Review: Herdade dos Grous, Red

The Alentejo wine region in Portugal produces over 250 grape varieties. Think about that… over 250 varieties in just one region of Portugal! How many different grape varieties have you even tasted, via wine, in your lifetime? I’d guess, in most cases, it’s a lot less.

A friend of mine created something call the Wine Century Club, which recognizes those who have tried wines from at least 100 different grape varieties. I earned my Wine Century certificate a number of years ago. But they also have different levels in the club for those who have gone beyond 100 and tried at least 200 (Doppel), 300 (Treble), 400 (Quattro), 500 (Pentavini) and 600 (Hexavin) varieties. I’m only a handful of varieties away from reaching the doppel level, but it has been no small feat to find wines with unique grape varieties to get me to that level. It has taken several years.

Portugal, however, produces numerous grape varieties — many of which you don’t see often in other parts of the world, and that one of the things I enjoy about exploring Portuguese wines.

Another thing I appreciate about wines from Alentejo is how strong their sustainability program is. The Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program (WASP) is one of the world’s most progressive wine sustainability programs, with initiatives on biodiversity, soil management, recycling, energy and water conservation, community integration and third-party sustainability certification. And that’s just some of what they do. The producer of this wine, Herdade dos Grous, is a member of this program.

Like many producers in the region, wine isn’t the only thing they do. The Herdade dos Grous estate also grows organic fruits and vegetables, produces olive oil and breeds pigs, sheep and cattle, just to name a few things.

And when it comes to wine, it’s no small production. This is just one of the wines they produce and they made 460,000 bottles of it! It has a couple of those interesting grape varieties in it too, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Nacional.

So how is it? In a word, delicious.

The nose has a lot of complexity with strawberry, blueberry, plum, cedar and cured meat aromas. It’s super lively on the palate, with bright plum and strawberry flavors and a touch of baking spices. The mouthfeel is nice. Fresh, tart berry flavors linger on the finish.

Wine: Herdade dos Grous, Red
Varieties: 35% Aragonez (i.e., Tempranillo), 35% Alicante Bouschet, 20% Touriga Nacional, 10% Syrah
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 88
Average price: $19.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.