Tiago Alves de Sousa believes the Douro offers a greater definition of diverse terroirs than any other wine region in the world - the combination of multiple microclimates and varied exposures combine to create a complex array of results in bottle- especially when bound with differing technical approaches and the personalities of individual winemakers. "Being surrounded by mountains creates individual micro-climates - the orography of the region, schistous and granitic soils, these many components make a tremendous difference, together with the multitude of indigenous Portuguese grapes... sometimes the terroir and climate can make a much stronger impact than the grape varieties themselves, he continues, "we have to admit for the moment, there is insufficient experience with so many of our indigenous grape varieties."

Quinta da Gaivosa along the sinuous road at Pousada da CumieiraTo address this problem in the early 1980's, a research project financed by the World Bank was established in order to simplify the complex selection process of which varietals to grow where. Planting and long term studies were carried out at Quinta da Ervamoira, a magnificent property in the Douro Alto owned by Ramos Pinto. The result: five Portuguese varietals were chosen as model grapes to be planted by winemakers throughout the Douro: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cao, Tinta Franca and Tinto Barroca.

The results of this valuable study were very much welcomed, though clearly, with a large and diverse region like the Douro, five grape varieties are never likely to perform perfectly across the whole region. "For such an experiment to be truly beneficial it would have to be carried out at many locations throughout the Douro. I feel very lucky to be making wine here - it is an area underpinned by history and tradition, with so many exciting things to discover. This is precisely what moves me and other winemakers... the possibility to create something new and unique. I always look to express the singular character of indigenous grapes within a specific location - if everything were to taste the same then wine drinkers would lose interest." The endless complexity of Douro terroir and microclimates brings obvious headaches, and even in good years, winemakers are kept on their toes. "If you are lazy you will come unstuck, but such conditions can stretch you to make even better wines. Every year is so different, you must know the grape varieties and understand the interaction of soil and climate."

Rain and the winemaker's year

Gaivosa: 'a bountiful estate'Describing the perfect growing year, Tiago prescribes "rain in October and November immediately after the harvest, to create reserves of moisture for the next year, followed by steady precipitation of perhaps 700mm throughout the winter, though sometimes we have much less. This type and amount of rainfall permits gradual penetration of the earth. If rain is heavy and the earth reaches its ‘fill capacity' - the surface water will start to run off the slopes and into the river, failing to benefit the vines in the months ahead - it might also wash away the precious schistous earth." When spring bud-break occurs in March the vines need some residual water - between bud-break and blooming, water is very important. At this crucial time the quality of the year's vintage might be determined, and the newly formed buds, which are the next year's lifeblood, are appearing... so water is of vital importance. Another crucial season is between March and June - this is the period that will guarantee a good level of production, both this year and possibly next year too. During spring 2008 the blooming was good, the buds were very fertile and promising for next year, the vines had enough water to go right through to the berries. "Everything is cyclical and we are never dealing with the impact on simply one year, but two... there is a kind of domino effect. We are not permitted to irrigate so are totally dependent upon climatic conditions. The Douro is a very traditional area and the subject of irrigation a controversial one - whenever we speak of irrigating the vineyards it stimulates a lot of debate, it is not easy to bring something new to the region, especially when it can affect the quality of the wine. Indeed, at this moment I am completing a PHD on irrigation in the Douro valley."

"everything is cyclical and we are never dealing with the impact on simply one year, but two..."

Vine Roots and Douro schist - please click for information panelSpeaking of freshness in white Douro wines, Tiago ventures, "by ‘buying in' grapes, certain producers who make white wines can pick and choose. Alves de Sousa only use grapes grown on our own properties - we do not have this ‘Port wine' flexibility, but our home-grown approach provides complete integrity. In the Douro, great grapes that are yours today, might easily be mine tomorrow.. at Alves de Sousa this cannot happen." Of course, the same principle applies to difficulties and problems with vineyards and grapes - they can be offloaded to another winemaker or producer the next time around. Tiago says, "where is the consistency coming from with such an approach - how can you maintain an identity and be sure that next year you are going to achieve the same results ?... It is very tough" In the Douro production costs are considerable, but the Port wine industry and beneficio system help support the burgeoning table wine market, "with the D.O.C. hype of recent years, people have sometimes forgotten the importance of Port wine and I do think we need a balance. In the past, winemakers only thought about Port wine, with table wine a mere after-thought, whereas now, the opposite sentiment prevails and this can be equally wrongheaded"

