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Vintage Reports |
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| November 28th 2006 |
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| Portugal: Dificult |
by Luis Antunes
After a precocious spring, The 2006 harvest in Portugal began in early August with white grapes in the south, the torrid Alentejo and parts of Algarve. In early September a heat wave crossed the country, causing dehydration and even maturation blockage. |
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During September, milder weather permitted the harvest of better balanced grapes, especially in the southern and central areas – and for early varieties such as Merlot, Syrah, Tinta Roriz, Pinot Noir and Alvarinho. After September 22, rains arrived and with them dilution and rot. Vinhos Verde was nonetheless successful, especially with Alvarinho; in Dão the whites are considered good as are the red varieties Alfrocheiro, Jaen and Touriga Nacional; Palmela enjoyed a very fine vintage, both in terms if quantity and quality; and Madeira enjoyed great weather during the whole of the season.
In Bairrada the whites will also be good, but not the reds. In the southern regions of Ribatejo, Estremadura and Alentejo the call is tougher: only those well tended vineyards were able to endure the difficult weather conditions and bear a chance of producing good wines. For the Douro, 2006 is a vintage of extreme diversity, just like the region, which spans over 45,000 hectares. There were wines harvested before and after the heat wave, before and after the rains, from vineyards at 100 or 650 metres of altitude. Although it is difficult to generalize, many grapes were low on acids but high on sugars, making for somewhat unbalanced wines.
With a total harvest of 6.9 million hectolitre, Portugal harvested four percent less than last year, which was spot on the long term average. In terms of volume, the Douro and Ribatejo were down 11%, Estremadura down 13% and Bairrada 14%. On the other hand, the producers in the Alentejo brought in 830,000 hectolitres, 20 percent more than in 2005. |
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