Review: Conventual Reserva Branco

It’s been a minute since I’ve written about one of my favorite wine regions, Portugal, so it’s time to do so once again.

The wine I’m highlighting today is produced by Adega de Portalegre in the Alentejo (pronounced ah-len-TAY-zhoo) region. The winery producing this wine is named after the sub-region where it’s located, the Portalegre DOC, the northernmost out of eight sub-regions of Alentejo.

Most of the grapes grown in this region are native Portuguese grapes. The grapes in this specific wine include Arinto, Fernão Pires, Siria (also known as Roupeiro) and Bical. If you’ve not had much Portuguese wine, these may be grapes you haven’t heard of before. But they are varieties that might gain traction even beyond Portugal as global warming continues to impact vineyards around the world. Portugal has been coping with high temperatures for ages and these grapes do well in the heat. And, what’s even more important, these grapes can result in some fantastic wine.

The vineyards at Adega de Portalegre are between 600-700 meters of altitude, which also helps moderate high temperatures. If you’ve been reading this site for long, you probably are aware of my affinity for high altitude wines.

Tasting notes

This wine is elegant, delicate and beautiful on the nose, offering aromas like honeysuckle, orange blossom, lime and flint. The palate delivers a bright citrus zing, with lime and mandarin orange flavors up front followed by saline minerals. This is a bright, lean white (e.g., like a dry Riesling) as opposed to a dense, heavy white (e.g., like a Chardonnay). The finish is fairly long with citrus and saline flavors along with the floral aromatics making another appearance.

Wine: Adega de Portalegre, Conventual Reserva Branco
Varieties: Arinto, Fernão Pires, Siria/Roupeiro and Bical
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 88
Average price: $25.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.