port was dominated by a few large houses, some of them very good, who were prepared to pay top dollar for the best grapes. Then along came a gang of younger producers, who wanted to move away from the fusty old-man image of Port. Each began to produce table wines, made from the amazing local array of ancient unique grape varieties, often planted together in the same vineyard. It was Spanish wine critic Luis Gutierraz who visited the Douro, and coined the phrase "Douro Boys" to cover this loosely knit group of young winemakers (which includes one female winemaker). The leader of the pack is Dirk Niepoort, of the company of the same name, a man driven by a need to experiment. Once the loose grouping clubbed together to run a very smart marketing campaign, they took the wine world by storm.
All of the Douro Boys make Port, usually very good Port. What marks them out from their colleagues is their table wines. You would expect wines from one of the hottest regions in Europe to be massive, brawny monsters. But most seem to be looking for a balanced style, often very elegant, with no shortage of ripe fruit, but never too baked or alcoholic. Niepoort use grapes from high-altitude, north-facing vineyards to try to maintain elegance. Others are happy to be big and bold in the best sense.
Given the low yields and huge expense working the steep slopes, these wines are never going to be cheap. However, there are a number of wines well under €20 that offer great winter drinking. Not all of the Douro Boys are represented in Ireland, but below I feature four. The "Two Around €12" wines are from the Douro, but not part of the group. Their website, www.douroboys.com is well worth a visit.
jwilson@irish-times.ie