A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Franca. This is an easy drinking red from Portugal. It retails for around $10. Ruby in color. The nose is a bit dusty with candied cherries. On the palate, this is sweet, jammy and candied. This retails for around $10, so its fine, but this is a wine, for casual wine lovers. It's not meant to be cellared or contemplative.
Light silvery gold in color. The nose has some lemon/lime but is mostly mineral driven. On the palate, there is a nice spritz to this. Drinking well right now. Very food friendly but nothing heavy. This retail for around $8 which is a nice value.
Light golden in color. A nice spritz on pouring. Deeper nose. All about minerality and crushed shells. On the palate, there is a slight spritz. Minerals. Very dry lemon-lime notes. Quite food friendly. Would work great with seafood. Nice finish. This really does beg for food. This retails for under $12 which is a good value.
This is made from the Loureito grape. Green/silvery/gold in color. The nose is steely with a nice lemony quality. Just a bit of tropical fruit. On the palate, this is slightly oily. Light bodied. Good acidity. Just the faintest bit of spritz on it, especially the finish. This retails for under $10 and is a great value. Perfect for sipping before dinner or with lighter foods. Drink in the next year or two.
From Portugal, a source of some of the best values in red table wine today. This is an equal parts blend of Tinta Barroca, Touriga France, and Tinta Roriz. It retails for $10. Purple in color. The nose is dusty with boysenberry fruit. On the palate, this has medium tannins. Black cherries and raspberry fruit. Some underlying dry earth. Good balance. Will work with a wide variety of foods but also as a nice wine on its own. Great for parties.
A birthday/birth year wine. Iced tea in color. The nose is nice with nuts, orange peel, and slight chocolate note. On the palate, this is a bit nutty with some alcohol showing. Good acidity. Complex layering. Long finish. Like all 1958's, this is not quite mature but doing quite well. ;-)
Pop and pour, this may have benefited from a decant. From a 375ml. Purple in color. The nose has black cherries, some dust and a bit of chocolate. On the palate, the black cherries and chocolate carry thru. Nice texture. Finishes a bit hot but that was saved by serving it with vegan salted caramel pecan ice cream and a brownie. Over all this is very good if not at the top level of vintage ports.
Grahams is one of the top Port Houses. Stylistically, it is usually one of the sweeter Ports of those top houses. 2003 was a very hot year in Europe. Oddly enough, that meant many of the wines either got too ripe or they vines shut down and the resulting wines did not have enough stuffing. This wine is in the former category. How that plays out depends on your personal tastes. Deep purple in color. The nose is jammy with black raspberries and black raspberry candy. On the palate, the jammy candied quality continues. Lots of black raspberry fruit. Not a ton of depth but some. Some
Vinho Verdes provide crisp, refreshing wines at minimal costs. They aren't made to last so buy them young. This one was being closed out at $8 and that is a great price but drink them this summer as they are already starting to fade a bit. Light golden in color. The nose is steely with some tropical fruit. Actually, gooseberries is pretty accurate along with a bit of mango. On the palate, there is a bit of a sweet/sour thing going on. Some residual sugar with tart acidity. As is typical, there is a slight spritz to it. It lacks a bit of that bright freshness that was probably prese
Mostly ruby in color though a bit of amber mixed in. The nose has cherries, alcohol and aroasted herb note. On the palate, cherries and black licorice. Slightly clipped on the finish. There is a touch of warmth but not heat. A bit sweet but just a bit. Went well with a cigar at the end of the night.
