Marquesa da Alorna Reserva das Pedras Tinta Miúda 2019

 Having been back in Portugal I have experienced how a different social wine culture can influence your global experience as a tourist with a special gastronomic focus.

I was deeply impressed with how you could simply get reasonable and totally acceptable wine wherever you went, contrasting with most experiences that I have from northern Germany where you often get overpriced wine that I often refuse to drink. 

Working at a wine shop that regularly sells wine to different restaurants, it is almost painful to see what we sell and how it is further sold after being applied the four times the price rule in what is locally seen as the only way to make it slightly profitable to sell wine.

 This leads to normal guests thinking that a 25€ wine at a restaurant is a medium class wine which is, in fact,  an entrance level or even bulk wine. The price of  a 0,2l glass often goes around 6€.

I do am conscious that Germany has a different life standard than Portugal, but that does not explain what I consider being a rip off that kicks many new customers out of wine.  This is an issue that has been simply and effectively explained by unPINNED in this video.

Anyway, there are two major highlights from my latest experience that I would like to refer to. 

The first one, the Swaad restaurant in Porto.  Being a southern Indian restaurant, they have presented a more than acceptable wine offer with really good prices that make you consider having a glass of a rich white Douro along with your meal in a broadening experience to your meal. 

The second one, the opening of a really good wine shop in Santarém, where I originally come from. Coming from a wine region does not directly mean that you have access to really interesting wines as it is always more dependent on the customer's wishes.  

With the possibility of both buying bottles to take home or to simply have a glass of wine there, I was confronted with an exciting selection of wines that made me regret not having spent more time there. Maybe my bank account is thankful for that, but still.

My highlight goes to a wine that I have been looking for for a long time. 

The Tinta Miúda from Marquesa da Alorna grown in pebbles soil similar to what you can find in the Rhone is a bloody and wild wine dominated by lively black fruits aromas was the perfect match for a lamb stew from Taberna do Quinzena. What fascinated me the most was how it has both matched the heavy meal with an elegant body allied to a refreshing acidity that conferred it a tremendous freshness never tiring your palate. 

It is somehow a wine that can both match the traditional and new drinkers of wine.

This is the kind of wine that I do not hesitate to share with friends and show that the Tejo region also produces amazing things that need a higher visibility and recognition.If you can get hold of a bottle, do not hesitate: Get it and enjoy it!

18,5/20
Country: Portugal
Region: Tejo 
Grapes: Tinta Miúda
13,5%
Winemaker:  Martta Rita Simoes

Website: https://alorna.pt/en/produto/tinta-miuda/