The Innovator
Soon after returning from his Italian educational sojourn, Tiago engaged in some hands on experience outside of academia, spending time working for mighty Sogrape. This provided invaluable experience of how things are done within a big organization, Alves de Sousa is a small family firm and it was interesting for the young Alves de Sousa to discover agronomy and vinification on a large scale. He eventually took his full time position at the family firm in 2002. "At this time Alves de Sousa already had a considerable wine portfolio, Domingos is a dynamic and creative person, but with so many small vineyards offering small yields it was far from easy to separate the parcels and learn their true identities. Gaivosa and Reserva Pessoal, our premium still wines at the time, were made with the best of our old vines but we did not really know what each special parcel contributed... what characteristics they actually brought to the final assemblage." Alves de Sousa were using very old parcels to make Gaivosa and Pessoal - it was hard to separate the vineyards because yields could vary dramatically year to year - from 1000Kg one year to perhaps 3000 Kgs the next. Domingos and Tiago knew which vineyards had the greatest potential and therefore concentrated upon these to make their premium wines.

The beautiful Vale da Raposa vineyard in early summer

Tiago continues, "I had ideas I wanted to bring to the table and be an equal contributor - to create something original. I decided to evolve a process of individualising each of the parcels that contribute to Gaivosa. My father said you are crazy because you will have so much work - I said no problem - I am always very active and I will do it. I really wanted to know which parcels were responsible for creating the very best elements of our wines - the specific and individual characteristics - which parcels contribute which effects." Domingos had faith in his son's idea and Tiago was allowed to experiment - "I had the great privilege and luxury of experimentation that many of my peers would never have - my father believed in this approach. I was inheriting all of my father's knowledge, he is a great man who has done a lot for the region, I felt I had a great responsibility to carry on his work... from this process of individualising each parcel, we have learnt a great deal."

"I always look to express the singular character of indigenous grapes within a specific location"

Tiago's First Vintage

The Quinta do Lordelo vineyard under cloudy skies The 2003 Quinta da Gaivosa is the first wine made by Alves de Sousa with a major contribution from Tiago, it is the wine for which he has the deepest affection. "It was a difficult, hot year - achieving good balance was tough and we always look for harmony in our wines, this was the first wine I had a really close association with. Everything came together in that particular vintage and this wine helped us with ensuing vintages. It is special because it helped us understand where we had to go and how to comprehend the true personality of our wines. This was an important wine for us and lent credibility to my own position at Gaivosa, it demonstrated that I understood what lay at the heart of our principle wine." Speaking of today: "We now have perhaps 20 wines in our portfolio, this includes several entry-level wines - these help underpin our premium projects and limited production wines. Strategically this is important - as Douro table wines do not have sufficient visibility at this moment.

Into LordeloThis new generation of Douro wines is evolving during a period of major advances in technology and winemaking knowledge. Modern techniques in the winery are important but good grapes and good terroir must come first. As a winemaker at Quinta da Gaivosa I am speaking against myself... but I think we sometimes forget the origin of great wine is in the vineyards. We over-value the role of the wine maker and sometimes undervalue the viticulturalist - from my perspective, it important to understand what I am getting from the vineyards and if possible adapt to what is coming into the winery, with so many new tools at our disposal, we are now able to harness the best from our raw materials."

Anselmo Mendes

"Our consultant oenolosist is Anselmo Mendes - he is one of the most respected consultant winemakers in Portugal. He joined Gaivosa in 1992 - long before achieving fame, this demonstrates Domingos' foresight. Anselmo had only just finished university when he and my father began their collaboration with Port and table wine, sixteen years later Anselmo is still consulting with us, but has since built a great reputation across the country. My father and Anselmo have been great mentors in my career: one of the things I like most in working with Anselmo is his pragmatism - he combines the artistic with the practical and scientific. This approach keeps our feet on the ground. I think being a good winemaker combines differing perspectives: winemaking requires a strong scientific background but also there are many elements beyond our control - you need objectivity as well as an artistic flair and to be quite brave, but rather than being autonomous, one must achieve some degree of consensus among all those involved."

