Douro - Portal d'Azenha

Roland Heelen, one of the few Belgians who makes port wine themselves. Portal d'Azenha is today a fixture in the Portuguese wine landscape. Yet Fleming Roland Heelen ended up in Portugal by chance.

'I worked as a purchasing director in a large beverage company when I had to go to Portugal for work in the 1980s. I met a few enthusiastic Portuguese here, and with one of them I started making port wine just for fun. The domain covers 60 hectares and the soil of mainly slate results in beautiful mineral wines. The production is low, considering the relatively poor soil. But the quality of the grapes only benefits. During the day, the stones absorb solar heat, so that the soil does not cool down too strongly at night and the temperature remains more or less constant. Roland likes to compare 'his' terroir with that of Burgundy. The proof is there, because in blind tastings with the best white burgundies, the wines from Portal d'Azenha do particularly well every time too

Roland is the manager of Portal d'Azenha, but everything is subcontracted on the wine estate. Teamwork and passion guarantee the best quality and you can taste that in every glass of wine

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