The other day we reviewed a Vinho Verde from Great Sense and tonight we’re checking out another one, this one from Casa de Vila Verde.

Like many European vineyards, Casa de Vila Verde has a long history, going back to the mid-17th century within the same family.  And like many European producers, the winery was modernized within the past 20 years — in this case it was in 1996.  While in the US it’s fascinating to learn about vineyards with such a history, the story is so prevalent in Europe that when I speak to wine writers there they find it cliché.  Maybe it is, but I still appreciate the family heritage that goes into many wines in the region versus the corporate heritage we find on many of the shelves in the US.  That’s not to say there aren’t family wineries in the US, there are many of them, but very few with the extensive history of those from other regions.

The aromas on this wine are like fresh squeezed lime over green apples, with a whiff of honeysuckle in the background.  The palate has really nice, vibrant acidity with flavors of fresh apple, lime and a touch of mineral.  The finish is nice too, with plenty of citrus and mineral flavors lingering on.  This one doesn’t offer the fizz you would find in many Vinho Verdes, but the acidity gives plenty of life to the mouth feel.

Wine: Casa de Vila Verde Vinho Verde
Variety: White blend
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 11.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $10.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

People often ask me, “what’s your favorite wine?”  But that’s an impossible question to answer.  I don’t have one favorite.  My favorite thing about about wine is the variety.  I like different wines at different times.  Sometimes it depends on what I’m eating with it, what the weather is like, or just what I feel like.  And when you like to mix it up, Vinho Verde is a nice wine to add to your repertoire.

It’s a very light and fresh wine.  And fresh is exactly what these wines are.  Vinho Verde translates to “green wine” which is a reference to the youthfulness of the wines.  These are meant to be consumed within a year of production.  So, as a 2010 vintage, this one is almost overdue for consumption… but it is still quite good.

The designation of Vinho Verde refers to the style of wine (i.e. young) and the location (i.e. Northwest Portugal) much more than it refers to the grape varietal, as there are a number of different varietals allowed in the wine.  This one is made with 60% Touriga Nacional and 40% Espadeiro.  Most Vinho Verde that I’ve come across is white, but some is red and some, like this one, is rosé.

Strawberry and lime aromas dominate the nose, although it also shows some apple and mineral notes. The palate is fresh and light, with subtle flavors of lime, apple, raspberry and cranberry.  The acidity is sufficient.  A light frizzante sparkle adds a touch of texture to the mouth feel.  It finishes with lingering flavors of tart apple and cranberry.

What’s unbelievable about this wine is the price.  A mere six bucks!  This is a mighty tasty wine for six bucks!

Wine: Great Sense Vinho Verde
Variety: 60% Touriga Nacional, 40% Espadeiro
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 10.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $6.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Tonight we’re checking out two Portuguese wines from Alente, which is a producer in the Alentejo region of Portugal.

As I’ve commented in the past, I think some of the best values in wine are from Portugal.  Unfortunately, I’ve found that distribution of Portuguese wines is a bit spotty in the US.  In my region, I don’t find many of them and they are usually tucked into the Spanish section of wine shops.

These two wines were not tasted blind.  I feel like I’ve been saying that on a lot of reviews lately, but that’s mostly because I’m going through some odds and ends for which a blind tasting would be pointless.  I have no preconceived notions about these wines, other than the fact that I think Portugal has some great value wines to offer.  But at the same time, I’ve had plenty of Portuguese wines that have left me unimpressed.  So… let’s find out what these two are all about.

Alente – Antão Vaz | Arinto

The Antão Vaz and Arinto names on this wine are the grapes varieties used to produce it.  Have you had them before?  I hadn’t, so we’re exploring with this one.  This is a white wine, fermented in a combination of vats and new American oak.

