In this entry, I am going to detail a wine that I, to my great surprise, was able to find at my local supermarket. I never thought I would see one of these wines at such a large chain of supermarkets, so I had to grab one - especially at this vintage! While the later vintage doesn’t always equal a higher quality wine, you don’t see too many 2015’s sitting around on supermarket shelves. I’ve been a fan of Portuguese wine for awhile now, starting with a bottle of Alicante Bouschet that I received years ago with a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Wine shipment. Ever since then, I’ve always tried to find reasonably priced Portuguese wines to try. Not only did this wine meet the two criteria I described above (Portuguese and reasonably priced), but it was also one of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2017. I generally don’t base my wine selections on critic accolades, but this time it sealed the deal for me. This wine is made by Casa Santos Lima which is located approximately an hour north of Lisbon, Portugal. However, it is considered in the “Vinho Regional Lisboa '' - the Portuguese regional distinction for wine (akin to the AVA’s in America). More specifically, it is located in the Torres Vedras Appellation per The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Edition. (Often producers will use the overarching “Vinho Regional” distinction over the more specific appellation.) This area receives roughly 30.5 inches of rainfall and has a harvest month of September. Recently there has been an uptick in the quality of wines coming from this region as different grape varietals are planted, including two of the four in this red blend: Syrah and Touriga Nacional, as well as the area’s soils. This red blend is a powerfully dry red blend. It has four different varietals in it: Touriga Nacional (30%), Syrah (30%), Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) (30%), and Alicante Bouschet (10%). Three of the four varieties are considered to produce full-bodied red wines, which is evident in this blend. When I poured the wine, it was a deep smell of black fruit, specifically blackberry, with notes of cedar wood and soil in the middle with a wet slate, gravel finish. This blend has very high tannins with noticeable legs in the glass - this red blend clocks in at 14% ABV on the bottle, but could be even higher given the time it has spent in the bottle and/or aging! Overall, an exceptional wine with layers of dark fruit, earth, and gravel notes.
Specs: ABV: 14.0% Varietal: Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Tinta Roriz, and Alicante Bouschet Region: Torres Vedras, Vinho Regional Lisboa, Portugal, Europe Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Dishes high in fat, red meat Vivino rating: 4.5/5.0
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Author20 something living in Beer City USA with an affinity for wine. Other hobbies include photography, reading, and playing my pup. Archives
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