If the name Mateus rings a bell, you probably went to college in the ’70s or ’80s, when it was the wine of choice when you wanted something just a bit classier than a Bud. (When the wine was done – it didn’t usually last more than a couple of hours – you turned the distinctive bottle into a candle holder.)
On our first day on the Douro, we sailed through the drizzle past steep, terraced hills to Regua, a town within easy bus distance from the Mateus Palace and the Sandemans port distillery. The Palace has nothing to do with the wine other than the fact that the owners licensed the façade’s image to grace the label. Alas, seller’s remorse kicked in when the palace started producing its own high-quality wines and saw their stately home associated with what they considered plonk.
The Palace is fronted by tall trees and a reflecting pond, with rose gardens, manicured hedges, and a vineyard in back. Inside, dark wood, ornate ceilings, blue and white porcelain, and muted area rugs set an ostentatious but sterile tone. Although I didn’t find the palace homey, it has two saving graces: a gorgeous harpsichord and a library packed with quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore, though no ravens.
Our second stop, the Sandemans Port distillery, sits high atop the river at the end of a sharply twisting, narrow road with a mountain to the right and a sheer drop to the river on the left. Less fatalistic passengers than I made various gasps and eeks of concern on the ascent, but we arrived without incident. The distillery tour was nothing special, but the Port was a nice counter to the chilly drizzle and the view was impressive. (As I said in a poorly-received aside, “any Port in a storm.”)
Upon returning to the ship, a G&T, heaping plate of gravlax, terrific Portuguese red wine, and a bowl of the best risotto I’ve ever tasted capped another wonderful day.
PuffinlessTravel 