Do you remember the great movie “Love Actually” from 2004? It’s an amazing film, telling us the story of so many different couples; stories that somehow all come together at the end and the message is “love is all around us”.
The more I learned about “Wine & Soul”, the more I believe that the story of Sandra Tavares da Silva and her husband Jorge Serôdio Borges could have nicely fitted into that movie.
This relationship, this company is all about love: The love of Sandra and Jorge for each other and their families, but also the love they have for wine making and especially the love for the Douro Valley.
It’s an amazing story of two very passionate people that lived parallel lives, finally they met and they decided to conquer the (wine-) world together. And they lived happily ever after…
When you hear Sandra Tavares talking about the Douro Valley, you feel so much passion and enthusiasm that you might believe that Sandra and her family live here since many, many generations – but no, Sandra moved only in 1999 to the Douro Valley. She was born far away in the Azores; her father was an officer in the Portuguese Navy, her mother is from Switzerland. She was still a small child when the family moved to Lisbon. When she was 16 years old, it became obvious that she was quite tall and attractive – and suddenly she was modeling in Paris, London and New York… but even while this world of glitter and glamour might be the dream for many young women, Sandra’s dream was absolutely different: she wanted to learn to make wine. Her grandfather had had a farm and also her father bought in the 1980s a wine estate (“Quinta da Chocapalha”, located in Aldeia Galega da Merceana, approximately 40 kilometers north of Lisbon) where grapes were produced and sold. She studied Agronomy in Lisbon and then wine-making in Piacenza, just south of Milan in Italy.
Sandra confesses that she didn’t know a lot about the Douro when she joined Cristiano van Zeller at Quinta do Vale Maria in 1999 for an internship – and after the harvest she got an offer to stay as wine maker. At that time Sandra was due to my knowledge one of only two female wine makers in the Douro (the other wine maker was Susana Esteban at Quinta do Crasto).
On the other side, you nearly can’t be more “Douro” than Jorge Serôdio Borges. His family was involved in the Douro Valley for more than 100 years, having invested after the phylloxera devastated large parts of that region in the second half of the 19th century. From early on he knew that he would want to make wine and studied oenology at the “Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro” (by the way: he remained friends with two other students of that university, the well-known wine-makers Jorge Moreira from Quinta de La Rosa and Francisco Olazaba from Quinta de Vale Meão and Vallado – and together the three have created an interesting wine-project in the Dao Valley called M.O.B.).
After finishing his studies, Jorge worked from 1996 on for his family’s vineyards (Quinta do Fojo) – but in 1999 he started to work for Quinta do Passadouro. Jorge had the luck to start working with Dirk Niepoort and was made the wine maker for the QUINTA DO PASSADOURO. Dieter Bohrmann from Belgium had acquired that Quinta in 1991 and together with the knowhow of Niepoort Vinhos amazing wines were made. Jorge was essential to the success of this winery – but as important for him was his friendship with Dieter. When you hear Jorge talking about the unfortunately way too early gone Dieter you can feel how deep and important that friendship was.
Now the stage was set. Jorge was working for one of the “Douro Boys” (Dirk Niepoort); Sandra was working for another “Douro Boy” (Cristiano van Zeller). When they finally met in 1999, it clicked right away… and things became very dynamic. They married in 2001 – and by then they knew already that they would together pursue their dream of making wines exactly the way they wanted to, without working for anybody else.
They had looked around and decided that the best place for them and their wine adventure would be the Pinhão Valley – and when they had opportunity to buy an old Wine Lodge in Vale de Mendiz they didn’t hesitate long… 2001 was quite a stressful year – on the one side they were already making wine, on the other side the lodge was in the middle of renovations…
Now they both could make wines exactly like they wanted to, without having to follow any specific company style… they knew that they wanted to make wines that show the terroir… they wouldn’t do blends – their philosophy is that every vineyard has a certain character and that should be shown in the wine.
