Variety: 60% Alicante Bouschet; 20% Trincadeira; 20% Touriga Nacional
Region: DOC Alentejo
Cost: $16 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Garnet-colored wine, with an aroma of ripe black fruits, suggesting blackberries and plums, wrapped in spicy notes, in the mouth it is a wide, deep wine with minerality and great aromatic complexity ending with a pleasant and persistent finish. It goes well with game, red meat, and matured or medium-matured cheese.
My Review: And so I come to the end of the road of my Portuguese samples (and yes, I’m now humming the Boyz II Men song to myself). I actually shared this one with my wife; we opened it with dinner and apparently it would have been “rude” if I had kept it to myself and made her drink something else. While I still think that the 2019 Amphora holds the title for my favorite out the bunch, this was still a great way to close out tasting these diverse wines.
In the glass the wine was a deep garnet red color, and on the nose I got aromas of spice and ripe berries. In the mouth the wine was light and tart, with notes of strawberry being the most prominent for me before giving way to a smooth, subtle finish with a bit of minerality on it.
We paired the wine with steaks and brussel sprouts, and I will say that the wine was an excellent pairing with the food; the tart notes being a great balance to the rich steak and brussel sprouts. And, at $16 a bottle, it’s a great value to pair with a nice meal, especially since it drinks like a much more expensive wine (I’d easy guess this was a $25-$35 bottle of wine if I didn’t have notes in from of me).
Editor’s Note: I received this wine as a free sample for review.
