Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/735024
66 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 introduced drip irrigation to the area—and the winery focuses on the native varieties of Grand Noir, Trincadeira, Aragonez, Touriga Francesa and Touriga Nacional. Henri Bouschet, the famed grape hybrid originator from Hérault, France, created Grand Noir de la Calmette, a cross between Petite Bouschet and Aramon Noir. The variety is a teinturier grape, meaning that the juice of the flesh is red in color. Trincadiera is known elsewhere as Tinta Amerela, while Aragonez is also known as Tinta Roriz or Tempranillo. Touriga Francesa and Touriga Nacional find their home in the Douro region of Portugal and are famed for their use in Port wines, but Touriga Nacional is gaining quite a reputation recently as a stellar table wine grape, especially in the Dão. For José de Sousa Mayor, the estate's premium wine, and J de José de Sousa, 50 percent of the fruit is fermented in clay pots and 50 percent gets foot-trodden in lagars—wide, open-top tanks made from stone or neutral concrete. José de Sousa Mayor includes Grand Noir, Trincadeira and Aragonez, aged in French oak for nine months, while J de José de Sousa utilizes Grand Noir, Touriga Francesca and Touriga Nacional, spending 14 months in French oak. José de Sousa (SRP $16.99), the estate's largest production wine, ferments pri - marily in stainless steel, with five percent fermenting in clay pots. The wine focuses on Grand Noir, Trincadeira and Aragonez and spends nine months in French and American oak. Wines bottled under the affordable Montado label—one red and one white—are fermented in mainly stainless steel. The red is comprised of Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet (another cross by Bouschet of Petit Bouschet and Grenache) and Syrah, while the white includes the native white varieties of Alva, Tamarez and Rabo de Ovelha. With five wines produced from distinctive varieties grown in granitic soils, the heart of the Alentejo region in southern Portugal shines under the leadership of the José Maria de Fonseca Group. Six generations in the wine business yield the kind of wisdom that only experience and practical application can provide. By meld - ing centuries old tradition with modern winemaking, José de Sousa and Franco are producing unique wines. José Maria de Fonseca, established in 1834, has quite the storied past. Introducing innovation to the Portuguese wine scene from the beginning, José Maria de Fonseca established separate brands under his label, one of which was Periquita— now the oldest brand of Portuguese table wine still sold. (SPR $9.99; Periquita Reserva $14.99) José Maria de Fonseca brought the Castelão grape, now the most widely planted variety, or casta, in Portugal, to the Península de Setúbal for the label. Years later in 1944, the company started another famed brand by the name of Lancers (SRP $6.99), a wildly popular at the time slightly sweet, slightly sparkling wine that is still produced today. The José Maria da Fonseca Group now encompasses 34 brands, producing table and fortified wines in the five regions of Península de Setúbal, Alentejo, Dão, Douro and Vinho Verde, exporting 80 percent of its production to more than 70 countries. The sixth generation of the family runs the com - pany now, with the seventh generation poised to take over the 650-hectare production in time. JOSÉ MARIA DE FONSECA: A LEADER IN PORTUGAL José de Sousa focuses on the native varieties of Grand Noir, Trincadeira, Aragonez, Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet. José de Sousa gives the Soares Franco family the chance to produce Alentejo wines using traditional winemaking methods. PHOTOS BY JERÓNIMO HEITOR COELHO PHOTOS BY JERÓNIMO HEITOR COELHO