As a wine made from grape varieties with which I’m not familiar, I find myself looking for familiar references to compare to this wine.  And the nose strikes me as being somewhat inbetween a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc.  It has some of the apple, melon and oak I’d expect from a chardonnay, but also a good bit of tropical fruit aromas.  The palate is really interesting, with very nice peach and melon flavors and a creamy mouth feel.  But what’s really interesting is the mid-palate, which brings a hot and spicy note for a second that fades into peach flavors on a lingering finish.  I’m impressed with this wine. It’s fun.

Wine: Alente
Variety: Antão Vaz and Arinto
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price:  $9.99

Alente – Trincadeira | Aragonez

Similar to the first wine, Trincadeira and Aragonez are the grape varieties.  At least one of these is a more familiar grape, as Aragonez is a Portuguese name for Tempranillo.

This red wine was fermented in small vats and aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels.

The nose on this wine is pleasant, with black pepper and berry aromas.  The wine comes to life much more on the palate, where the acidity is outstanding.  It has a raspberry and cherry flavor, with good concentration.  The tannins are firm, giving some texture to the mouth feel and slight black tea flavor on the finish.  But there is also plenty of cherry flavor on the finish to keep the tannins from making the wine seem bitter.  This is another interesting wine, with an old world edge.

Wine: Alente
Variety: Trincadeira and Aragonez
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price:  $9.99

Disclosure: Thees wines were received as a sample.

As a guy who is into value wines, I’ve found that there are a few regions you can count on for consistent values.  Chile and Spain are two regions that are on that list, but one that I don’t see enough of is Portugal.  There are some incredible bargains to be found in Portuguese wines, but unfortunately I don’t find many of them on the shelves in my region.  Distribution seems to be spotty, unless you’re in New York City.

Given the fact that I don’t come across many Portuguese wines, I was glad for the opportunity to taste these.  I was glad, and also slightly challenged.  One of the things that makes these wines interesting is that they are produced using grape varieties that are unique to Portugal.  But that also puts me in a position where I’m reviewing wines made with varieties I’m unfamiliar with.  An important factor I kept in mind when evaluating these wines is that stylistically, these are “old world” wines, so I evaluated them as such. With all of that said, take my notes and scores on these with a grain of salt as I’m admittedly in new territory with these wines.

Both of these wines come from the Alentejo region of Portugal.  This is a region in the south of Portugal with a Mediterranean climate and over 22,000 hectares of vineyards.

Finisterra Vinho Branco

This is a white blend made with grapes I’ve never heard of, much less tasted.  These include Antão Vaz, Síria, Rabo de Ovelha and Perrum.  The wine is fermented in stainless steel vats and hasn’t seen any oak.

This wine has a pleasant nose, with aromas of honeydew melon, lime, mild stone fruits and a touch of mineral.  Based on the nose I thought this would be a pretty nice wine.  But it didn’t quite carry through on the palate.  It does have good flavors of melon, apple and citrus, but it’s a bit flabby.  That is to say it lacks acidity, making the palate a bit dull.  It’s not horribly flabby, but that’s where it gets dinged a bit.  However, let’s keep things in perspective, this is only a $7.00 bottle of wine and that’s “suggested” retail, so you’ll probably find it for less.  It also has some varieties you’ve probably never tasted before.  Even though it may not “blow you away” it’s worth checking out for the adventure, if nothing else.

Wine: Finisterra Vinho Branco
Variety: White Blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating:  81
Price: $6.99

Finisterra Vinho Tinto

This one is a red blend, and again has some grape varieties that may be new to you, including Aragonez, Castelão and Trincadeira.  Like the white blend, this was fermented in stainless steel.

This wine is an old world style wine, and as such isn’t necessarily a wine for everyone.  It’s very different from the inexpensive, fruit-forward wines many people drink.  The nose doesn’t have much intensity and is rather earthy, with aromas of chocolate, sage, tree bark and a very soft blackberry.  The palate is also fairly earthy, with a slight bitterness.  There is some fruit on the palate, which I would describe as plum and wild cherry (differentiated from non-wild by a touch of bitter and sour).  It’s fairly tannic on the palate and into the finish, which has a tea tannin quallity to it.  This is more of a food wine than a sipping wine.

