Review: Casa Relvas, Sao Miguel Do Sul Red Wine

If you’re a red wine lover and you haven’t tried Portuguese red wine, you’re missing out. I mean, what’s not to love about it? Big, bold flavors, intense and exotic aromatics, incredibly reasonable prices and quite often sustainably produced. Such is the case with this wine from Casa Relvas.

Casa Relvas is located in the Alentejo wine region in the southern half of Portugal, where they manage 750 hectares of dehesa forest, 250 hectares of olive groves and 350 hectares of vineyards. I know it can be hard for some folks to visualize how big a hectare is, so here’s a comparison: 350 hectares of vineyards is equivalent in size to about 654 football fields! That’s a lot of grapevines. And they manage it all sustainably. In fact, Casa Relvas is one of the top scorers in the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program, scoring 3.8 out of a possible 4.0.

Some of the things they have done include growing over 100,000 cork oaks and pine trees, using sheep to control weeds in the vineyard thus reducing pesticide usage, and reducing the amount of water used to produce each bottle of wine by 30%. But sustainability for Casa Relvas is not just about environmental sustainability but also social and financial sustainability.

All that goodness, plus really good wine… What’s not to love?

This wine is super aromatic, with a blend of floral and berry aromas, plus a good bit of spice. It smells brambly and forest-like. It has a nice zing on the palate, delivering vibrant raspberry, cherry, vanilla and baking spice flavors, evoking the idea of a cherry tart. The acidity is great and the mouthfeel is nice. It finishes with lingering cherry and raspberry flavors plus a touch of earthy mineral.

Wine: Casa Relvas, Sao Miguel Do Sul Red Wine
Varieties: 50%Aragonez, 30%Alicante Bouschet, 15%Trincadeira, 5%Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 87
Average price: $12.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

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