For now, let me show you a brilliant red wine from Algarve, the sunniest wine region of Portugal.
This Grace Vineyard red wine was produced by Quinta dos Vales (find my wine tour notes in one of my posts before).
This red is an amazing blend of three grape varieties: Aragonês, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, growing on clay-limestone soil, from the vintage 2014, which year was good overall, but there were some problems in Europe where much of the summer was marked by dank and humid conditions. Nonetheless, there are some fantastic wines available from that year and this regional red one is a perfect example of this.
The grapes were harvested manually, then cooled down to a temperature of 5˚C and selected by hand the next day, which was followed by their destemming and crushing. The maceration and fermentation processes happened in stainless steel vats under a controlled temperature of 20-24°C, with a subsequent aging period of 12 months in new French oak barrels.
The wine presents a deep garnet color with little copper hues.
On the nose, intense spicy notes with aromas of jammy, ripe black forest fruits, blackcurrant, blackberries, oak, cinnamon and black pepper.
On the palate, nice balance between the grape flavors. Velvety tannins with smooth acidity, rounded by flavors of chocolate and coffee. A full-bodied wine complemented by some smoky and vanilla notes.
Needs to breathe to bring out its flavor but after some air, a nice array of scents and a great, elegant Algarve drink. A complex wine with a smooth, persistent finish.
Consume this wine at 16-18 °C of temperature.
Pairing well with darker meats and exotic spices, lamb, gyros, steak or Indian tandoori, and goes well also with blue cheese like Stilton.
This multi-awarded red wine has 8-10 years of aging potential, so it is still perfect for consumption now. Really a wonderful dry wine from Algarve!
Do not miss it!
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