A Portuguese Wine Sampler

The subject of our last Thursday night tasting was Portuguese wines. Nobody in our group knew much about wines from Portugal. However, George and Gail had just returned from a wine vacation in Portugal and wanted to teach us about the wines they had found. We are talking about wines that are not Port. Portugal has a great reputation for Port but has recently been trying to make their mark in the world on non fortified wines.

They grow many varietals in Portugal, many the same found around the world under different names and many that are native Portuguese. There are too many to list but you can read about them on Wikipedia. The article also lists their wine regions and gives a little information on the grapes grown in them.

We tasted six wines, one white wine and five red wines. The white was a 2008 Loios Vinho Branco from the Alentejo region. This wine was named for the Loios monks that live in the area. The medium yellow colored wine had an unusual nose that was slightly floral. The body was light with citrus and pithy flavors and good acidity. Alentejo is in the southern part of Portugal and grows many varietals so we don’t know what this was. A very pleasant, inexpensive wine, however.

The first red wine was a 2006 Alianca Dao Garrida from the Dao region in northern Portugal. I believe it is Touriga Naciaonal but I am not 100% sure. the color is medium ruby with a mineral and red fruit nose; flavors of rubber tire, smoke and leather. Moderate tannins with good acid and a lingering finish. Light mouth feel.

Next we had a 2007 Vina Santa Trincadeira. This red wine was from the Alentejo region like the white wine we tasted first. Trincadeira is also called Tinta Amerala and is often used in Port. It had a darker ruby color and a minimal nose – slightly like red fruit and had riper fruit flavors with bitter tannins, which linger on the finish. This wine is riper tasting and more full bodied than the previous one.

We moved on to a 2008 Vale Do Bonfim from the Douro. This was made by the famous Port house, DOW, which is owned by Symington Estates. The color was a medium ruby/blue color and there was an earthy ripe fruit nose. The flavors were of tobacco and smoke. Moderate grippy tannins with slight bitterness. Tannins linger on the finish. A more complex wine.

Another Garrida wine from the Dao region, this one the 2005 Quinta Garrida Estate. With a dark ruby color and a stinky nose initially but quickly changed to ripe fruit, smoke and rubber tire. Flavors of smoke, tobacco and dark fruit. Moderate tannins and good acid. Well balanced and very pleasant flavors.

The last wine was a 2008 Periquita from the Setubal peninsula south of Lisbon. A medium ruby color and a ripe fruit nose with a hint of smoke. There were tart red fruit flavors, a light mouth feel with moderate tannins and good acid. Very well balanced wine with a lighter body than the previous wines. The flavors are riper and more new world with vanilla on the finish.

This has given us an introduction to inexpensive Portuguese wines so we will have to look for some in the local stores. It will be interesting to see if we can find any that are of high enough quality to be considered “premium” wines. What are your experiences with Portuguese wines?