The did buy the grapes for their first years – but when they were offered in 2003 to buy the parcel with old wines (over 75 years old) that was used to make the “Pintas” wine, they accepted gladly. And now they had everything under their own control, the growing of the wines, the treading of the grapes and the storage and bottling. Jorge is very clear that he thinks you have to work very hard and focus on all the little details if you really want to make a great wine – and while their lodge in Vale de Mendiz is quite small, at least it enables them to take care of all the necessary details.
In 2009 they inherited the beautiful Quinta da Manoella with old vineyards – and that gave a further boost to their company. The red wine “Quinta da Manoella Vinhas Velhas” is becoming quickly one of the more iconic wines of the Douro Valley. Roughly 20 hectares of the Quinta are planted with vines.
Jorge and Sandra are very thankful and understand that they are privileged having received these old vines, wines and the Quinta – and in their typical humble fashion they want to preserve everything for the next generation. If any of the old vines dies, it is replaced with an identical copy to maintain the grape variety. The old traditions in the vineyards are kept alive – you can feel the respect that these two have for the work and thoughts of Jorge’s ancestors. Jorge and Sandra have 3 children – so the future of Quinta da Manoella and Wine & Soul seems to be secured….
Few industries have so much regulation as the Port Wine trade – and while they would love to experiment with different Port Wine styles, they can’t due to the restrictions in place. While they produce high quality Port Wines, I would say that “Wine & Soul” has created a stellar reputation mainly from the table wines. If I would have to put together a Top 5 list of table wine producers in the Douro Valley this company would be for sure in it.
When we look at the wines, we see two different “families”: “Pintas” and “Manoella”.
It all started with “Pintas”. When Sandra and Jorge released their first wine, the “Pintas 2001” they for sure didn’t believe what a success-story would follow. People liked very much their wines and over the next years they were able to buy not only the vineyard that was used to make “Pintas” but also several other, old vineyards. They believe that these old vines are a real treasure of the Douro Valley and they are needed to make truly amazing wines. The grapes of these places are used for the following wines:
“Pintas” – this is the wine that started everything. It’s made from grapes of a specific vineyard in the Pinhão Valley, 350-400 meters above sea-level, from vines that are around 75 years old. It’s a field-blend of roughly 30 different grape varieties. The wine is foot trodden and spends 20 months in French oak barrels. It’s a very complex, full-bodied wine with a very impressive tannin-structure – which makes this the ideal wine to store for a few years. The color is intense purple; the aromas are floral with dark fruits and chocolate. The production is around 5000 – 6000 bottles a year.
“Pintas Character” – while the grapes for this wine come also from a field-blend vineyard, the age of the vines is younger (planted in 1970). This is also a very complex wine, like the original PINTAS – but it’s lighter, easier approachable at release. You can also store this wine away – but you might want to drink it already now. It’s not so overpowering that you need to bite through it – it’s already quite enjoyable. Also this wine is foot-trodden – but then it 50% of the wine spend 18 months in new French Oak Barrels, the other half spends 18 months in used French Oak barrels. Around 10,000 bottles are produced per year.
“Guru” – this is a white table wine, produced since 2004. The grapes are from vines that are around 50 years old. The grape varieties are Gouveio, Viosinho, Rabigato and Códega do Larinho. The grapes for this wine are not foot-trodden but a pneumatic press was used, as usual for white wines. After a few weeks in French Oak the wines ages another 5 months with battonage (steering up the lees). Around 6000 bottles are produced annually. Elegant, well balanced wine with grapefruit and mineral aromas and flavors.
“Pintas Vintage Port” – in excellent years a Vintage Port is produced. The first Vintage was produced in 2003. Not every year is good enough to be declared a vintage, but Wine & Soul was able to produce Vintages in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The grapes come from the vineyard with roughly 80 year old vines. Field blend of more than 30 grape varieties. Foot trodden and then bottled after 19 month of aging. Annual production is around 4000 bottles. Balanced wines with good fruit and nice tannin structures.
