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WBW #38 Portuguese Table Wine

October 10, 2007
Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino set us to task as the hosts of WBW #38 this month to drink a Portuguese table wine. We were to avoid Port for sure, and if we could, choose a wine that was not a Vinho Verde or from the Duoro region of Portugal. To me that is a mighty assignment, as I was soon to discover while I traipsed all over my corner of VA in desperate search of something different! I *believe* I've only ever consumed one wine, to my knowledge, from Portugal, and that was a Vinho Verde, with which I was very much underwhelmed. So it was with that in mind that I looked high and low, feeling a bit like Goldilocks as I said "No, that's Vinho Verde. No that's from Duoro." Until, finally, on Monday I got to say, "Yes! That one is just right!"

My find was made at UnWined, oddly enough where I also found my first (and only) Vinho Verde. The bottle I chose, out of the 3 they had that weren't Port, Vinho Verde, or from Duoro, was a 2002 Qunita da Mimosa Red Wine. I don't think you can get much more "Table Wine" like than a "Red Wine." It hails from the Fernando Po Zone of the Palmela DOC. The wine is made of Castelao grapes, known locally as the Periquita grape. The wine cost me $16.99, had a real cork closure and clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume. I chose it for a couple reasons, one is very superficial, in that it had a purple label and my favorite color is purple, and the other being that it was the last lonely bottle of its kind hanging out on the shelf and I felt bad for it. I have never claimed to be logical in my wine selections!

On the nose I found tart cherries and a bit of alcohol with a slight medicinal note at first. That blew off fairly quickly to reveal a wine with a lot going on in the aroma. I got sour cherries, red fruit, currants, and pie spices. I will be thankful that Matt went upstairs to read and left me with the bottle or I think the rest of the bottle would have been gone before I tore my nose away from the glass! In the mouth, lots of flavors burst through. I found tart tart cherries (and yes, I mean really tart), red berries, blackberries, and a slight sour note. Overall the wine was a bit tannic, but that faded as my glass set out. The fruit in my glass was very pronounced and fresh. I definitely recommend this bottle.

Thanks to Ryan and Gabriella for hosting and for getting me, once again, to try something completely different!

5 comments:

  1. foodette said...

    Interesting - I definitely want to try Portuguese wine now! Thanks for this post :)

    10/10/07, 3:39 PM  

  2. John Witherspoon said...

    wow, no vino verde, duoro, or port. holy cow that is hard. Give V V another try, because it is usually inexpensive and can taste pretty good. I love wines from Duoro and ports so I will have to try this one from the Palmela area. Also I have never had a wine from the Castelao grape.

    Nice post

    John

    10/10/07, 6:07 PM  

  3. Anonymous said...

    glad you finally found some Portuguese vino. Lord knows it was hard, even in LA...

    10/10/07, 9:58 PM  

  4. RougeAndBlanc said...

    Sonadora,
    So glad you tasted a Periquita from this producer. I want to know if it is a 100% Periquita?

    In NYC wine shops I frequented, the only Periquita I can find is a regular bottling made by Jose Maria Fonseca which is a blend of Periquita, Trincadeira and Tempranillo. I find this blend to be a bit artifical also. That is why I didn't use it for WBW.
    Andrew

    10/11/07, 11:33 AM  

  5. Sonadora said...

    Thanks for all the comments everyone, I would definitely recommend this wine.

    RougeandBlanc, I don't know. The bottle says it's made of Periquita grapes and it doesn't mention any others....

    10/14/07, 7:26 PM  

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