Every year, Wine Enthusiast puts together an intriguing list of its TOP 100 BEST BUYS. This year, ten Portuguese wines were selected. They were reviewed by Roger Voss, the magazine’s European Editor…
Not all of these wines are available in the UK, but we have indicated their agent where relevant. The Top 100 listed below were based on the relationship between score and price and factoring in availability and buzz. They also tried to balance the list in terms of wine style, variety and origin.
Messias 2008 Quinta do Penedo Portuguese Red (Dão)
A wonderfully brooding, tannic wine that offers huge structure along with richness, dark plum skin fruit flavors and a tense mineral and flint texture. Obviously for aging over 4–5 years.
Casa do Valle 2010 Grande Escolha Portuguese White (Vinho Verde)
Big, ripe- fruited wine, full of apricot and peach flavors, a fine rounded texture, smooth and creamy. There is a great tangy citrus finish. Impressive, ripe and rich, definitely for food.
Quinta das Arcas 2010 Arca Nova Colheita Portuguese White (Vinho Verde)
Delicious bright fruited wine, full of lemongrass, green herbs and delicious lime juice and apricot flavors. Drink this summer as a great apéritif. For further information please contact Miguel Leal at Casa Leal.
Dao Sul 2009 Palestra Portuguese Red (Douro)
Big bold, attractive wine that strides over the palate, giving sweet fruit as well as acidity. The tannins are buried within the ripe red berry fruits that are edged with a more concentrated meaty character. For further information please contact Lance Foyster at Clark Foyster.
Bacalhôa Wines of Portugal 2008 Tinto da Anfora Portuguese Red (Alentejano)
Always an impressive wine, this latest vintage of Tinto da Anfora powers forward with great balance among its black fruits, ripe tannins, oak and enticing acidity. There is a jammy feel to the texture, although the firm structure holds it all together. For further information, please contact Andre Neves at Ehrmanns.
Luis Duarte 2009 Rapariga da Quinta Branco Portuguese White (Alentejano)
Intense wood-aged wine, with tropical fruits over the toast and layer of acidity. It’s impressive, with a fine balance of all the elements—richness and elegance. Give the wine a year to fully integrate.
Quinta do Portal 2007 Mural Reserva Portuguese Red (Douro)
A firm wine, based on dry tannins and some dense fruit. It has acidity, driven by black berry flavors. The core of the wine is dry, both from wood and acidity, and it will benefit from 2–3 years’ aging.
For further information, please contact Charles Hawkins at Charles Hawkins & Partners on: 01572 823030
Wines & Winemakers 2008 Azul Portugal Portuguese Red (Ribatejo)
A very soft-textured wine with delicious jammy fruits that give spice and juiciness. It has a rich feel to it, velvet in the mouth, while the acidity adds just the right amount of freshness
DFJ Vinhos 2010 Grand’Arte Alvarinho (Lisboa)
Full and rounded wine, with touches of toast, pineapple, melon and peach. It’s a fine expression of Alvarinho, keeping the essential fresh structure of the grape while also giving extra weight and richness. For further information please contact Fil Fernandes at 10 International .
Quinta do Serrado 2007 Serrado Colheita Portuguese Red (Dão)
A darkly tannic wine, very mineral, tasting of the granite Dão soil. The wine is taut, fresh with black currants, its structure a major element. For aging 3–4 years.
Jancis Robinson has chosen her 60+ greatest red and 65+ greatest white wines, and Portugal has a few mentions, including Tiago Cabaço, .com 2009, Lavradores de Feitoria 2010 and Quinta da Bacalhôa, Tinto da Anfora 2008
Great Whites:
Tiago Cabaço, .com 2009 Alentejo 16.5 Drink 2011-2013
Estremoz. Really fun and fruity! Roupeiro and Antão Vaz. Low acid but masses of flavour. 13.5%
For more information contact Adnams – www.adnams.co.uk
Lavradores de Feitoria 2010 Douro 16.5 Drink 2011-2014
Lavradores de Feitoria is a 15-producer co-operative in the Douro, based at the impressive Mateus palace. The winemaker here is Paulo Ruao, formerly of Ramos Pinto, with Dirk Niepoort acting as consultant.
