To Vilamoura in the Algarve to show Pedra Basta to the Algarve Wine Society. I hadn’t been to the central part of the Algarve for fifteen years or more so I was struck by the all the changes than have taken place. Vilamoura is a high-rise new town that merges almost imperceptibly with nearby Quarteira. Nearly all feeling of being in Portugal is lost. The tasting took place at a five star hotel in Vila Sol, a quiet golfing suburb in the pine trees. I presented Pedra Basta 2007 as well as cask samples of our 2008 for the first time. Whereas the 2007 need time to open up and I fear was not showing at its best even by the end of the night, the 2008 looked gorgeous, full of vibrant fruit. The audience were mostly English ex-patriots and I met some great characters including a lady who opened the first French restaurant in Albufeira in the mid-1960s before Faro airport had been built. She regaled me with recollections of the place and looking at it now her story seems to belong to pre-history even though it was only 45 years ago.  The past is a foreign country... 

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