Wine & Spirits - February 2018 - 65

YEAR'S BEST PORTUGUESE WINES
Our blind panels tasted 299 new-release Portuguese table wines over the past 12 months.
Joshua Greene, our critic for Portuguese wines, rated 99 as exceptional (90+) and 41 as Best Buys.
Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

WHITE
ALENTEJO
222035

91 | Herdade do Esporão

$28

2014 Alentejo Private Selection ^ Semillon may not be the variety you'd expect to
thrive in the heat of the Alentejo, buffeted by
winds from Africa. Planted in 1996, in deep
clay at an estate-owned vineyard two miles
from Esporão, semillon has not only found
a home: It has become Esporão's signature
white. This wine has transformed all of its
sunshine hours into golden peach flavors and
scents of lanolin, honeysuckle and chamomile flowers. Spicy acidity keeps its density in
check, focusing the lees and the oak tannins
on creamy richness (the wine was barrel fermented and aged in new French oak). Decant
this if you open it now; the flavors need air or
bottle age to fully evolve. (W&S 8/17) § Aidil
Wines & Liquors, Newark, NJ
226274

91 | Luis Duarte

$25

2014 Alentejo Rubrica ^ Luis Duarte grows
the fruit for his Rubrica ("signature") wines
at his 30-acre estate in Reguengos de Monsaraz. This blend includes antão vaz, gouveio
and viognier, coming together in a rich, citrusy white, its racy lime flavors on a velvet
texture. There's a subtle hint of bitterness, a
smoky mace-like spice that lasts in the finish,
setting this up for a wood-roasted chicken. §
Specialty Cellars, Santa Fe Springs, CA
222477

91 | Monte da Cal

$17

2013 Alentejano Grande Reserva Satur-
nino (Best Buy) ^ A blend of alvarinho, antão
vaz and arinto, this is rich and mature. It balances notes of toasted lees with firm lemon
richness, hints of apple leather and candied
orange. Pour it with arroz de tamboril, a Portuguese take on paella with monkfish. (W&S
8/17) § FJN Fine Wines, Cumberland, RI
223132

90 | Esporão Rural

$19

2016 Alentejano Branco ^ Caterina Vieira
and Pedro Ribeiro farm 148 acres at the Herdade do Rocim in Vidigueira, where the heat
of the Alentejo is tempered by the acidic soils,
allowing them to grow fresh whites like this

blend of antão vaz, arinto and roupeiro. Its
lemon and honeysuckle notes have the floral richness of a honeycomb, pure and light
(or light for Alentejo). It has an intensely yellow depth of flavor and would make a satisfying match with braised trotters. (W&S 8/17) §
Tambu Wines, Charleston, SC

BEIRAS

Mostly old-vine cerceal, this elegant wine
captures the limestone in which it grows in a
focused and concentrated scent of seashells.
A smaller portion of bical, fermented in old
oak barrels, lends a caramelized note of richness, pointing up the sweetness of the fruit
as it expands over the wine's crisp coastal
freshness. Built to cellar. (W&S 8/17) § Grape2Glass, Newark, NJ
222849

91 | Caves São João

222175

94 | Caves São João

$35

1995 Beiras Poço do Lobo Arinto ^ There
was a time, back in the 1980s, when those
of us who were into Portuguese wines took
this sort of late release for granted. That was
before the EU, when a number of classic producers like Caves São João held back wines.
Now they are called library releases, and only
the rare, dedicated producer still has them.
This 22-year-old arinto was grown on what
were, at the time, 45-year-old vines planted in
clay-limestone soils. Today, there is nothing
old about it, just a complex, luscious and delicious wine that stays with you long enough
to help you consider all the different foods
that would work so well with its graceful acidity, pale floral notes, fresh lemon-pulp flavors
and deep umami resonance. Perhaps hamachi sushi, or miso-glazed black cod, or Cantonese ginger-and-garlic crab. (W&S 8/17) §
Obrigado-Vinhos Portugal, New Rochelle, NY
219781

93 | Vadio

$20

2015 Bairrada Vinho Branca (Best Buy) ^
Working with his family's vineyards in Bairrada, Luís Patrão's wines have quickly entered
into the top ranks of a region reclaiming its
former glory, not just for reds from the baga
grape, but especially for long-lived whites.

$145

1974 Bairrada Frei João Branco ^ If you are
curious to taste what white Bairrada can
become with age, here's one that was cellared at the winery for decades. It's a blend of
maria gomes and bical, with small amounts
of cerceal and rabo de ovelha, local vines
that thrive in the clay, limestone and sand
in this coastal plain south of Porto. It was
fermented in open tanks with extended skin
contact, then aged for two years in cement.
Completely mature, this still has life in it,
presenting a sort of floral pallor, notes of
ginger and sesame seeds and a rich, earthy
mushroom savor. Open a bottle with leitão,
the suckling pig of Bairrada. (W&S 8/17) § Olé
Imports, New Rochelle, NY

BUCELAS
226439

88 | Quinta da Romeira

$13

2016 Bucelas Prova Régia Reserva Arinto
(Best Buy) ^ Fragrant lemon balm lends this
wine a fat citrus richness. Then it cleans up
with stony acidity that will help infuse its flavors into chicken or rabbit fricassee. § Wine InMotion USA, Union, NJ

COLARES
222191

92 | Adega de Colares

$42

2009 Colares MJC Branco ^ This is youngvine malvasia grown in coastal sands on
the westernmost point of the Iberian peninsula, where the region's vineyards, once
renowned for long-lived wines, have mostly
been replaced by beach homes. This was fermented in stainless steel, left for four months
on the lees, then racked before aging in tank
for three years. It's since grown into a plump,
toasty white with scents of iodine and kelp.
WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2018

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