Much cooler than most Douro whites. Malvasia Fina, Síria and Gouveio grown on high cool slopes and fermented in stainless steel according to the informative back label. Very successful and distinctive. GV 12.5%
For more information contact Raymond Reynolds Ltd – www.winesfromportugal.com
Great Red:
Quinta da Bacalhôa, Tinto da Anfora 2008 Alentejo
Portugal is full of underpriced gems such as this rich blend of Aragonez (Tempranillo) with Portuguese varieties. Playful, satisfying with a flavour that reminded me of marrons glacés. Neat and complete. 14%
Reduced to £7.49 Waitrose (£7.99 after 4 January)
For more information contact Ehrmanns Wines – www.ehrmannswines.co.uk
For more information visit www.jancisrobinson.com
Two Portuguese wines have made it into Jane MacQuitty’s top 50 best red wines for Christmas, congratulations to…
João Ramos 2010 Ramos Reserva from the Alentejo – available from Majestic £8.49, or buy 2 for £6.99 each until January 30th.
and Graham’s Crusted Port, also highlighted as a ‘best buy’ – available from Booths £18.69, down to £12.46 until December 31st, Morrisons £12.99 until January 1st, and Sainsbury’s £13 until January 3rd.
Wine Spectator ranked Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional 2008 in the TOP 10 Best wines of the world, in the 7th position. Congratulations Quinta do Vallado! Also, congratulations to Quinta de Cabriz for their Dão 2008 ranked 49th, Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva ranked 62nd, and finally Quinta do Vale Meão Douro 2008 ranked 64th.
For further information about Quinta do Vallado, please contact their UK agent Bibendum
For further information about Quinta de Cabriz, please contact their UK agent Clark Foyster Wines
For further information about Quinta do Crasto, please contact their UK agent Enotria
For further information about Quinta do Vale Meão, please contact Lay & Wheeler
Herdade Tapada do Falcão is based in the Alentejo region of Portugal, they have produced ‘Rocha Rosa’ 2009 and 2010, and would like to enter the UK market.
Here is some background information:
The wines
The 2010 is a full bodied red wine made from equal proportions of handpicked Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Aragonez grapes. Garnet coloured with peppery spice and hints of damson fruit and notes of liquorice and mint, with chewy rich tannins.
This follows the 2009 vintage which is a huge fruity red but with more tannins on the finish. There is availability of this wine.
The vineyard
The 6.2 Ha vineyard planted in 2000 is situated at 1,500 ft above sea level in the foothills of the Serra de São Mamede, near Portalegre. The steeply sloping and north facing terrain is predominantly schistous with granitic outcrops. The vines benefit from less solar intensity during the day and cooling night time breezes. From the 2011 vintage the vines are designated DOC.
The winemaker
Winemaker Luis Bourbon produced the wine at his winery in Evoramonte. Luis is also the producer of Canto Decimo, Canto Quinto and Zefyro wines from Paço de Camões, which together have won six awards and commendations at the Decanter Wine Awards in London. The wines from Tapada do Falcão have the potential to improve on this and will be entered into future competitions.
If you would like to enquire about this, please contact Nigel Atkinson nigel@falconwine.com
Sonho Lusitano Vinhoa are honoured and proud to announce that Pedra Basta 2008 was served at a dinner hosted by the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge at St James’s Palace, London.
The dinner was held on 10th November, the eve of Remembrance Day, to raise funds for The National Memorial Arboretum Appeal. The Duke launched the appeal – to raise £12 million for the Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire – and became its patron.
Pedra Basta 2008 is a red wine produced by an Anglo-Portuguese partnership, wine maker Rui Reguinga and wine writer Richard Mayson, at Quinta do Centro in the Serra de São Mamede, Alto Alentejo. The wine won a silver medal earlier this year in the Decanter World Wine Awards.
Tanners announce the launch of their own label Douro red wine early in the New Year.
This follows the highly successful campaign for the Douro red 2009 vintage ‘Lying Abroad’ offer, which saw very strong support throughout their customer base. Douro has well and truly joined the pantheon of great vineyard areas of the world, rubbing shoulders with Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Northern Rhône – a great accolade and confirmation of the quality of wines coming from the valley. Tanners own label uses a line drawing of the old riverboats in the Douro valley, which was used to illustrate their 1967 wine list.
For further information, please contact Oakley Wine Agencies – oakleywine@btconnect.com
Handford are pleased to offer the wonderful wines of Dirk Niepoort, seen here early December at Handford pouring his 2009 Charme.
Contact greg@handford.net for his pre-release offer.
