Portugal

• Alentejo
• Bairrada
• Dao
• Douro
• Madeira
• Pico
• Ribatejo
• Vinho Verde

This wine, at age 30, is just about at peak.  Beautiful wine.  Inky purple, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries and chocolate covered raisins.  Full bodied.  Sweet but not too.  On the palate, chocolate covered cherries.  Complex.  Delicious.  Long finish.  Slightly noticeable alcohol.  This should continue to drink well for at least another decade.  Great on its own, with a cigar, this will also work well with a chocolate dessert.  

These Rare Wine Historic series of Madeira are excellent and really great values, too.  Coffee color, clear and bright. The nose has burnt sugar, toffee, and orange zest. On the palate, this is slightly sweet. Nutty and toffee on the palate, with a menthol note. Warming but not hot. Good acidity. Good finish.  A bottle can be consumed over months once opened, so it makes for a nice late night sipper in a small glass.  It can be paired with a not too sweet dessert especially a nutty one.  Drink over the next 75 years.  :-)

This made for a nice after dinner sip.  Brown/iced tea in color with tinges of green, clear and bright.  The nose has raisins, slight toffee, slight oranges, and fruitcake.  Full bodied.   Viscous.  Just slightly sweet.  It does show some alcohol on the palate.  Also raisins, oranges and slight chocolate.  Long finish.  This should last a long, long time.  Let's say drink it over the next thirty years?  It worked well with a chocolate dessert but better on its own.  

Grahams is one of the top producers of Port.  It tends to be a bit more on the sweeter side than the other top houses.  At age 41, this may have lost a tad of that sweetness but is drinking quite well.  Decanted for sediment and allowed to breathe for about 40 minutes.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, chocolate, slight figs and a hint of walnut.

This had been opened for a few day but it is basically a single vintage tawny port, so it drank fine.  This was a new winery for me.  Deep iced tea color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nutty with a slight fig but also a quince/orange citrus.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nutty, quince, slight coffee.  Blind, I might have guessed Madeira.  Drinks well if not a lot of complexity.  This was good on its own but would work well with dried fruits or nuts.  

This a delicious blend from Portugal made up of Alicante Bouschet (60%),Trincadeira (20%), and Touriga Nacional (20%).  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, plums and slight black licorice.  A rich, velvety texture.  Firm tannins at the moment.  Black raspberries and also an interesting quality that has the taste of black raspberry seeds.  Long finish.  This may yet improve for the next five to seven years and should drink well for another five to seven after that.  This will work well with venison but also just a (veggie) burger off the grill.  An excellen

This red blend from Portugal is made from 35% Aragonez, 30% Trincadeira, 20% Alicante Bouschet, and 15% Syrah.  It is fermented in steel, stabilized and meant for immediate consumption.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is sweaty, dusty with red berries.  On the palate, the red berries come thru with a tart acidity.  Some char/smoky notes which is interesting (must be from the Syrah).  This is an easy wine to drink both on the palate, and on the wallet.  It will work better with food and would be a nice choice for a party with burgers or ribs off the gri

This is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Syrah, and Aragonez.  Very pale pink/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lots of cranberries with nice minerality.  With air, the nose expanded to have some strawberries and slight earthiness.  Good acidity.  Light bodied.  On the palate, raspberries and cranberries.  Tart.  Turning  more to strawberries with a slightly oily texture on the finish.  12.5%ABV but some warmth.  This will work better with lighter foods or seafoods but would work with a pizza too.  Drink over the next year.  

This is a blend of 40% Arinto, 30% Loureiro, and 30% Trajadura grapes that checks in a 9.5% ABV.  It is a light and delightful white wine that makes an easy start to the evening.  Light silvery gold in color.  The nose has minerals, limes, and slight honeydew.  A slight effervescence.  Very slight oily texture.  Nice acidity.  This probably should be drunk now to enjoy the spritz and vitality.  It drinks well on its own and will work with lighter salads and seafood.  

And, yet another great value in red table wine from the Douro in Portugal.  This is a field blend using vines over one hundred years old.  Deep garnet/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has plums, boysenberries, slight chocolate and char.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has boysenberry fruit with some underlying smoke/char.  Good balance.  This drinks great on its own and will work well with all but the lightest foods.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.