Richard Mayson reviews five vintages of Principal Grande Reserva.
There’s a new name in Portuguese wine: Fladgate Family Wines. The Fladgate name goes all the way back to 1836, when John Fladgate became a partner in Taylor’s Port, now part of the Fladgate Partnership that also embraces Fonseca and Croft. With the major Port shippers diversifying into unfortified Douro wine, there has been speculation for years about the direction that the Fladgate Partnership would take. It has invested heavily in tourism (notably the Yeatman Hotel and the World of Wine [WOW] in Oporto) but has always rather publicly eschewed a move into Douro wine.
In 2023, the Fladgate Partnership acquired a company called Ideal Drinks, with interests in the Vinho Verde, Dão, and Bairrada regions (but not the Douro). Established in 2010 by Portuguese businessman Carlos Dias, Ideal Drinks was briefly rebranded Fladgate Still and Sparkling Wines but has now taken on a “family” dimension. (The Fladgate Partnership has been family-owned since Taylor’s was founded in 1692.) The Fladgate Family Wines strapline is “Proudly produced in Portugal.”
Elegance and identity
The largest vineyard holding in the Fladgate Family Wines division is in Bairrada, where the company owns 61ha (150 acres) of vineyard at São Lourenço do Bairro near Anadia. The Bairrada region is very different from the Douro: rolling clay and limestone country close to the Atlantic seaboard. Unlike parts of the Douro, there is rarely a shortage of rainfall here, and the Fladgate vineyards—planted with Chardonnay, Arinto, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot, and Pinot Noir—are all dry-farmed. The preponderance of French grape varieties is very much a reflection of the direction the Bairrada region took in the early 2000s, turning its back on the traditional Baga grape for something more French in style. Climatically, Bairrada has an affinity with Bordeaux.
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With a long tradition in Bairrada for espumante, Fladgate Family Wines produces sparkling wine (rosé and blanc de noirs) from Pinot Noir, as well as a still wine from Chardonnay, named Calcário. But the main wine from the estate is a red wine, aptly named Principal. Launched with the 2009 vintage, five wines have been designated grande reserva so far, including the 2013 that was released in Portugal in 2025 and in London this June.
Principal Grande Reserva is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional, and Merlot, mostly (but not always) in that order of importance. The oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted around 40 years ago. Grapes are harvested manually, subject to sorting and fermented in stainless steel with a temperature-controlled maceration of around 20 days. The wine is then aged for between 24 and 48 months in new and used French oak barriques before at least six years’ further aging in bottle (Bordelais) prior to release. Production amounts to between 10,000 and 50,000 bottles annually, depending on the year.
I was privileged to attend both the Portuguese and the British launch of the 2013 Principal, which included a tasting of older vintages back to 2009. Principal is already making quite a name for itself in Portugal, pitching for a place with some of the country’s top iconic wines, like Barca Velha (from Ferreira) and Pera Manca from the Fundação Eugénio de Almeida in the Alentejo. But is the wine “proudly Portuguese”? The emphasis is on elegance, and the style is quite Bordelais, though Pascal Chatonnet, who has been involved as a consultant with the project since the early 2000s (before Ideal Drinks), corrected me to say that “the style is neither Portuguese nor Bordelais, but Principal.”
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My concern with these wines was finding a sense of place, particularly when Portugal has spent the past few decades rediscovering its distinctive and varied terroirs. Traditional Bairrada reds have a strong sense of place, closely linked to the rather tetchy Baga grape, with its lovely, wild-berry astringency but a tendency to overcrop and ripen late in this Atlantic-influenced wine region. Bairrada was demarcated as recently as 1979, but its best Baga-based reds have a capacity to age for decades: I still have some from the 1960s, drinking well. Principal is classified as DOC Bairrada, and it is possible that the wine will turn a bit more Bairrada-like in future. Baga, somewhat unfairly rebuffed in the early 2000s, is currently being rehabilitated. A movement called Baga Friends has been championing its cause, and Chatonnet is considering admitting the grape to Principal, provided he can get yields down from 15–18 tons/ha to something closer to 7 tons. Cabernet Sauvignon, planted at a density of around 6,000 vines/ha, is currently producing 4–5 tons/ha. In future, expect Principal to develop a more distinctive style of its own.
In 2024, the Fladgate Partnership purchased Quinta do Portal in the upper reaches of the Pinhão Valley, an important wine tributary of the Douro. There is still work to be done there, but look out for Fladgate Family Douro reds to match the prestige of Principal Grande Reserva over the next few years.
Tasting Principal Grande Reserva
2013 Principal Grande Reserva (14.4% ABV)
A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Touriga Nacional, and 20% Merlot, aged for more than 24 months in oak (35% new). Still deep and opaque, immediately attractive and quite Bordelais in style on the nose (I instinctively wrote “Médoc-like”), with Cabernet dominating; mint, black pepper, and a touch of capsicum, developing cedary complexity and maturity. Firm and integrated on the palate, with tight-knit, slightly stalky Cabernet fruit, juxtaposed with a slightly wild Bairrada-edge on the finish (or maybe I was imagining this?). Balanced and distinctive, with a freshness that belies its alcohol level. Drink to 2035. | 93
2012 Principal Grande Reserva (13.9% ABV)
Touriga Nacional is the dominant grape here, amounting to 50% of the blend, backed by Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) and 5% each of Merlot and Petit Verdot. This appears younger than the 2013 and is more subdued on the nose, with ripe, blackcurrant fruit underlying; some cedary complexity with herbal tension, too, especially on the palate. Leaner and more linear on the finish, with a leafy, tannic streak. | 90
2011 Principal Grande Reserva (14.6% ABV)
A blend with Cabernet Sauvignon in the lead (50%), then 40% Touriga Nacional and 10% Merlot. A medium-deep and still-youthful hue, with minty Cabernet Sauvignon leading on the nose and palate, backed by powdery, fine-grained tannins and a gentle, savory-cedary finish, with a vibrant streak of acidity that runs all the way through. Quite high in alcohol, but again it is in equilibrium and doesn’t show. To 2030+. | 89
2010 Principal Grande Reserva (14% ABV)
Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional are to be found in equal measure here, amounting to 80% of the blend, accompanied by 20% Merlot. Deep and still youthful in hue, with the perfumed violet-like aromas of Touriga Nacional emerging on the nose, tight knit with cedar too, and soft, supple gravelly tannins, peppery fruit, firm and linear, remaining well defined all the way through to the finish. A good, balanced red wine from a cooler and (for many) a dilute year, still with 14% ABV. Drink to 2032. | 91
2009 Principal Grande Reserva (14.75% ABV)
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Touriga Nacional, and 10% Merlot. Still retaining a deep, youthful color, just showing its age on the rim. Rather lovely leathery-spicy fruit on both nose and palate, mature and fully integrated, ripe in style for Bairrada. (2009 was a hot year in the north of Portugal, and this wine has nearly 15% ABV, though again it really doesn’t show.) Elegant sweet berry fruit, perhaps just a bit woody, with broad tannins and a firm but supple finish and a streak of freshness—despite the obvious warmth and breadth. Drink to 2035. | 89
