Dão

Decree-Law 376/93 says the wines of the Dão had a renown of centuries when the Carta de Lei of 18 September 1908 delimited their production area. A decree of 25 May 1910 then regulated their production and trade. The 1993 decree-law gathered the legislation that followed into a single statute, the Estatuto da Região Vitivinícola do Dão. It confirmed Dão as a controlled designation of origin for red, rosé and white wines and recognised the region's traditional bent for sparkling wine. It also defined seven subregions, whose names may be added on labels, and set the "Nobre" mention for wines of outstanding quality. Control passed to the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional do Dão, based in Viseu. The IVV notes that the wider area, now the regional wine Terras do Dão, inherits the wine tradition of the old province of Beira Alta.

The specification describes a region closed by mountains: the Caramulo to the west, the Buçaco to the south, the Nave to the north and the Estrela to the east. Together they block humid air from the coast and harsh continental winds. The rivers follow the structure of the relief. The main ones, the Dão and the Mondego, run almost parallel across the granite massif. The IVV places most vineyards at 400-500 m, with some up to 800 m.

Vines must be planted on mainly granite ground with brown lithosols, plus some outcrops of schist with brown Mediterranean soils. The IVV says the granite soils are generally of low fertility. The climate is temperate: cold and rainy in winter, very hot and dry in summer. The region spans 16 municipalities in the districts of Coimbra, Guarda and Viseu. They are grouped in seven subregions: Alva, Besteiros, Castendo, Serra da Estrela, Silgueiros, Terras de Azurara and Terras de Senhorim.

The IVV links the sheltered mountain setting, the granite soils of low fertility and the temperate climate to wines it calls elegant, with firm acidity and high ageing potential. The specification describes reds as ruby, with complex fruit and floral aromas, good polyphenolic structure, soft tannins, good fixed acidity and good capacity to age. Whites are citrine, with complex fruity and mineral aromas, fresh and balanced, with an acidity that gives them length. Rosés are simple and fruity with some floral notes. Sparkling wines have a fine, persistent bead and fresh fruit flavours.

The specification sets three grape lists. The first, required for any planting since 5 November 1993, holds the red grapes Alfrocheiro, Alvarelhão, Aragonês (Tinta Roriz), Bastardo, Jaen, Rufete, Tinto-Cão, Touriga Nacional and Trincadeira. Its white grapes are Barcelo, Bical, Cerceal-Branco, Encruzado, Malvasia-Fina, Rabo-de-Ovelha, Terrantez, Uva-Cão and Verdelho. Older plantings of Alicante-Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and three white grapes count only up to 40% of the blend.

Under Decree-Law 376/93, Dão Nobre reds need at least 15% Touriga Nacional and whites at least 15% Encruzado, with the rest from a short list of recommended grapes. For other Dão wines, Reserva requires at least 24 months' ageing for reds and 6 for whites. Garrafeira requires 36 months for reds, 12 of them in bottle, and 12 months for whites, 6 in bottle. The thresholds are higher when these terms are used with Nobre. Sparkling Dão must be made by the classic method with at least nine months in bottle.