Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 87

Alentejo
notes of rosemary and wild herbs, tight and
fresh. For an herb-roasted chicken. § Shiverick
Imports, Los Angeles, CA
RED BLENDS
94 | Quinta do Paral
$50
2018 Vidigueira Vinhas Velhas Tinto ^ This
old-vine blend is equal parts aragonez and
tinta grossa, fermented in lagares and aged in
French oak. All that oxygen-rich winemaking
only serves to point up the wine's freshness,
centered on fruit, its black currant, damson
plum and green fig flavors tightened up by
herbal notes of rosemary and fennel. Then it
lasts on scents of roses, a clean, bright take
on the soils of Vidigueira and the local vines
they sustain. It will wake up your mouth with
braised lamb. § Kindred Vines, Troy, MI
Summery and bright in its red raspberry and
currant flavors, it's also anchored by broad,
tobacco-rich tannins. Ready to decant for
seared duck breast, this has the stamina to
age. § Le Wine Importer, Oakland, CA
93 | Quinta da Fonte Souto $55
2018 Alentejo Vinha do Souto ^ From the
Symingtons' estate in Portalegre, a 510acre
property with 106 planted to vines, this
grows at the foot of the Serra de São Mamede,
at elevations rising to 1,800 feet. The
top selection of alicante bouschet and syrah
at the estate, this ages in French oak, pointing
up the richness of the pomegranate-red
fruit and adding a note of smoke and char
to the tannins. A smooth mineral riff plays
out through the finish, expanding with air,
drawing you back for another sip. § Premium
Port Wines, San Francisco, CA
93 | Casa Relvas
$35
94 | Adega de Portalegre $25
2019 Portalegre Conventual Reserva
Tinto (BEST BUY) ^ The blend includes trincadeira
(40 percent) with equal parts alicante
bouschet and touriga nacional. This is brisk
and cool, with a soft mineral bath of tannins.
That earthy underpinning includes scents of
fresh woodland mushrooms under hints of
roses and a light perfumed note of violet pastilles.
There's tension between the grape-skin
tannins and the satin-textured fruit, a balance
that would suit grilled lamb with green
olives. § Brands of Portugal, Rumford, RI
94 | Casa de Sabicos
$40
2018 Alentejo Reserva ^ Joaquim Madeira
makes the wines at his family's property in
Montoito, just to the north of Reguengos
de Monsaraz. To sustain the freshness of the
fruit, he harvests at night and ferments in
temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats.
It ages for a year in French oak barrels, then
in bottle in a cool cellar. The result is a wine
with enough freshness to cut through its
substantial weight (it's equal parts trincadeira
and aragonez, with 15 percent each of
alicante bouschet and cabernet sauvignon).
2018 Alentejano Herdade de São Miguel
Reserva ^ This estate blend grows in the clay
and schist soils of Redondo, east of Evora.
It's based on alicante bouschet (70 percent),
with touriga nacional, trincadeira and a little
cabernet sauvignon, the fruit macerated
then fermented in lagares before aging in
large-format French oak barrels. Even as the
vintage saw some extreme heat, this wine
maintains its cool-like standing close to a
cold mountain waterfall, one panelist said.
The freshness comes through in scents of red
raspberries and roses, along with an iron-like
mineral edge to the tannins. Dense and spicy,
this wine has lovely depth and richness that
suits it to short-term aging, though it feels
fully accessible now. § Quintessential, Napa, CA
93 | Herdade do Rocim
$47
2018 Alentejo Olho do Mocho Tinto Single
^ Catarina Vieira and Pedro Ribeiro make
this wine from an estate parcel at Rocim's
vineyard, located between Vidigueira and
Cuba. A blend of alicante bouschet and
trincadeira grown in granite and schist soils,
it combines full-on fruit with the surroundsound
of stony minerals, sunny grapes meeting
a gentle but persistent structure. Panelists
immediately wanted steak with this wine
to meet its green-peppercorn spice. Clean,
smooth and, as one panelist said, " just delicious. "
§ Shiverick Imports, Los Angeles, CA
93 | Sericaia
$41
2015 Alentejo Tapada do Coronel ^ Sónia
Martins works with a vineyard in Portalegre's
Serra de São Mamede, where this blend of alicante
bouschet (50 percent) with aragonez,
trincadeira and moreto benefits from the
cool altitude to brighten its lusty richness.
Along with an herbal note of thyme and winter
savory, there's a subtle scent of barnyard,
the earthiness that points toward Brett, but
the fruit is persistent, providing the layered
memory in the end. A fine evocation of the
northern Alentejo. § Lusovini USA, Newark, NJ
92 | Herdade dos
Coelheiros
$40
2016 Alentejo Tapada de Coelheiros Tinto ^
This grows at an estate in Igrejinha, west of
Estremoz; the property extends over 2,000
acres, mostly cork forests, with a winery surrounded
by 124 acres of vines. In his first vintage
at the estate, Luís Patrão focused this
wine on cabernet sauvignon (70 percent),
with its herbal edges and freshness shining
a beam of light on the dark tannins of alicante
bouschet. Notes of strawberries, raspberries
and McIntosh apple provide a brisk
tension to the wine's richness, impeded only
by some oak influence in the end. That may
integrate further with a year of bottle age. §
Grape2Glass, Newark, NJ
92 | Adega de Portalegre $37
2018 Portalegre Tinto ^ This wine has an oldfashioned
opulence, its generous texture and
violet perfume held against the earthy edge
of tannins. Those tannins are hard against
the wine's voluptuous flavors, turning them
toward game. A clean blend of alicante bouschet,
trincadeira, aragonez, grand noir and
castelão, this is ready to decant for roast venison.
§ Brands of Portugal, Rumford, RI
92 | José Maria
da Fonseca
$50
2017 Alentejo José de Sousa Mayor ^ Domingos
Soares Franco selects this fruit from
seven acres of vines at this historic estate in
Reguengos de Monsaraz. When his family
purchased the property in 1986, he set out to
build the collection of amphorae, now working
with 114 clay pots. He ferments a portion
of the blend in amphora, including 30 percent
as whole clusters; the balance ferments
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Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022

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