Douro table wines – better than ever

There was a real buzz at the recent New Douro tasting at the Portuguese embassy in London. The tasting spilled into a second handsome reception room for the first time. Old acquaintances, British and Portuguese, gossiped (Paul Symington upbraiding João Nicolau de Almeida of Ramos Pinto for having stolen his first girlfriend). But most of the excitement was inspired by the exceptional array of wine quality, boosted considerably by the superb quality of the 2011 vintage for reds (although there were many other fine examples from other vintages) and by the undeniable fact that the white wines made in the...