Duorum Winery Profile
A great quiz question for you: Which is the only Iberian wine region that doubles as a UNESCO world heritage site?
Leave Porto and head for Spain, before you get there, (about 2 hours) turn right and over the Sabor river and the Pocinho damn, through the town Vila Nova de Foz Côa and you will reach the picturesque Duorum estate, at the Spanish end of the World Heritage wine region of the Douro Valley. Those 30 minutes offer a gentle introduction to the stunning views you will soon be gawping at. One of the quietest places I have ever visited, with birds of prey circling above and the dominant, meandering Douro River bordered by luscious greenery for miles in every direction, it a truly area impressive of nature & mankind working in synergy.The winery do all they can to help the wildlife to thrive, including joining schemes such as Natura 2000, designed to help endangered species such as Bonelli’s Eagle and the ‘Douro Wine Bird’ Black-wheatear (Oenanthe leucura) which share their home in the Douro Valley with the grapes that make this famous region’s wines.
82 grape varieties are permitted in the region, 30 are recommended, however, the varietals on the slopes tend to be very similar throughout the valley. Duorum estate focuses on 3 main red varieties; Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz. The latter is a synonym for Tempranillo, the Franca offers perfume, colour & elegant smooth tannins. The Nacional, brings structure and is a challenge to ripen in many regions in Portugal. Rarely a problem here in the Douro; the driest and warmest parts of the valley, closer to the river & South facing, is where these grape perform best. Combined together, they create a rich, concentrated, powerful, yet elegant red wine. Fresh and fruit-driven when young, spicy and savoury when aged in oak. There is a constant fresh, acidic backbone to the wines and this is the key to their improvement over time.
On the other side of the slopes, those facing North you will find a wide selection of white grapes, the area of significant improvement in the region and a wide range of styles, dependent on the winemaker’s preference. Verdelho & Viosinho for the fresher younger styles, like the whites of Italy’s North. Gouveio (a.k.a Godello) & Rabigato, closer to the Burgundian styles, unctuous and weighty, capable of ageing and benefiting from time in oak and Arinto, which can sit in either blend. A new type of wine has been made on the estate, with early picked reds, from higher slopes, fermented to a lesser degree. This creates a fresh, young and approachable style of wine. This is part of a new category forming, ‘Douro Dark’ is a forward-thinking, commercial style to keep your eye out for.
The man behind the Duorum project is João-Portugal Ramos, who made his name in the Alentejo region and as a flying winemaker, gaining experience before forming his own estate in the early 90’s. After the Estremoz project was up and running and he became one of the best known producers in Portugal, he wanted to spread his wings & formed a partnership with another winemaker Jose Maria Soares Franco, formerly of Barca Velha, one of Portugal’s finest wines. Which has only been made 18 times in 71 years. (extract from Jamie Goode article). Together they purchased quintas that had been left to rack and ruin, they began work on restricting the vineyards and planting with a premium purpose. The estate now spreads across 160 hectares above the old train station of Castelo Melhor and around the grounds of the castle of the same name. 
The neighbours help emphasise the quality of the Duorum estate; next door but one you have Quinta do Vallado, an estate held in high esteem, even more noteworthy is Quinta do Crasto’s ownership of neighbouring plots to the West. There are also Bordeaux Chateaux investing in the slopes in the immediate vicinity. With the recent changes to the grapes permitted in the region, even more attention has turned this way. As the Touriga Nacional grape can produce such high quality wines after prolonged dry periods and heat-stress, it has been added to the select few varietals open to those in arguably the top production area in the world. There are certainly similarities in the profiles of the wines, packaging and now even the grapes.
The wines produced here at the Duorum estate are available in multiple channels in the UK, their premium Douro Eagle Superior is through Majestic, alongside the more commercial S&R Douro named after the two founding partners Soares & Ramos, introduced on our YouTube channel by Charlotte. Their Tons range comes in red, rosé and a white, recently reviewed by JancisRobinson.com as one of her favourite white wines of 2022, is available through Tanners alongside their Colheita premium wines. Their newest addition to the wines in the UK is Castelo do Vinteiro, available through the members of the Society of Vintners, click here to find your local merchant. James Suckling gave the two current vintages of Duorum Colheita white & red 91 points, the white is still available in Hedonism Wines and their Reserva 2015 picked up an astonishing 95 points from Robert Parker, the latest 2019, achieved 93 from James Suckling. A veritable collection of accolades, 90 plus ratings, and approvals from those in the know.
If you are a UK wine importer and interested in working with the Duroum estate, please do get in touch, if you would like to be amongst the first to receive the new vintage white wines, please do contact us and we will get these across to you as soon as we can.