The Society’s (Invincible!) Douro Red
In collaboration with: Rita Marques & Marc Kent
The Douro Valley, famous for Port production, was also the region that relaunched Portugal’s reputation for high-quality table wines. In recognition of this we thought it high time we introduced a Society own-label wine from these iconic vineyards.
Vinhos Invencível (Invincible Wines), the groundbreaking project of local winemaker Rita Marques and the Cape’s Marc Kent, were just the people to make this happen for us. Their fun approach to winemaking coupled with a respect for traditional Douro grapes were a perfect fit.
Since we last caught up with Invincible, quite a bit has changed. Rita decided to leave the family company Conceito to concentrate fully on the company she and Marc set up. They have now bought up the neighbouring property, acquiring a couple more hectares of vineyard and a ‘nicer cellar’, Marc says, that they are in the process of renovating. Marc tends to look after the red winemaking and Rita focuses on the whites (‘She’s way smarter’, Marc says!)
Marc told me he’d taken inspiration for this new wine from the Cape Heritage blend he developed for us at Boekenhootskloof some years back, with the help of our Portugal buyer Freddy Bulmer. ‘Together, Freddy and I have come up with a ripe, rich and full wine without the hard tannins you’d historically associate with the Douro. We’ve come up with something unique that’s aromatic, juicy and elegant – your members are going to love it!’
Although a little different from your usual Douro red, this is nonetheless a great introduction to the region’s wines at a really attractive price. It’s a blend of mostly old bush vines, co-planted and co-fermented as is traditional in the Douro. It’s mostly touriga franca with touriga nacional and tinta roriz, grapes grown at different altitudes to capture both freshness and concentration of fruit.
There’s dark fruit and cracked pepper on the palate with a lovely lift and freshness on the finish. As Freddy says: ‘It has all the wild charm of the region presented in an easy-to-drink way.’ Oh, and the engine on the label is a passing tribute to Portugal’s most scenic train ride from the city of Porto along the valley to Régua, Pinhão and Pocinho. With the river on one side and the steep terraced vineyards on the other, travelling on it is a bucket-list experience.
The Society's Douro Red 2023
Our first-ever Exhibition Madeira
When Blandy’s offered us the chance to bottle a single cask of Bual from the 2016 vintage, how could we refuse? Blandy’s is the only family-owned and largest producer on the island, and has been making this historic fortified wine for more than 200 years. They are majority shareholders and are instrumental in running the Madeira Wine Company, an association of wine-producing companies that account for 35% of the island’s Madeira production. Chris Blandy, seventh generation of the family, is now CEO of the Madeira Wine Company.
Sales of fortified wines have decreased in recent years but Madeira, due to the unique nature of the wine, faces its own particular challenges. As if producing wine on a sub-tropical volcanic island in the north Atlantic wasn't hard enough, this fortified wine’s USP is all about ageing. The unique heating process involved in the wine’s production means it's practically bombproof and can last for decades – centuries even. While this is wonderful for wine lovers, it is a financial nightmare for the producers who have capital tied up in stock for years.
>> Read our Ultimate Guide to Madeira to learn more about how it is made
Blandy’s have been instrumental in bringing about an important change in legislation in 2015 which will significantly help the island’s producers, and our special bottling is one of the first releases from this new era. Previously, all colheita wines (grapes from a single harvest) had to be aged in cask for 12-18 years before being bottled and sold. This has been brought down to five years in cask and one in bottle, while vintage Madeiras still have a minimum of 20 years in barrel and five in bottle.
Our Exhibition bottling is made from the bual (or boal) grape (Madeira is typically made from a majority of a single variety which determines its style). It’s a white grape grown on the warmer south of the island which makes medium-rich wines with lovely perfume and long ageing ability. With hints of spice jars and tropical fruit with an attractive saline character, this could be representative of the island’s character in liquid form. It stays fresh for ages even once opened and is more versatile than you might imagine. Lovely with nuts, cheeses (Gouda and Roquefort in particular), Asian-style dishes like rendang or massaman curry, honey and soy marinades or Chinese hotpots. Equally delicious with desserts like fruit tarts or chocolate cake. We could go on!
>> Find out more about Madeira and Blandy’s
The Society's Exhibition Bual Madeira Colheita 2016 50cl
Bodegas Sumarroca – a small but mighty family affair
We have worked with this cava producer for many years. They are the people behind our Society’s Reserva Cava Brut and were the natural choice for our limited-edition Gran Reserva Cava made for our 150th anniversary in 2024. In fact, it was because of the exceptional feedback we had from members about our Generation Series wine that we decided to make this style a more permanent fixture.
What makes Sumarroca stand out is that they are one of the largest producers of cava to use only estate-grown fruit, they farm organically and have a laser-like focus on quality, only using the first free-run juice from their grapes and only making cava of Reserva or Gran Reserva quality.
They focus on indigenous grape varieties and have helped repopulate the surrounding landscape with native flora and fauna. There’s a 200-hectare forest on the property – the lungs of the Penedès – which supports wildlife and several endangered species.
The family have been involved in wine production for generations, but it was husband-and-wife team Carlos and Nuria Sumarroca who bought the 15th-century estate in Penedès in 1982 from the Marques de Monistrol. They were shocked to learn how hard it was for grape growers to make a living and that quality wasn’t always the primary focus, so they were determined to make a difference. As a former agronomist (Carlos sold fruit trees around the world), a deep understanding of the land is not surprising.
Our new Exhibition Gran Reserva Cava is from the 2021 vintage. It spent 30 months on its yeast lees, adding to the complexity of flavour, and then a year in bottle before release. There’s a touch of chardonnay to add finesse to what we believe is a fine example of the elegance and interesting interplay of flavours aged premium cavas can deliver. We think it offers exceptional value for money and are delighted to offer it to members under our Exhibition label.
>> Our Exhibition Gran Reserva is due in mid-June 2025
Our own-label wines
All own-label wines
The Society's Alcohol Free Lager 0.5% 440ml
The Society's Exhibition Barossa Shiraz 2023
The Society's Exhibition Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2021
The Society's Exhibition Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2023
Salmanazar of The Society's Champagne Brut NV
The Society's Full Rich Madeira, 3 Years Old
The Society's Exhibition Pouilly-Fuissé 2023
The Society's Exhibition Gigondas 2015
The Society's Exhibition Pauillac 2019