“10 Years Old Tawny Porto” – the only other Port Wine that is produced at Wine & Soul within the “Pintas Family”, next to the Vintage Port. A very well made Port, made from the field-blend grape varieties. The aroma profile is what you would expect from a wine that has been aged for a decade in small wooden barrels: aromas of nuts combined with honey and figs. Golden amber color. . Very mellow texture with a quite long finish.
All the Pintas wines are good and very well made – but the more interesting wines are those from the “Manoella-Family”…
“Manoella” – red wine made from the roughly 40 year old vines of the Manoella vineyard with south-western-exposure. Here at least we know the grape varieties: 60% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Roriz and 5% Tinta Francisca. Foot trodden, aged 16 months in old French Oak barrels. Between 8000 and 10,000 bottles produced annually. Purple color, velvety texture, good aging potential. Raspberry, blackberry aromas.
“Manoella” – white wine. The latest addition to the wine family of Wine & Soul, with 2016 being released as the first year. Field blend of old vines, approx. 500 meters above sea-level. Nice balance between complexity, concentration and elegance. Citrus and minerality. Contrary to most Douro Valley wines these vines are not growing on schist but rather on granite! Just 2800 bottles were produced – so please hurry to find them…
“Quinta da Manoella VV Vinhas Velhas” – now we are talking. This wine is one of the flagship-wines for the whole Douro Valley. The grapes are coming from a field-blend of vines that are over 100 years old. Approx. 20 grape varieties are included in that field. The grapes are foot-trodden and the wine stays for 20 months in new French Oak barrels. Around 3000 – 4000 bottles are produced annually. Very silky texture, incredible aromas of fruit and a very long finish. An amazing wine.
“5G” – oh, how misleading a name can be… Such a short name and such a monumental Port Wine! “5G” stands for 5 generations. Jorge Serôdio Borges is a member of the 5th generation that took care of this wine since his great-great-grandfather produced this wine at the end of the 19th century. More than 100 years the family took care of this wine – and Jorge has now decided to bottle a part of it. 1200 bottles were filled – and it is a magic, incredibly concentrated wine. This is easily one of the best Port Wines I have ever tasted in my life and I am very thankful that Sandra and Jorge offered a glass of this when I visited their winery a few years ago. For Jorge and Sandra family is very important – and when you read the information-sheet about this wine when it was released, Jorge wrote: “Five generations of my family have overseen the maturation of this truly special Port Wine for over 100 years. A family that knew how to pass down the culture, tradition, knowledge and passion for the magnificent Douro region and for Port Wine. I decided to bottle just 1200 individually numbered bottles and I hope that, likewise, yours will bring you, your family and friends together to celebrate and share unique moments. Here´s to family and friendship!”
The same day that I had the tremendous pleasure of tasting the “5G” a bus-load of tourists visited the winery of “Wine & Soul” in Vale de Mendiz. And after the tasting I witnessed Sandra, the iconic wine maker, the former model, the successful owner of one of the most prestigious wineries in Portugal, how she was sitting on the floor of the winery, personally washing all the dirty wine glasses – if I wouldn’t know anything about her, this alone would show me what a great character she has!
Two other fun-facts about this couple:
Sandra was a player of the Portuguese National Volley-Ball team!
Jorge is a passionate race-car-driver and drives the maybe coolest car in the whole Douro Valley!
If you find their wines – please try them. It’s an absolutely beautiful story of two of the nicest people that you can imagine… and I am sure we will see so much more coming from “Wine & Soul” over the next decades…!!!
Av.Júlio de Freitas, Vale de Mendiz
5085-101 Pinhão / Portugal
Phone (+351) 254 738 076
Mobile (+351) 936 161 408
Fax (+351) 254 732 623
E-mail: info@wineandsoul.com
Web-Page: www.wineandsoul.com