Creating Cult Cuvées

Over the past twenty years, a popular and commercially seductive proposition for winemakers worldwide has been the introduction of new limited production cuvées, though the longevity of the chosen vineyard is all-important. Old vines do not live forever and if one is sourcing grapes from a single identifiable location, this factor plays a key role in decision-making when choosing to invest in a new premium wine. For those vigneron who can buy in grapes, this is not such an issue, as one can possibly switch to alternative suppliers when old vines diminish or become unproductive... the Douro system does permit this flexibility, unlike a more tightly controlled region such as Bordeaux. One way to resolve the longevity issue is to create a brand or non-Quinta affiliated marque. Wines such as Symington's Chryseia do not have a single Quinta association, the winemakers are therefore able to pick and choose the finest grapes from assorted premium locations.

The Birth of Abandonado
There are now many limited production wines in the Douro valley: one of Alves de Sousa's own superstars began life within an old disused vineyard high on the top of Gaivosa's terraces. Tiago takes up the story, "with Abandonado I was starting with a blank sheet: a small abandoned vineyard of approximately 2 hectares - it sits at the highest point of Gaivosa and the vines age around 80 years. The name is derived from the abandoned nature of the site and was known by all who work at Gaivosa as ‘Abandonado'... it was the only neglected or ignored vineyard on the estate."

As the Abandonado vineyard is high and in a difficult position to work it fell into disuse, and contrary to normal practice, as the older vines died they were never replaced... it was simply left to decay. Tiago's decision to develop Abandonado came after his innovative work in 2002 to define each Gaivosa parcel ... "the grapes had always been deemed of high quality and were originally used in the blend for Quinta da Gaivosa." Though the vineyard was never used individually, it did contribute grapes to the Grand Vin. The vineyard provides only 3000kgs of grapes and as it is so small, was impractical to consider for anything ‘individual'. "At this time we did not have the correct set-up to handle small production wines - it seemed inappropriate to devote a lot of effort to such a small parcel of vines." In 2004 Alves de Sousa decided to install small vats in their winery at Pousada da Cumiera to handle limited production wines and create perfect conditions for vinifying small parcels... at the time, this was mostly experimental work. "The grapes for Abandonado are 100% destemmed, even though the stalks are perfectly ripe the berries have sufficient tannins and structure - 2004 was our first vintage. This was a completely new thing for us - we had never vinified parcels individually, the vats we used had a good height to width ratio, thus, extraction would be lighter than any strong or aggressive mechanised process."

"with Abandonado I was starting with a blank sheet: an old disused vineyard high on the top of Gaivosa's terraces."

Fermentation took place at a low temperature of 20º for about two weeks with a further two weeks maceration... Tiago kept the contact between the solids and the wine for a longer period and through constant tasting he could tell there were constant improvements throughout this process. "There were no harsh tannins at all, so we left the juice for a longer time than usual. Immediately, we could feel the terroir was showing through and though my own role is an important element, it was the natural qualities of the vineyard which were revealed."

On blending: "One must escape from preconceived notions and be completely open minded, a good palate is essential, especially when determining which parcels of vines might complement another. When blending we let the wine speak for itself - though there have been some complete surprises, with Abandonado it was not so difficult because the wine has such a strong personality and is of small proportions." Abandonado is now considered one of the finest wines the Douro has to offer and is internationally acclaimed, further details will be found within the wines page soon to be added to this Quinta da Gaivosa micro-site.

Ambition

Looking toward the futureAlves de Sousa have received many winemaking accolades in recent years and Tiago doubts his father Domingos will ever retire. The firm of Alves de Sousa stands for quality and integrity, upholding the great Port wine heritage of the Douro valley while pursuing modern objectives and greater goals in winemaking. "The first time Alves de Sousa were awarded producer of the year in Portugal, we could easily have rested on our laurels... nowadays there is a lot of competitiveness in the Douro and one could not possibly think this way - we must always strive to do better. For me there is no perfect wine in existence - we need always to pursue excellence. I think the natural diversity of the Douro ensures that each and everyone must try to portray their own terroir in the bottle - the best liquid expression possible. I hope our considerable portfolio demonstrates the real diversity of Gaivosa and our other properties. All of our wines are very different and offer their own special identities, this is the beauty of the Douro. I would like to go deeper and continue evolving our current wines, seeking to make the region greater while raising our visibility on the international stage. I think the Douro has the potential to develop as a classic table wine region, not unlike Bordeaux... it is something I will work towards. Some commentators suggest the Douro should have a ‘formal' classification and I think more could be done to unify and promote the Douro - everyone working together for a common aim."

"I think more could be done to unify and promote the Douro - everyone working together for a common aim"

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