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Portugal Anniversary Tour
Sunday 25 May - Sunday 1 June
Classic Wine Journeys
It is 20 years since A&Cs ground breaking tour of Portugal, our ½rst major tour, which revealed for the ½rst time to the UK wine drinker the quality wine revolution that was going on there. Only a few specialist merchants were active and little was in the wine press about what was really happening in Portugal. Our friends the Australian wine makers Peter Bright and David Baverstock, who were in a large part the instigators of the changes, had advised us. We hope to be meeting them both on this tour too as we take another good look at the country, at what has been achieved and what the new generation will bring. We start in Oporto with dinner at Grahams Port lodge, following a superb introductory tasting of port styles. The next morning we visit the craft lodge of Niepoort. The area to the south of Oporto is the former heartland of Portuguese quality table wine. Its denominations Bairrada and Dão have not always lived up to their potential, however the top estates, who we visit, make wines of great character. We will taste wines from Caves São João and Luis Pato for Bairrada and Quinta dos Roques and Quinta das Maias for Dão. We
stay at the splendidly old fashioned Bussaco Palace and taste its wines which are of the same ilk. Heading south, we stop in the Ribatejo to taste the wines that Peter Bright is making in his various projects in Portugal, which will be a fascinating insight. After lunch we continue to the Alentejo where we stay in the UNESCO world heritage town of Evora. The wines from here exploded onto the market some 10 years after the rest of Portugal. Many of the estates here had been invaded and taken over as workers co-operatives in 1975, and by the time their owners had recovered them, much of the vineyard and the wineries were in disrepair. Although the wines had huge potential, the rustic reputation took a long time to shake off. Nowadays Alentejo produces some of the top wines of the country. We will dine at Esporão, and we will taste at other top wineries. Well meet dynamic wine makers and see everything from state of the art wineries to a cellar with clay amphorae at José de Souza where we will also taste wines from the Setubal peninsula, Moscatel de Setubal and other wines made by J.M. Fonseca.
Traditional winemaking at José de Sousa
Our last visit and lunch is with the charming Tavares family at Quinta de Chocapalha where we taste the wines made here and in the Douro by Sandra Tavares Borges. This is a special tour, led by Tim Clarke, to a country we know well and love very much. The wines will be very interesting and the hospitality will be superb. A tour not to be missed! The Wine Guide is Tim Clarke.
Outline Itinerary
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Flight TP333 Gatwick 13.50 / Oporto 15.55. Dinner at port lodge. 5* hotel, Oporto. Port visit. Lunch at wine estate. Dinner. 5* hotel Dão visits & lunch. Visit & lunch at winery in Ribatejo. 4* hotel Evora. Visit & lunch in Alentejo. Visit & dinner in Alentejo. Visit & lunch in Alenquer. 4* hotel Lisbon. Flight TP342. Lisbon 12.50 / Gatwick 15.10
Includes
Direct scheduled ¾ights Gatwick - Oporto, Lisbon - Gatwick (TAP), coach, 3 nights 5*, 4 nights 4*. breakfasts, 8 meals with wines, visits, tastings. Wine Guide & Tour Manager.
Travel Price £ pp Sole occupancy Deposit £ pp Room Upgrade
Flight
The Tavares family at Quinta de Chocapalha
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