Chocapalha = Woman Power (17 February 2017)

Chocapalha = Woman Power

February 17, 2017

I met Sandra Tavares de Silva in the early 2000s, when she visited the old store (Chesapeake Wine Company) to introduce the wines she made at two different estates in her native Portugal - Quinta Vale Donna Maria (Douro) and Quinta de Chocapalha (Lisboa). Despite her youth (mid-20s), and relative inexperience (having received her masters in Oenology in 1999) her wines were very good - intense and rich, but well-balanced. She was a woman ahead of her time - the first woman to get a winemaking job in tradition-bound/male-dominated Porto. Her other project, Chocapalha, was (and is) a family affair. Her parents, Alice and Paulo, had purchased the old (16th century) abandoned Chocapalha vineyard in the late 1980s and it took more than ten years to release their first wine, made by their daughter.

Fast forward to this week (Wednesday, 2/15/17), when I got the chance to taste five new releases from Chocapalha. Sandra just ended her association with Quinta Vale D. Maria, but she still runs two winemaking projects: Chocapalha, and a partnership with her husband, Jorge Serôdio Borges, called Wine & Soul. It had been years since I'd tasted a wine from Chocapalha, but I wasn't surprised at how good they were.

Quinta de Chocapalha - Lisboa, Portugal

Arinto 2015 - One of two Chocapalha whites, the full name of this grape is Arinto de Bacelas, and it is indigenous to northern Lisbon, where the estate is located. Fennel/herb/citrus (lime peel) smells and crisp, mouthwatering, dry flavors.

Tinto 2012 - 50% Touriga Nacional, 20% Tinta Roriz, 10% each Castelao and Touriga Franca - This is sick - black fruit/floral/herb/slate/thyme smells and deep, concentrated, fresh, vibrant flavors. Great value at @ $20.

Tinto 2012 Vinha Mãe - 60% Touriga Nacional, 20% each Syrah and Tinta Roriz - Certainly more modern, but damn, this is perfect and very young. Black color; slate/black fruit/floral smells and perfectly structured but massive flavors.

CH by Chocapalha 2012 - 100% old vines Touriga Nacional - Dry Porto - brilliant, intensely fruity and dark, but so fresh, with slate/mineral backbone.

The last two wines would sell for @ $40 - expensive, but certainly worth it. These are massive wines, but so well balanced and structured, and flat-out delicious. 

Later on we had a chance to taste Chocapalha's Castelão 2012 - Portugal's most widely planted red grape, this was lighter, with spicy, savory, red-fruit character, yet pure and persistent. Clearly this is a winery worth getting to know