The bottles that define Dão: what they are, who makes them and what they cost.
The iconic bottles that define Dão: what they are, who makes them and what they cost.
Álvaro Castro's single-parcel Touriga Nacional from vines planted in 1950 at 500 metres, two years in used 400 litre French oak.
Tasting notes: Single-parcel Touriga Nacional off half a hectare planted in 1950: exuberant wild red fruit with balsamic and vanilla nuance, concentrated but held by elegant acidity.
Barrel and tank Encruzado from Quinta dos Roques, first made in 1998 and still one of the reference bottlings for the variety.
Tasting notes: Half-barrel, half-tank Encruzado: elegant fruit with a touch of resin, freshness first and then the structure and length that made this bottling a Dão benchmark.
The Villa Oliveira Encruzado of Casa da Passarella, from its Serra da Estrela slopes.
Tasting notes: The Villa Oliveira Encruzado of Casa da Passarella, the estate's most highly rated white, from its Serra da Estrela slopes.
Casa de Santar's flagship, six varieties from eight parcels, 24 months in mostly new French oak and five years in bottle before release.
Tasting notes: Six grapes off eight parcels, two years in mostly new French oak and five more in bottle: intense and complex with fine tertiary notes, spice and dried nuts.
Falorca's Garrafeira, 75 percent Touriga Nacional with old-vine Rufete, two years in tank and two more in French oak, 3803 bottles.
Tasting notes: Almost opaque ruby, four years between tank and barrel before bottle: ripe black fruit and spice over integrated wood, powerful but polished with a mineral close.
The flagship red of Quinta de Lemos in Silgueiros, Touriga Nacional with Tinta Roriz, French oak aged and floral.
Tasting notes: The estate's flagship: very expressive flowers and fruit, good structure and fresh soft tannins, with a warm, aromatic and persistent finish.
The Grande Reserva white of Quinta do Soito, around 1,580 bottles, tropical and mineral with a velvety texture.
Tasting notes: Citrine with straw tints: lime blossom and orange flower over peach, mango and papaya, with a velvety, mineral palate and a long refined close.
The Grande Villae Encruzado of Quinta da Taboadella, aged in concrete, with the granitic minerality the estate treats as its signature.
Tasting notes: Encruzado without filters, aged in concrete: complex, firm and whole, with a silky texture, granite minerality and a long, precise finish.
Varietal Touriga Nacional Grande Reserva under the Alva Magna label of Quinta Vale do Cesto, served at 14C.
Tasting notes: A heady varietal Touriga: tulip, bergamot and tangerine over eucalyptus and cigar box, with an opulent, ripe-tannined palate.
Casa de Mouraz's thirty-variety old-vine red with no Touriga Nacional in it, two years in tank and no oak at all.
Tasting notes: Thirty local varieties, none of them Touriga Nacional, fermented spontaneously and given two unoaked years in tank.
The Reserva Especial Encruzado of Julia Kemper Wines, twelve months in new and used French oak and released with bottle age.
Tasting notes: A developed Encruzado: dried leaf, gunflint and wet stone opening into exotic fruit and forest notes, fresh and elegant with real persistence.
Varietal Touriga Nacional Reserva from Quinta das Marias, mostly second-fill French oak and around 4,000 bottles.
Tasting notes: Varietal Touriga Nacional Reserva from Quinta das Marias, mostly second-fill French oak and around 4,000 bottles.
Perdigão's Reserva, a four-variety Silgueiros red with an unusually wide aromatic range from berry fruit to camphor and earl grey.
Tasting notes: Deep garnet with purple lights and an unusually wide aromatic sweep, from berry fruit through menthol and camphor to earl grey and cocoa, intense but very fresh.
A multi-vintage old-vine white from the Teixuga vineyard, three to seven years in used French oak with bâtonnage.
Tasting notes: Golden, from a multi-vintage assembly of old Teixuga vineyard whites aged years in used barrel: apricot, hazelnut and soft smoke, fresh but explosive in the middle.
After hotel pickup in Coimbra, we take direction to activity start in Viseu. Day dedicated to bicycle touring on an old railway branch that has 130 years of transpor...
Peak wine-travel season in Dão is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
If you only open one bottle, open Quinta da Pellada Carrocel by quinta-da-pellada. It is the wine most associated with Dão.