Category: alentejo

Joao Portugal Ramos, 2017, Marques de Borba, Alentejo

On By sandysoloIn alentejo, Portugal, Storytasting, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment
Oh, Mr. Ramos…

When are the damn Portugal borders opening up to US travelers?! This is my second to last bottle of wine from Alentejo left in my stash. This is a wine emergency!

Okay, so you can find this wine in the US but that takes the fun out of it. For me. But not for you!

I love Alentejo wine. It tends to have great fruit concentration but also a perfect pop of acidity that perks up your taste buds.

This is no exception but also has a great earthiness to it.

On the nose the aromas just melt together- earthy-dusty-berries-cherries-mushroomy-nutty.

On the palate it’s dirty ripe blackberries, cinnamon and that kick of acidity that wakes you up. It walks the body borderline of medium and full with some mild but lightly dusty tannins. It finished with a pleasant lingering earthiness that I’m digging tonight.

Can someone please smuggle me and my dog into Portugal immediately? Please?

2018 Montedas Servas Elscohas Rosé

On By sandysoloIn alentejo, Portugal, Uncategorized, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

If you don’t know already, I love Portugal. Love is probably not strong enough. Obsessed is likely more accurate. Covid-19 is ruining my chances of taking a fifth trip there at some point this year. I literally ache I miss it so much. I realize me not travelling is not important in the grand scheme of life right now. But I’m going to allow myslf a pity party this Memorial Day Weekend, during which I will drink this rosé in order to console myself.

I had lunch at Montedas Servas while in Portugal last September while on a vacation whose sole purpose was to visit two wine regions: The Douro Valley and Alentejo. Alentejo surprised me just a bit. I mean I wasn’t shocked that I loved it, but it was more beautiful and authentic than I had ever imagined.

In a nutshell, Alentejo is made up of small medievil villages on hilltops with cork trees, vineyards and vast open beauty in between. I encountered very little tourists, and yet there was so much to see. I hired a private tour guide to arrange two days of vineyard tours. She did not disspoint and you can read about it in my other blog, Sandy Solo.

As I was saying, I had lunch at Montedas Servas, but no tour. But it was some of my favorite wine from the trip. I had this rosé and a red at lunch and I couldnt not leave there without buying a few bottles. The problem was this was near the end of my trip, so my extra suit case for wine was full and I already had additional bottles that were going to have to go home in my regular suitcase.

My tour guide said she would ship me the wine, so I purchased two bottles of the rosé and 4 of the red. The total in true Portugal fashion: 42 Euro. I almost died. I think the rosé was like $5USD a bottle. I still don’t understand how that is even possible.

So to the tasting.. This is definitely cheering me up a bit. Although Im also sad I didnt get more of this delicious rosé.

It has the most delightful nose of fresh strawberries. There is a slight mineralness to it as well. I do get some darker red fruit the deeper I go. There is also something minimally vegetal, like wet, green leaves after a spring shower, but the beautiful summer strawberry is the clear winner here.

On the tongue the strawberry is accompanied by a ittle bit of orange peel. And the mineral notes give it a little bit of freshness. Its a teeny weeny bit more medium bodied and I like it that way.

This is not a refreshing rosé to cool you off on a hot summer day by the pool. It’s an appetizer. Drink it in the shade. If you can get your hands on it. Which you can only do by going to Portgal.

On my next trip, I am making a detour back here to pick up some more, even if I’m up north drinking Vino Verde. This is a solid 4.5/5 as far as rosés go. It gets extra love for the price.

Herdade das Servas Colheira Seleccionada 2016

On By sandysoloIn alentejo, Portugal, WineLeave a comment

I visited Herdade das Servas on my recent trip to Portugal and had lunch there. After enjoying a delicious rose during the starter course, I was served this red. My guides saw my delight written all over my face. Yum.

I decided I needed more than one bottle to take home and decided two of the rose and four reds would suffice. After I finished my delicious lunch, I went into thier wine shop to pay.

“42 Euro” the clerk said.

“Oh no miss, I’m getting six bottles,” I clarified.

“Yes I know. It’s still 42 Euro.”

“THAT’S NOT REAL LIFE!” I yelled in the middle of the winery. In fact it was real life. Glorious Portuguese real life. Always a value.

On the nose you get hit with ripe cherries and quince paste. Don’t worry, I recently had to smell quince paste as it’s not something I consume regularly. If you don’t get this or can’t describe this don’t fret. I couldn’t either until recently after sticking my nose in a jar several times.

After that I smell something meaty. That is not a figure of speech. Its like smokey candied bacon, as if that’s a thing. If it’s not it should be. It’s similar to a Syrah with those notes but not exactly like it. It’s more subtle. I even got a little steak tar tar. So basically this smells like a lot of meat and I’m down for it. I also get motor oil and I mean that in the best way.

On the tongue it tastes like it smells: like red fruit and meat and smoke and oil. And it’s fantastic. On the finish, it tastes like salami. I swear. I swallowed it and was confused because it was mind-f*cking me into thinking I ate some smokey charcuterie.

I’m giving this a 4.0. like my gpa on a bad semester. It’s a 10/5 if you factor in the cost.

Cheers.