La Rosa was given to Clara (portrait below) as a christening present in 1906. Her granddaughter Sophia is now the general manager and the family lives part of the year in Oxford. I saw her at breakfast arranging posies of flowers on the tables.
It was going to be a hot day (27 degrees forecast) as the whole property is south facing and the schist soils and high stone terracing retain the heat. I set off as early as I could (10.00 am!) to walk around the nearest terraces. The construction of these terraces is an amazing feat of engineering, making use of every inch of this incredibly sloping site.
The railway line runs right alongside the river at this point. In 1977 part of the family home collapsed onto the line, putting out transportation for 2 days. The railway company threatened to blow up the rest! The ruins are still visible below us and someone keeps chickens down there.
I came back for a quick swim before lunch - but there was no lunch! I had to resort to cup-a-soup and an apple from my emergency rations. All the better to enjoy my dinner this evening.
First there was a tour of the winery buildings and a tasting session. The guide talked so quickly I found it hard to follow. I asked her to slow down, but somehow she couldn’t. She was even faster than E and that’s saying something! I wish I could have grasped more of the details.
They produce 300,000 litres p.a. on 45 hectares. The ground is between 150m and 400m above sea level. The chief winemaker drives around the vineyards every day, tasting the grapes to see which are ready because they are all at different stages because of location on the slopes. The 7 pickers are all women. I didn’t see any in action this morning. I did see the crates of grapes arriving here in the afternoon and being sent through a machine with a conveyor belt which magically removed all the stalks.
Dinner:
Pumpkin soup w. cream cheese.
Iberian pork w. creamy truffles mashed potato, asparagus and mushrooms of several kinds.
Green tea w. lemongrass.
This restaurant is a perfectly managed operation! I can hear the chef getting excited and shouting like Gordon Ramsey.
Clara
Breakfast
The eagle at the gate, and the logo of the winery
Morning walk
The highest terraces
Swimming pool
The new grapes being processed at the winery this afternoon
Enormous 150 litre barrels for aging the port
Each new family member receives a smaller barrel from their birth year
Two types of port: ruby and tawney
In the tasting room
Dinner
I was given a complimentary half bottle of late bottled Vintage 2014, made from these grapes:
Touriga Nacional
Touriga Franca
Tinta Barroca
Tinta Roriz de Letra A
I’ve had to fill my water bottle with it, so now I have no water!
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