Wine & Spirits - April 2013 - (Page 99)

Year’s Best portugal reds our blind panels tasted 174 new-release Portuguese red wines for this issue. our critic for Portugal, Joshua Greene, rated 26 as exceptional (90+) and 21 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. A len t e j o 187665 90 | Herdade de Malhadinha nova $55 2008 Alentejano Antonio Alicante Bouschet ^ As sumptuous as a Christmas pudding served to Henry XIII, this is a plump, fullbodied wine that pulls back from the brink of superripeness. Tannins gird it tightly, holding in all the flesh of alicante’s deep fruit. This is substantial enough for an oxtail stew. § Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY 187689 88 | Herdade do esporão $10 2009 Alentejano Vinha da Defesa (Best Buy) ^ A blend of touriga nacional and syrah, this is a sleek, soft and gentle red. The black smokiness of oak combines with a touch of sweet ripeness in the fruit. For slow-cooked lamb. § Aidil Wines & Liquors, Newark, NJ 187690 2010 Alentejano Monte Velho (Best Buy) ^ A rustic Alentejo red, this wine’s saturated flavors and graphite mineral notes give it a cool feel. It bristles with spicy funk around the edges. Pour it with braised trotters. § Aidil Wines & Liquors, Newark, NJ 187634 86 | Cortes de Cima $11 2011 Alentejano Chaminé (Best Buy) ^ This is pleasantly sweet, a gentle, chewy red with scents of mint and honey accenting dark fruit. A cookout wine to pour while you’re grilling. § Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY BeirAs 187669 94 | Qta. de Foz de Arouce $21 2008 Beiras ^ João Portugal Ramos makes this wine at the estate owned by his father-inlaw, João Filipe Osório; the 37 acres of vines are mainly baga, with 20 percent touriga nacional, planted on a schist and quartz hillside near Coimbra. Though far from any commercial viticulture, the vineyard has a long history and is considered one of the greats of Portugal. And it warrants the acclaim with this wild and gamey 2008. It has the pure fruit precision of finely ripened the tannins in the baga grapes. In 2010, he achieved a wine with pure red berry fruit, fragrant with spice, carried along on a narrow structure. One taster described it as “pinot noir in a knight’s armor.” § Wine In-Motion USA, Union, NJ DAo 188361 92 | Quinta da Pellada $17 88 | Herdade do esporão baga, along with the lusciousness touriga can bring to a blend. There’s a juicy black raspberry freshness that drives through the finish, with the kind of length and concentration that had me scribbling in my notes how I love this wine. Later, when I found out it cost $21 a bottle, I loved it even more. § Winebow, NY 187560 93 | Qta. de Foz de Arouce $21 2009 Beiras ^ The 2009 vintage carries the freshness of this hillside vineyard’s morning fog into a sleek, modernist beauty. Scents of blackberries, green peppercorns and bacon brought Cornas to mind for one taster. There is that kind of stemmy intensity and pretty fruit. Decant this hours before serving with any roast game. § Winebow, NY 187559 92 | Qta. de Foz de Arouce $65 2009 Beiras Vinhas Velhas de Santa Maria ^ From a six-acre block of vines planted in 1940, this is the most tannic and compressed of the three Foz de Arouce wines we tasted; it not only requires the most cellar time, but also is the most likely to reward long aging. For now, it carries a heavy baga weight in the tannins, yielding hints of rose perfume, fragrant stemminess and plump red fruit. Built to cellar. § Winebow, NY 187943 90 | luis Pato $24 2010 Beiras VR Vinhas Velhas ^ Luis Pato conducts two harvests on the old vines he grows in Bairrada’s clay-limestone soils. The first in August, taking about two-thirds of the crop for sparkling wine; the second, later in the season, when the vines have matured 2010 Dão ^ An old-vine field blend from Alvaro Castro’s estate, this includes some newer plantings of touriga nacional and tinta roriz. The aroma is closed off behind purple reduction, hinting at mincemeat spice and dark cherry skins. The flavors are more open, scented with basil and wild blueberries, along with a spice that recalls Sichuan peppercorns without the heat. This is bold and concentrated without feeling pushed. Decant it for roast duck, or tuck it away in the cellar for ten years. § Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY 187619 91 | Casa de santar $25 2008 Dão Reserva ^ Scents of roses and delicate red fruit give this wine a gentle touch, even as its firm tannins and tart cherry flavor build in their power and length. The tannins are strong, edged by acidity, balanced for several years of aging. § Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY 188357 90 | Quinta da Pellada 2010 Dão Jaen ^ Mediterranean in tone, with green-olive scents and meaty spice, this is austere Dão with a lithe, mouthwatering finish. The flavors last, dry and spicy, intriguing with roast lamb. § Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY 187620 90 | Casa de santar $15 90 | Flor de Viseu $15 2010 Dão (Best Buy) ^ Dark and brooding at first, this develops into a cherry-rich red with floral scents. A pretty Dão and a super value. § Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY 186828 2009 Dão (Best Buy) ^ This layers cherry scents over silky red fruit and meaty spice. The structure is tight, but the flavors fill it WINE & SPIRITS APRIL 2013 99 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.winebow.com/wineDetail.php?id=5325

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2013

Wine & Spirits - April 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered The Digital List
Cognac: The New Wave
The Funky Bits: Alice Feiring on terroir expression in Comté
Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru
Pinot Noir’s Nerve Center
Where Tuscany Meets Liguria
Insider Chianti
Where to Eat & Drink in New York
24th Annual Restaurant Poll
Introduction
US Pinot Noir
Austria
Portugul Reds
White Burgundy
Loire
Tuscan Reds
US New Releases
Imported New Releases
Extreme Values

Wine & Spirits - April 2013