Alentejo

From Portugal, this is a  blend of 56% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga Nacional, and 14% Syrah.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with plums, black currants, slight baking spice and a bit of chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is tasty with plums, currants and slight dark chocolate.  Good finish.  This is an excellent value.  It is drinking well now but should go another 5 years.  Nice on its own, this will work well with many foods.  It would be great with Rotisserie Chicken.  

This is a blend of 50% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga Nacional, 10% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from Portugal.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is lighter with cherries, some spice, and a slight chocolate note.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Fresher on the palate with cherries and black cherries.  Moderate finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work nicely with meat or fowl dishes.  A nice choice with Chili.  Drink over the next three to five years.

This is 100% Alicante Bouschet.  Purple in color with ruby and some blue swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with boysenberries, black cherries, spice, and slight vanilla notes.  Medium to firm tannins.  Full bodied.  Well balanced.  On the palate, black raspberries, black cherries and char.  Long finish.  This is a robust wine that drinks well on its own and can hold up to big (and spicy) foods.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

40% Aragonez, 30% Alicante Bouschet, 20% Trincadeira, and 10% Castelao.  Purple/ruby/blue in color, mostly opaque although slightly flat.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, spice and slight char.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, black raspberries, anise and char.  Good finish.  This is a very solid wine that is drinking well now.  It is a great value.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  A nice mid-week pizza wine, this should work well with meats or fowl or even roasted veggies.  

This is a blend of 58% Grand Noir, 22% Trincadeira and 20% Aragonês (Tempranillo) made in amphora from Portugal.  Purple/ruby in color, flat and partially opaque.  The nose has some red fruit qualities with spice and tobacco.  Light to medium bodied with lighter tannins.  On the palate, a bit more alive.  Tart cherries with a bit of a cough drop finish.  I have had this wine before and it seems this wine or at least this bottle is just past prime at this point.  Probably best to look for younger vintages as this is usually a nice wine and a great value.  

This is a blend of 75% Arinto and 25% Verdelho.  Light golden in color with  yellow hues.  The nose has citrus (tangerine?), wax and slight floral notes.  Light bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, tangerine, pith and slight peach.  This is nice on its own but better with food.  It would go well with lighter foods and sea food.  Scallops would work well.  Drink over the next five years.  

The grape Antão Vaz is believed to be native to Portugal and definitely thrives here in warm dry climates, and is one of the most common grapes in this region. Here it delivers a light, clean and bright acidity leading into lychee, light lemon-lime, guava, apricot, mild resin, wildflower, and lemon candied almonds. The beauty of a good white wine is that the acidity makes it appropriate for a diversity of foods, and this 2021 has an abundance of acidity to work with lighter dishes as well as heavier meals.