If you've ever visited the Douro, you'll know that it offers not just some of Portugal's most beautiful vistas, but indeed the world's. And while it's an incredibly important region known mostly for the centuries-old... Read More

If you've ever visited the Douro, you'll know that it offers not just some of Portugal's most beautiful vistas, but indeed the world's. And while it's an incredibly important region known mostly for the centuries-old Port industry, there's been a recent(ish) rise in dry, unfortified table wines.
 
The thing is, a lot of these unfortified wines are more like Port than the type of wines we gravitate towards — too many are big, boozy, and lacking terroir expression. Enter Quinta do Javali and the silky, super-fresh and translucent reds they're churning out.
 
Quinta do Javali is a small producer, working just 18 hectares of terraced vineyards. They farm biodynamically — a rarity in this corner of Portugal, and not easy, considering the steep slope of the hills, the terracing, and the high elevation.
 
Douro wines like this don’t come around very often —  fresh, energetic, and exciting. They manage to extract what makes the region great — intensity of fruit, from the sunny clime and the old vines — while tempering it with minerality and lively acidity.