Tag Archives: Touriga Nacional

Vale do Bomfim 2006 Douro

October 9, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

Bomfim_bottleshot As sales of Port have been trending downward, many Port houses are using a portion of their grapes to produce red table wines. I like Port, but I drink it maybe a couple times a year and almost always at a restaurant by the glass. So I love this trend. I love that they use indigenous grapes that are rarely found elsewhere. I love that they aren’t 15% alcohol monsters. And I love the price point – most are under $15.

Let’s see if this one is a winner.

Producer: Symington Family Estates (Dow’s)

Grapes: 40% Touriga Franca, 25% Tinta Roriz (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo), 20% Tinta Barroca, and 15% Touriga Nacional.

Appellation: Douro Valley DOC (Portugal)

Vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim (profile) & Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira (profile). Schist soils and hillside vineyards.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation, then 9 months in a mix of French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $10-12

My tasting notes: Inky dark color – near opaque. Nose of dark fruit, oak and dried flowers. (Both Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional are noted for producing wines with floral qualities). A bit green and stemmy, but not in an unpleasant way. Rich blackberry and cherry flavors with leather, mineral and chocolate notes and chewy, spicy tannins. Maybe a bit on the rustic side. A lengthy finish.

Overall assessment: This is an enjoyable red for those who don’t require exuberant fruit. While there is a richness to this wine, and it’s certainly not austere, it’s not what I think most people would consider fruit-forward (note the lower alcohol, too). I liked it and would like to try it again with more time in bottle. B-

Free association: I normally don’t use photos of the vineyards in my “free association” spot. I like to be less literal. But the Douro is such freaking beautiful vineyard land, that’s what my mind goes to when I think of these wines. Feast your eyes…

Dows_Bomfim_VineyardTerraces Dows_BomfimWalls

Dows_Senhora-da-Ribeira_Vineyard

(Photos from the Dow’s website.)

More info:

Other bloggers reviews of this wine (all liked it): The Wine Curmudgeon, The Grape Crusader, The Wine Skinny, Red White and Food, The O’Neill Review. Also a few reviews at Cork’d and CellarTracker.

A discussion of the 2006 vintage in the Douro (and at Bomfim in particular) by Paul and Charles Symington at JancisRobinson.com

The producer’s tech sheet.

“Portugal: The California of Europe” – Interesting marketing from PortugalWines, a promotional organization for Portuguese wines in the US. Isn’t it usually the US producers comparing latitudes with famous European wine regions?

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Vina Robles RED4 2007 Paso Robles

September 29, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 3 Comments

VinaRoblesRed4_label This wine had a lot of “shelf appeal” for me. First off it’s from Paso Robles and it’s got the vineyard named on the label. Yippee! Then I see that it’s a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tannat and Touriga Nacional. Geek-tastic!

Producer: Vina Robles

Grapes: 51% Petite Sirah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat, 2% Touriga Nacional

Appellation: Paso Robles

Vineyard: Huerhuero – an estate vineyard (cool map here)

[from the winery] Huerhuero Vineyard occupies a rolling terrain on the southeast border of Paso Robles, with largely south-facing slopes that reach a maximum elevation of 1,200 feet. This location is a crossroads for marine air entering the region from both the Templeton Gap and Salinas Valley. The soils are shallow, shifting from clay loam to sandy loam, with rocky calcareous subsoils—a well-drained composition that naturally tames vine vigor. The main soil types are the Nacimiento – Los Osos and the Arbuckle – Positas complex. A tight vine spacing of 6 by 4 feet in several blocks creates root competition and also controls vigor. The result is smaller vines, with balanced canopies and small, intensely flavored grapes.

Winemaking/aging: “up to” 14 months in 1-2 year old French oak

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $14

My tasting notes: This wine leads with bright red and blue fruit on nose, with some meaty/gamey aromas. On the palate, the fruit gets deeper and darker (blackberries, black cherries) with a steely/mineral quality that makes me think “old world” momentarily. Some oak and drying tannins on the back, but smooth overall considering the grapes involved.

Overall impression: This is definitely a wine I would buy again. Plenty here for everybody. It’s got gobs of fruit, but plenty of natural structure as well. Very solid. Plus it’s got fun grapes. B

Free association: I don’t know why but… Darth Tater (dark, but cheery?)

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet (all their wines are in one pdf so you have to scroll down to find this wine)

Other blogger viewpoints at: Wine Peeps (score only: 2.5 stars), Young Winos of LA (scroll down), Wine and Cheese and Wherever You Are.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Quinta do Valdoeiro 2005 Bairrada

June 25, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

Portuguese red table wines are a fast-growing category. I’m drawn to them because of all the indigenous grape varieties that you don’t find elsewhere, like this bottle which is a blend of Baga (the most widely planted red grape in Bairrada) and Touriga Nacional. Both are small-berried varieties that produce high tannin levels.

Note: the specifications below are from the bottle labels, but it doesn’t all match up with what’s on the spec sheet from the producer’s website. Most notably, the spec sheet says there is Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Producer: Vinhos Messias — Quinta do Valdoeiro Quinta do Valdoeiro 2005 Bairrada

Grapes: 50% Baga, 50% Touriga Nacional

Appellation: Bairrada (Portugal)

Vineyards: Clay soils

Aging: 6 months in French oak

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: I paid $11.40 at Spec’s in Austin

My Tasting Notes: Good dark color. On the nose, I get lots of cherry and dark fruit notes with a good dose of sweet oak. A couple of times, I catch a Windex-like aroma, but it’s not persistent. It’s pretty juicy in the mouth with the cherry/berry elements carrying through and a bit of a green/herbal aspect sneaking in. Nice tannic grip at the end (those small, thick-skinned grape varieties) and a nicely lingering finish. With the dark fruit and the oak and the tannin, this wine acts a bit like a BIG wine, but it doesn’t feel big and heavy in the mouth. And at 12.5% with good acid, this makes a fine little wine for weeknight fare (like tonight’s stuffed bell peppers).

Grade: I’ll be buying more of this. B

Free association:

grand cru geekery