Category: Portugal

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?

Turkey Time = Wine Time

On By sandysoloIn French Wine, Portugal, Storytasting, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

This is going to be one very different Thanksgiving. If you’re adhering to CDC advice to stick to your immediate family due to the mad increase in Covid around the country, your gatherings are bound to be much smaller, spent with the same people you see each and every day. This could be a good or bad thing depending on your family. My “bubble” consists of me and my dog and my wine stash. After picking up take out Turkey, I’ll be eating it at home alone, thankful my family across the country is healthy (at least from Covid…) and I have plenty of wine to get me through the season.

 Most people tend to pair Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a holiday meal of such great variety. I mean, in my family at least, it usually involves several different types of potatoes, regular stuffing in the bird, sausage stuffing in a pan, a few types of vegetables coated in butter, crusty rolls, and some surprise dish someone decided they wanted to cook that year.

This is the perfect Thanksgiving to ditch your usual wine pairings and try a new one. It might be the biggest risk you take this Thanksgiving. Feel the rush of living on the edge.

If opting for a white wine, ditch the Chard and try another full-boded varietal instead: Viognier. I “Coravin’d” glass of a Viognier I brought back from Portugal last year: Dona Maria Amantis Reserve 2016.  My initial gut reaction was “I can’t wait to drink this with my turkey.” The nose was delightfully rich, of tangerines and mango with some minerality buried under the fruit. This was also this wonderful buttery pie crust note, and finally some delicate honey-dusted flowers. On the palette it was full bodied with an oily texture, and sang of dried mango, tangerine rind, and this hit of white pepper that was a spectacular bite.  You can find this exact wine in the states at limited places like this: Binny’s  But if you can’t, look to the Rhone in France.

If opting for a red, ditch the lighter bodied Pinot Noir and try something with a little more oomph and some dried herb notes that will marry with the sage and thyme in  your meal. Go with Grenache  – or a blend like this one that I wrote about last month: Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee.  On the tongue, this was fresh, fruity and savory.  Raspberries and fresh blueberries coated in a dusting of sage. Medium bodied with some flashy tannins and an herby savory finish. If you can’t find this, again, head to the Rhone for their famous GSM blends – although I would make sure it is in fact heavier on the Grenache so you definitely get those herby notes.

Cheers!

National White Wine Day! Vinho Verde Loureiro, Casa de Paços – 2019

On By sandysoloIn Portugal, Storytasting, Vinho Verde, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Apparently it is National White Wine Day so clearly a small celebration is in order. My small celebration entails enjoying a white wine from my recently purchased stash from Astor wines in New York. There will be more about Astor wines’ amazing selection and that stash later…. For now let’s focus on this white wine.

Since I have terrible melancholy from the fact that I can’t travel this year and the thought of not traveling until God knows when next year, I had to go to a wine from my favorite country, Portugal. Vinho Verde was on my travel list for this year. Insert sad face here.

All I want right now is to be wandering some Portuguese village street, and stopping for lunch and a glass of Vinho Verde. It’s my summer in Portugal lunch wine. No lunch is complete without it.

I fondly remember being in Lagos a few years ago, stopping in a place called Beats and Burritos for a quick bite. It was a tiny, laid back place, where you ordered at the counter from a menu full of burrito options (duh). Of course they had wine for like $2. It was 95 degrees that day and the Vinho Verde was perfect. It was thirst quenching and complimented my vegetarian burrito nicely.

Those days are temporarily over so I will have to enjoy this in my Philadelphia-suburb apartment sans burrito. Boo.

On the nose I get some lime zest and pineapple and some minerality. There is also this really nice light floral note – like when you catch a whiff of flowers in a summer breeze. It’s faint but it’s there.

Then you taste it: Lime, party of one. Like a tart margarita. Grapefruit joins the party as well. Like a nice, ripe ruby red grapefruit. Then even a little bit of orange. Its a citrus party. But a ripe citrus party. This wine is both fresh and dense with citrus – does that make any sense? It does to me. It has good acidity but it isn’t terribly high in acid.