Again, similar to the white wine I think this one is worth checking out for the adventure.  But be prepared for something different from your typical cheap juice.  Keep an open mind and you may find that you like it.

Wine: Finisterra Vinho Tinto
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating:  80
Price: $6.99

Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

I’ve been wanting to try some Portuguese wines for some time now and today for Wine Blogging Wednesday #38 the theme is Portuguese Table Wine hosted by Catavino.  That gives me the extra motivation I need to stop delaying and try some Portuguese wine!

I actually have a sliver of a connection to Portugal as I supposedly have some Portuguese blood in me. It’s pretty diluted to be honest… nonetheless, I embrace it.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve been wanting to try Portuguese wines, another is the fact that when I read reviews in various wine publications the list of highly rated value wines from Portugal seems to keep getting longer and longer.  So I make notes of all the great values that I read about and head off to the wine shop and walk in circles trying to find these great wines…  Where are they?!  I’m off to another wine shop… same thing… and another…

I had a devil of a time finding Portuguese wine, much less finding some not from Douro. The few Portuguese wines I found were usually mixed in with Spanish wines. One shop I was in even has a sign that looks something like this:

SPAIN & Portugal

It seems that the wine distributors in my area (Cincinnati, OH) are doing a piss-poor job at bringing in Portuguese wine. And I think they are missing a huge opportunity. Everyone loves a great deal, and from what I’ve read there are lots of great value wines available from Portugal. If I knew the business of wine distribution I would do it myself.  If anyone knows the folks at Cutting Edge Selections make the suggestion as I think they are probably the ones who would go after this market.

The Tasting

After much searching I was able to pick up two bottles from producer Sogrape Vinhos.  One of them I thought was mediocre, but the other bottle I thoroughly enjoyed.

The first bottle I tried was Vinha Do Monte 2001 ($10.99) from the Alentejano region.  This wine is a blend of Aragones, Trincadeira and Alfrocheiro Preto grapes.  All of which are new to me, so I did a little digging:  Aragones it seems is either another name for Garnacha or Tempranillo (I’m not sure which to believe); Trincadeira is an indigenous Portuguese varietal that grows best in dry, hot regions and typically produces flavors of jam, red plum, cinnamon and clove; Alfrocheiro Preto is another indigenous varietal thought to be related to Pinot Noir.  Alfrocheiro Preto is typically grown in Dão and is attributed to producing flavors of mint, flowers, black currants and fresh strawberries.

The Vinha Do Monte has an interesting nose: strong floral and vanilla with earth and cherry undertones. The palate brings out the cherry a bit more with plum and vanilla riding shotgun. It has a very warming mouth feel with a rather high acidity that is just slightly out of balance. It’s a little bitter on the back of the tongue. The finish is long but rather uninteresting.  In general it’s an OK wine, but not great.

Wine: Vinha Do Monte
Varietal: Blend of Aragones, Trincadeira and Alfrocheiro Preto
Vintage: 2001
Alcohol: 13.5% 
Rating: 82

The second bottle I tried was Grão Vasco 2004 ($6.99) from the Dão region.  This wine is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Jaen, Alfrocheiro Preto and Tinta Pinheira. Touriga Nacional is a varietal used extensively in Port wine that has characteristics of strong tannins and concentrated black fruit.  Jaen is a rather bland grape with low acidity that is often used to balance tannins from other varietals.  Tinta Pinheira, also known as Rufete, is another varietal used in Port that oxidizes easily and adds candy-like fruit flavors.

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable wine.  It has a nice smoky, leathery and floral bouquet.  Cherry and pepper on the palate with a silky mouth feel.  It isn’t terribly complex, but it does have surprising concentration for a $7 wine.  It always makes me happy when the less expensive wine is my favorite.

Wine: Grão Vasco
Varietal: Blend of Touriga Nacional, Jaen, Alfrocheiro Preto and Tinta Pinheira
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol: 13% 
Rating: 89