Quinta do Ataíde Vinha do Arco Touriga Nacional 2017, Douro DOC, Portugal, Organic

Vinha do Arco is the top single-vineyard red from Quinta do Ataíde, the Symington family’s organically farmed estate in the Vilariça Valley of the Douro Superior. It is made entirely from Touriga Nacional grown in a mature vineyard of the same name, fitting for an estate that helped revive the variety when it was close to disappearing. The grapes are hand-sorted, gently destemmed and fermented with careful attention to each tank, with some fruit fermented in French oak barrels. The wine is then aged in French oak for around 10–12 months.

Quinta do Ataíde Vinha do Arco is a full-bodied, expressive Douro red. The nose shows dark red fruit, violets and smoky spice. On the palate there is raspberry and blackcurrant, with fine, juicy tannins and balanced acidity leading to a long, elegant finish.

Serve it with roast lamb, slow-cooked beef, game, wild mushroom dishes or hard cheeses such as aged Gouda or Manchego. Open it an hour before serving and serve at 16–18°C. It is approachable on release and will develop well in bottle for 8–10 years.

Quinta do Ataíde is a historic estate in the Vilariça Valley of the Douro Superior, owned by Symington Family Estates, the family behind famous Port houses such as Graham’s and Dow’s. Unlike the Douro’s famous steep terraces, the vineyards here lie on unusually flat land between two granite escarpments, on schist and loam soils with very low rainfall. The estate has an 18th-century manor house and played a key part in the revival of Touriga Nacional: cuttings from its nursery were used to replant much of the Douro’s Touriga Nacional. Today the vineyards are organically farmed, with no herbicides, and head winemaker Charles Symington makes elegant, fruit-focused Douro DOC reds from the estate.