Conversations with Hans in Oporto – Part II

(During Carrie and Hans Jorgensen’s recent passage through Oporto, I had the opportunity, after a pleasant dinner at the local restauranta Casa Aleixo, to exchange a few words with Hans about the wines of Cortes de Cima. It’s based on this brief conversation that I wrote these texts, divided into 3 Blog posts, with short notes about the wines of Cortes de Cima which are currently available on the market, and which, a few days later, I tried with Hamilton (winemaker at Cortes de Cima). Read the first part here. )

Part 2 -

From the very first harvest Cortes de Cima started producing single varieties, due to the fact that the owner, was a fan of New World viticulture and winemaking theories. “In these wines, I am trying to respect the characteristics of each variety, and everyone here is working to achieve this goal, whether it is in the vineyard, or the winery” states Hans Jorgensen.

Trincadeira is a red varietal always rich in fruit, a characteristic of this variety, and sensitive to too much wood influence from barrel ageing. Another marked quality is it’s vegetative characteristic. This red wine always shows good body, as the grapes are picked well ripened, but still maintains the balance and complexity of the variety.

In order to produce an Aragonez varietal, one must take care to harvest the fruit at just the right time, in order to capture the plum aromas and obtain a wine with a good structure. When the ripening has been uniform, the result is firm and lovely tannins, which ensure the wine a good ageing potential. For Aragonez 2005, the immediate impact of the aroma, is of exuberant and fresh fruit. The palate is solid and layered which is both soft and with sweet gamey fruit and firm with dry papery tannins. The wood is very well incorporated, not excessive, but just noticeable in the end, which is well rounded. Generally, it is a difficult variety to work with in the Alentejo in hot years. Excessive heat during the growing season can stop the development of phenolic ripeness. Aragonez of Cortes de Cima always has very firm tannins, characteristic of the variety, but it is the winemakers’ aim to make them round and elegant..

And last, but not least, we have Syrah. Syrah was not one of the first red wine varieties to be planted at the property, but this happened a bit later, when it was confirmed that the terroir and the climate at Cortes de Cima were ideal for production of this Rhone variety. It was decided to plant 36 hectares in 1994, which are (among) the oldest Syrah vines in the Alentejo today. In this variety, uniform ripening is also important in order to obtain a wine with a good volume and soft tannins. An ideal Syrah has a full mid palate, and very round tannins.

Syrah 2005 is completely different from it’s predecessor. Sweet luscious fruit on the palate with an added veneer of oak. Smooth and supple texture with fine, supportive tannins. It shows a good acidity, perhaps because 2005 was not as hot a year as 2004 or 2003.