My heart in Portugal for wine rests in the Douro Valley. I have been there numerous times and met many winemakers but it is getting tugs toward the Dão, Alentejano and Lisboa because of some very exciting wines that keep their Portuguese identity using Portuguese grapes but add Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Alicante Bouschet to the blend.
And they are most often slightly cheaper than Douro wines.
We try a Regional Wine from Lisboa by the name of Quinta do Espírito Santo.
On the nose black cherry, cassis, vanilla and milk chocolate. On the palate there are definitely some tannins but on the moderate side. As for the palate this purplish tinged wine offers lip smacking blueberry, pomegranate both densely packed. The 15% alcohol is on the edge of threatening the fruit but there is an uneasy co-existence. The tannins here and controlled acidity suggest that the wine will cruise into 2026 and improve. It has been in both American and French oak.
It would suit rich mushroom dishes like a Mushroom Wellington or Beef Bourguignon.
(Quinta do Espírito Santo 2017, Vinho Regional Lisboa, Casa Santos Lima, Portugal, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 48015, 750 mL, 15%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).
Wine drinker profile: A person who likes full bodied wines that don’t give up their fruit readily and has a bit of patience to age the wine for a least a couple of years. Must like this wine with a rich vegetarian dish or a dish where the beef bobs its head above the water .A definite food wine!
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