I could easily drink this whole bottle over the course of a summer afternoon. And by “afternoon” I mean in like a full hour.

And now you’ll discover that I buried the lead: this wine cost $9.96. That’s nine dollars and ninety six cents. It’s under ten dollars.

God, I miss Portugal…

Vallado, Touriga Nacional, 2017, Douro

On By sandysoloIn Douro Valley, Portugal, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Quarantine made me dip into my Portugal stash. I wanted to let it all age a little longer, but Covid made me open it. I needed something special or at least a special memory. So I opened this Valldo Touriga National, thinking that maybe I was tipsy when I tasted it in Portugal and it wasn’t as good as I remember. I was wrong.

For the record, I saw this at the PA state store so I don’t feel bad rubbing it in your nose like I usually do when I write about the wine I brought back that you can only get in Portugal.

It starts with a smokey earth aroma that I love. Like if you set dirt on fire. I’m telling you that smells awesome. It’s better than the dark fruit that comes next. I get some vanilla at the top of the glass. There is something minimally herbaceous but I can’t place it. Maybe dried sage. My allergies are acting up today.

On the tongue it’s some red licorice, Barley ripe blackberries. Leather. Smokey. Medium body. Nicely acidic. Smooth tannins.

Just a good wine from the Douro where I wish I was right now.

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.

Quinta de La Rosa Red 2017

On By sandysoloIn Douro Valley, Portugal, Uncategorized, WineLeave a comment

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Portugal – my fourth trip to the country. This trip I focused on two wine regions: The Douro Valley and Alentejo.

I actually spent two nights at Quinta de La Rosa right at the start of the harvest. What an incredible time to be in this area. The grounds of Quinta de La Rosa were lovely. It is literally on the side of the hill in the vinyards. I literally slept a few steps from thier famous Vale do Inferno. You could actually hike through it. It was all very magical, being in the vines, with view of the Douro River, not a cloud in the sky, walking amongst grapes that would soon be made into wine that would make people very happy. I highly recomend staying here.

On to the wine. The tasting they do for visitors is actually mildly disappointing. They don’t do tastings of thier Vale do Inferno or thier reserve wines. They didnt even offer it as an upgrade. As disappointing as that was, you could not not be happy in thier scenery so I didn’t sweat it. I brought a bottle of thier Red home with me to enjoy later.

Later turned out to be the weekend after I got back when I was having Flashback Friday moments and FOMO as I knew the harvest was in full swing and I was not there. So I opened my bottle of QdLR Red 2017 and tried to transport my mind back a week.

This is a good introduction to the Douro Valley wine, I think. Douro reds are mainly blends and usually always include thier favorite native grape, Touriga Nacionale. I find that letting Douro reds decant a bit “settle” them and this was no exception. They can be a bit “in your face” right after you open them, but letting them air out for a little bit silkens them out.

I found this was the best after an hour. Which is A LONG TIME for me to wait for wine after it’s poured. It’s torture knowing its right there in the glass, while you try to summon Yoda telling you to “be patient young Skywalker.”

On the nose you get ripe red fruits, like raspberries that are just ripe and still a teeny weeny bit tart. There is also some unsweetened cocoa, like baking cocoa. Go to your kitchen and smell the container if you have it to see what I’m talking about. There is a mild smokiness, and some herbaciousness that I can’t define more than that. I smell herbs but can’t quite narrow that down to the specific one.

Upon tasting it, it has balanced acidity, and is mildy earthy and fruity. Mild is the best way I can describe this. Nothing is smacking me in the face. The flavors are hanging out and chilling.

I then ate a peice of dark chocolate with salted pretzel and it really brought out the cocoa. Yum.

Overall, on a scale of 1- 5 (and I rarely give 5’s so keep that in mind), I’m gonna give this a 3.65. It was enjoyable, I’d order it in a restuarant happily, but not the best wine I’ve ever had. At the price point it is in Portugal, it’s a steal.