The high-elevation Quinta da Fonte Souto wines represent the Symington family’s first foray outside the Douro Valley.
The Symington Family of wine producers is best known for its portfolio of fine Port wines made in the Douro Valley since the 19th century. In more recent years, they’ve expanded into Douro table wines, largely made from the same native grapes, and demonstrating both the producer and the valley vineyards are capable of expanding their historic reaches.
This pair of wines represents the producer’s first foray out of the valley and into the southern Alentejo region of Portugal, specifically, from vineyards in the Portalegre subregion. Portalegre is a high-elevation appellation close to the São Mamede mountain range (3,363 feet above sea level )and the vineyards benefit from those cool-climate conditions. That is a rare thing in the otherwise hot and dry Alentejo. The vineyards are planted at elevations up to 1,800 feet and the grapes are harvested from low-yielding vines, which deliver a highly concentrated wine.
The estate derives its name from the chestnut grove planted on the estate— “souto” refers to an area planted with chestnut trees. “Fonte” means fountain, or more loosely interpreted, water source.
Quinta da Fonte Souto white and red from the cool-climate Portalegre subregion
The branco (2021) is a blend of 75% Arinto and 25% Verdelho from vines cultivated at 1,600 feet and is full-bodied and round with a ripe, yellow- and tropical-fruited profile. It’s structured and complex with underlying herbal notes, some wood spice and elevated by lemon curd. Sixty percent of the blend was fermented in 500-liter oak barrels in contact with the lees before aging seven months in a combination of new French and central European oak (55%) and in second and third-year wood (40%). This is a complete and satisfying wine at $26 SRP.
The red wine (2019), a blend of primarily Alicante Bouchet and Syrah with smaller contributions from Alfrocheiro and old vines, is all about the black fruits—plum, blackberry and cherry—expressed here as rich, dense and mature with a sweet date and fig ripeness. This is full bodied, complex and layered—a big wine that wants big food like roasted lamb or game. Or, a juicy burger or ribs on the barbecue (cause the season is soon upon us!) A very reasonable $26 SRP for a wine that tastes like it costs into the premium category.