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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After an extended absence, I'm back and hope to be writing more than I previously was. Since graduate school is complete, I need a way to continue to learn, don't I? Hoping to get a new entry out every week or two for the foreseeable future. Anyway, Happy New Year and happy drinking! For my first entry of 2018, I am doing a Portuguese Alicante Bouschet. The esteemed wine publication Wine Enthusiast ranked this wine as #74 of its Top 100 Best Buy wines of 2015, and subsequently gave it a 90 point rating. Alicante Bouschet is a grape that is a cross between Petit Bouschet and, one of my favorite types of wine, Grenache. When in the glass, the color of this Portuguese red is a dark violet with a crimson/scarlet tint on the edges of the wine glass. Similar to the color of a deeper, bolder wine, this Alicante Bouschet has layers of flavors throughout. This grape is commonly planted in Spain, Portugal, and California. Also, fun fact, this grape was heavily planted during Prohibition to be shipped to the eastern United States due to its thick skin, which made the grape more resistant to the transportation process. The region where this wine comes from is known as Vinho Regional Lisboa (or Lisboa VR), which was called Estremadura until 2009. According to The Wine Atlas 7th ed., Estremadura, or Oeste, translates to "the West", which is notably as Portugal is located on the west side of Europe, and more specifically, this region borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The regional, true to its namesake, holds the capital and largest city of Portugal, Lisbon. This region also plants other grape varietals, like the bold Syrah, Touriga Nacional, and some lesser known grape varieties: Castelão, Camarate, Trincadeira, Fernão Pires, and Arinto. I had been saving this bottle to review for quite a while. When I researched the grape before I poured the bottle I was expecting a Syrah-Zinfandel-Cabernet Sauvignon type body, but upon smelling and taking a few sips from the glass, that it would not be. The dark inky color reminded me of one of the bolder wines I mentioned above, but with a bit darker color around the edges of the glass. The thicker skins of the grape is what gives it that darker color.
The initial smell of the Portuguese red was a stronger fruit scent than anticipated, with flavors like blackberry, red fruits like strawberry and raspberry that creates a bit of tang in the taste, and some plum. This wine has a strong fruit taste in the front with a transformation to an earthy and mildly dry finish of leather and tobacco, but subtle and not overpowering as its bolder counterparts. There is a notably amount of acidity on the end of this red, too. The wine did have a complex layered body, but without the heavy feeling of a bolder wine. If you are looking for a deeper red wine without feeling full or the dry mouth feeling after drinking, this is a good one to try. This is one of two Portuguese wines I have tried, so I'm still getting used to what the wine in the country is like, but this wine was a good one to better understand both red wines and red wines within Portugal. Specs: ABV: 13.0% Varietal: Alicante Bouschet Region: Lisboa VR, Portugal, Europe Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Beef, tomato-based sauces |
Author20 something living in Beer City USA with an affinity for wine. Other hobbies include photography, reading, and playing my pup. Archives
March 2020
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