Wine Fictions

The label promised  the offer of a "genuine and seductive production wines with a contemporary style". I have to confess that I was rather intrigued by what it could mean. Living in Germany and having contact with German producers and wine sellers has given me quite some different perspectives on what words to describe wine can mean. The only way to find it out was to open it and let it accompany the beginning of the asparagus season. The first contact with it was already promising:  A nice garnet colour and a rich scent of berries have set me in the perfect mood to what was to come. In the mouth it was both fruity and fresh but also with a very balanced and round body with a slight wooden taste.  The intense berries taste was amazing, revealing all the potential of Touriga Nacional. A wine full of potential with a strong gastronomic character. To embody even more this experience, I would recommend the short story Mini-Marts by Martin Avery. Enjoy it! ...

Coming back to a wine that we have drunk many years ago can, somehow, be similar to revisiting a good friend after many years apart. The last time I had a Monte da Peceguina was, as far as I remember, back in 2009. How many things can change in such a long time? It was exactly to find that out that I was looking for when I have decided to order this wine again and try it as soon as the sun threatened to shine in Hamburg. When I saw its bright yellow colour in my glass I have, for brief instants, feared whether my positive memories of it would still prevail. After the first sip it was like the magic moment when you find out that you still have something in common with that old friend you haven't seen for such a long time. Its rich floral bouquet along with a good structure typical of the Alentejo wines,  makes it a perfect match for Mediterranean dishes, inspiring you to reach new sensorial experiences. Very good acidity and full bodied wine which have invited me to go...

If labels are an important part of the wine business, then Niepoort's ones are definitely some of the best I have seen around. Somehow, they have performed a small revolution in Portuguese wine labelling since they have hired one of the most famous Portuguese cartoonists, Luís Afonso, to do their "Diálogo" label in 2005. This Rótulo, with artwork by João Noutel ,  is not an exception.  Beautifully done graphically it works as a perfect appetizer for what is inside the bottle. The first thing that has called my attention in this wine was its intense smell of berries which later develop to some more exquisite ones like cinnamon or coffee. In the mouth it is a vigorous and fresh wine, revealing its youth and power in a well balanced structure. It is a bit softer than most wines from the Dão region but still full of character. Perfect to drink now and enjoy the still cold nights of this beginning of Spring. 16 / 20 Country: Portugal Region: Dão Grapes: Tou...

As a pure and instinctive reaction to the promising start of Spring in Hamburg, I have decided to open this white Falua from the Tejo region. Being made from Arinto and Verdelho it is an incredibly soft and fresh wine already calling for long Summer days. Its floral notes remind me of some Vinhos Verde, making it a perfect pair for pasta dishes and sea food. One good explanation for it can be the fact that the vineyards are planted in pebble covered soil, enriching the wine's minerality. Definitely a pure and uncomplicated joy for sunny days. Taken in account the endless plains of the south of the river Tejo I recommend William Wordsworth's Lines Written in Early Spring to read along with a glass of Falua: I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind. To her fair works did Nature link The human soul that through me ran; And much it grieved my heart to thin...

Which best way can there be to know a wine grape you don't know than to drink a mono-varietal? I have to confess that I can not control a certain sort of anxiety when I come across a new grape I have never heard of. In this case, it was Vinhão .  After reading a couple of articles about it, I soon realized that I may have tried it in some Douro blends, but never in a significant proportion that I could make my mind about it. The opportunity came with this Aphros 2018, produced by Vasco Croft, one of the main promoters of biodynamic wine in Portugal. In their website, there's quite some useful informations about the philosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner applied to agriculture. Being a vinho verde, it was not a surprise to feel some great fruity tastes, incredibly fresh in the palate and slightly sparkling.  It was also pretty interesting to notice how the wine has developed throughout the days that I had it opened, getting a bit more consistent and solid, revealing ...

 There are moments when our palate starts anticipating what is going to come with the first sip. Having achieved 91 points by the Wine Enthusiast and being considered Best of the Year by one of my favourite wine critics, João Paulo Martins,  the expectation I have created around this Port was enormous. I know how dangerous it can be to create such sort of expectations, but there is also some  beauty on it. After having got it home I felt again like a small child  waiting for Christmas presents. In order to exponentiate this experience, I have waited a couple of days to open it, having it strategically put in a table close to my dinner table. A constant guard both tempting and watching every step of mine. As silly as this may sound, I have to confess that the moment of opening it has started being involved in some sort of special aura.  When would it be the perfect moment for it? After  raising such expectations, I have finally decided to move forw...

Now that Spring is trying to break through the cloudy city of Hamburg, I've decided to open this Somontes, Vinha das Dualhas from the Dão region. Strong, with intense fruit taste, it is a perfect wine for the incessant bird singing that has invaded my days, inviting for nice pasta plates and strong cheeses. Or as Robert Burns has put it: Ye flowery banks o' bonie Doon,          How can ye blume sae fair? How can ye chant, ye little birds,          And I sae fu' o' care? Thou'll break my heart, thou bonie bird,          That sings upon the bough; Thou minds me o' the happy days,          When my fause love was true. Thou'll break my heart, thou bonie bird,          That sings beside thy mate; For sae I sat, and sae I sang,   ...

Each wine enclosures in itself uncountable stories. Some of them are made public by its producers, some other remain secret and will circulate in intimate circles till it will be, eventually, forgotten. Some are just purely personal to the anonymous mass who drinks them and are often not connected to its production, but to the moments we've lived while drinking it. It is a perfect symbiosis of life and experiences that enrich forever our wine experience. For some years now, I had a café in Hamburg where Duvalley along with other wines from the FTP  (which was, in the meanwhile, bought by Tavfervinhos) were available. One night, during a poetry reading, the police was called because of the noise Seeing that there was no reason for them to be there, they asked me kindly to come out and have a talk with them without disturbing the clients. After a while they just asked me to get my ID and I went inside the café to get it. When I came out again,  one of the regular clients...