Gorgeous Organic, Aged, Dry Douro Red – only here, only now!
SALE CLOSES WHEN WINE IS SOLD OUT
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Hi everyone –
It’s a very good time to be a wine lover.
And in the same breath, I have to express big sympathy for my winemaker, importer, and wholesaler friends. Sales are down for a long list of reasons that I’m sure you’ve read about. And inventory is starting to stack up. The craziness of the tariff situation, the fluctuations in the supply and demand curve, and the great unknowns when it comes to the restaurant industry have led to a perfect storm.
Wine is stacking up in the warehouses. Damn good wine, made in the right way by the right people. And now the magic (for you and me) is starting to happen.
Take, for instance, today’s wine. In a perfect world (ala 2019) the importer would find a dozen good restaurants and maybe six great retailers in the country to buy the entire allocation. All wine buyers with half a nostril would smell this wine and buy as much as they can.
But we don’t live in a perfect world. That’s where our Friday offers come in.
I can’t change the world for an importer or supplier … my little deals sold through Solo Vino are a grain of sand on the beach. But I can check a box, and I know that some of these suppliers simply want to report back “we made a placement and people are drinking our wine!” To have a beautiful 2017 vintage Douro red from a legendary organic vineyard, at this price, is kinda unheard of.
TODAY’S WINE IS ONLY HERE, ONLY NOW. This is the only allocation to arrive in Minnesota. 60 bottles total. It’s awesome juice, and worthy of your table and friends. It’s delicious now but totally drinkable for another five years.
Let’s get to the details.
Douro Superior – the home of today’s wine
The Douro Valley in Portugal, in addition to being one of the most beautiful spots on the planet, contains three distinctive sections based on soil and climate: Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo, and Douro Superior.
As you move west to east, it gets hotter and drier. By the time you reach Douro Superior, it’s such an extreme region of rock and sun that few dared to plant vines there centuries ago. (The remoteness is such that many houses in this area didn’t even have electricity until the 1970s! The never knew phones until cell phone service arrived in the 1990s.)
Old vineyards, old farmers, and organic farming in the Douro
The great Jancis Robinson sounded the alarm in 2022 with her article Save The Douro:
“The number of grape farmers in the Douro fell from 38,695 to 19,633 between 2010 and 2020 – a drop of 49%. And even today 61% of those farmers own less than a hectare (under 2.5 acres) of vines and tend them only at weekends while holding down another, more lucrative job.
Only 266 farmers on the more than 40,000 ha (99,000 acres) of vineyards in the Douro own more than 20 ha of vines (a typical Bordeaux château will have about 60 ha). One of these more substantial vineyard owners is Symington Family Estates, one of the leading port shippers, with more than 1,000 ha (2,470 acres).
Recently retired chairman Paul Symington has been sounding the alarm for the future of the valley for years. ‘The average age of the Douro farmers is getting frighteningly high’, he wrote to me recently, adding, ‘in our nearby village of Provesende, for instance, there are very few young people.”
Because of various pressures in the Douro Valley … better yields to increase sales, weather changes, etc. … it’s become harder to find organic vineyards. Today’s wine is from the Symington family, which has the resources to take on this challenge, and in working with this particular vineyard they discovered a personality to the wine that warranted its own label and bottling.
Only here, only now
We came across this wine through our 2025 meeting with the Warre’s USA representative, who tasted us through all the current offerings (this was in August). From crisp whites to Vintage Port, we got a great overview of where their portfolio is at.
I’m always on the lookout for something new, especially when it fits our standards of organic or sustainable farming, family ownership, and land stewardship. This wine hit a home run, so on behalf of Solo Vino I ordered five cases.
By the time the order was placed, nobody else in Minnesota had bit at this wine (August is a notoriously hard month to sell big reds and Port, as you can imagine, which is why I always take advantage of it!). It’s available only here, only now.
2018 vs. 2017
I tasted the 2018 vintage and loved it, and that’s what I ordered. They shipped the 2017.
This happens often in the world of wine. But here, it’s to our advantage.
Both 2018 and 2017 were great vintages, but the type of vintage that this wine needs and loves was found more so in 2017. Of course, just to make sure everything is solid, I asked team Solo Vino to pop a bottle and confirm (since I’m in Portugal as I type this). Their notes came back with gold stars, exclamation points, and happy faces all around. This wine is a winner.
The local importer, not knowing it was an exclusive special offer, also popped a bottle to experience and enjoy. So in total we have four cases and ten bottles available.
I take that back … we have four cases and six bottles, after my personal purchase for my cellar.
Tasting notes
This wine is composed of “Two thirds Touriga Nacional and one third Touriga Franca” according to the reviews and tech sheets. This is common to say in the Douro Valley, for these two grapes are dominant and relatively well known. But my guess is that there is far more to this vineyard, for the older plantings tended to be field blends of up to 30 grape varieties (or more).
This is a big Douro red, from a hot region, made with sturdy grapes, with eight years of age to meld together and calm down. It’s drinking perfectly RIGHT NOW and will keep you happy well into 2026 and 2027.
Aromas of black fruits, worn leather, pencil lead, and dried tobacco leaf. On the palate it has presence and weight without being overwhelming (I can’t wait to drink this on the first truly cold night of November). There is still a chalkiness to the tannins, revealing potential for more aging, but the finish has melted into a long stretch and grip that I rarely find in dry Douro reds (which tend to cut off quick because of young tannins).
Food pairings? Here are some great ideas:
Portuguese Duck Rice (classic): https://gastroportugal.com/arroz-de-pato/
Roast Lamb with Potatoes: https://gastroportugal.com/borrego-assado/
Portugese Gardener’s Beef Stew: https://gastroportugal.com/jardineira-gardeners-stew/
(If you can’t tell already, I love the website Gastro Portugal.)
Buying suggestion
This is an exceptional find, and I truly believe that if you buy one bottle you’ll wish you bought more. We have it priced in 1, 2, and 3 packs (best price is on the 3pk) and the wine will drink great well into 2028.
Thank you!
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts