Wine Fictions

 When a product is particularly cheap Germans often use the expression "it's a fair price" to refer to it.  Being a non native German speaker, the question that often invades me is : Fair to whom? To the farmer? To the winemaker? To the transport people? To me who is selling you the bottle, to the labeling team, the marketing, the pickers, and the list could go on almost without an end. Certain is just that this expression annoys me to an unimaginable extent. The answer is quite obvious that it is fair for the customer as it gives them the feeling of saving money. This is quite common among older customers and even though I almost tend to see it as a generational thing, it still annoys me whenever a wine is described as having a fair price. Having recently been in Portugal, I came across A Talha wine shop in Sines. Strategically located close to the Arts Centre it is a more than pleasant surprise as soon as you get in. Very discreet from the outside but a guaranteed wine...

 Tasted in a particularly nice atmosphere  in the middle of an evening dominated by Italian wines, this Portuguese Petit Verdot from the Alentejo region has stood out to me due to its deep body and tremendous complexity revealing some green herbal notes allied to pleasant tertiary flavours such as coffee and tobacco leafs.  Even though it is a thirteen year old wine, it has still shown some vibrant acidity revealing that it is still fit for some more years in the bottle.  Still, there was a question which has assaulted me yesterday: how much of the taste of the wines was influenced by the fact that they were being drunk in the cellar of an iconic historical building surrounded by bottles charmingly stored in cages? The attention and knowledge of the person responsible for our group also played an important role in the general atmosphere of the evening.  I am often confronted with customers who can swear that the exactly same wine tasted absolutely different in a...

Let me go straight to the subject: this is an absolutely amazing wine and probably one of the best ones I have come across in these last times. Dense but at the same time silky delicate and intense without losing its freshness it is a fascinating wine from the first to the last drop, reflecting a very particular terroir at the foothills of the Sao Mamede mountain giving it a completely different structure than the one you often find in other Alentejo wines.        While drinking it I had a light feeling of drinking something dark and profound as if it was blood. This was probably due to its intense minerality allied with seducing notes of black pepper, but I am finding words not good enough to describe the whole complexity of the experience I had.   Being so, I can only recommend each of the readers of these words to try it! Over and over. With it I would recommend the irreverent and hilarious poetry of Shel Silverstein which keeps on renewing my love for i...

In order to celebrate the 100th birthday of one of the most iconic Portuguese singers of the 20th century, Adega Mayor has made a special edition of 3 bottles with illustrations by three Portuguese illustrators. Having a neighbour for dinner the other day, I have decided to open the one with the illustrations by Tiago Albuquerque (the first one on the left).  After some polite comments about the label and how southern Europeans tend to be more aesthetical than northern Germans and being truly interested when I have told him that this wine belongs to a coffee company, the time has finally came to open it. Its vivid red colour has also seduced my guest from the very beginning and its intensive and somehow fresh taste of red berries and light  tobacco and leather notes was the perfect match for an Autumn risotto with mushrooms and pumpkin.  Even if it has not impressed me as much as some other wines from the same winery (such as their marvellous Reserva or the fascinating Vi...

 As I have started drinking wine in a more conscious way I soon came across Paulo Laureano's name and his work. By exclusively using and believing in the capacities of autochthonous grapes Paulo Laureano has grown to be  one of the major references in the Portuguese wine-making scene.  This organic old vines is a faithful reflection of the terroir where it was created, revealing dense and intense red fruits with a small hint of coffee. With its  dark red colour and tremendous long ending it is a rather voluptuous wine with a strong gastronomic side,  inviting to try the gastronomy of Alentejo such as Iberian pork or hard cheeses with long maturation time. One thing which has surprised me in this wine was its incredible freshness and somehow livelihood. Sometimes it seemed as if you were drinking a young wine full of character but with the a long and persistent ending revealing its age and development. The best of both worlds, I would say. With it I recommend the...

 From one of the most exciting wine producers in Portugal there is this Dois Terroirs which, has the name reveals, is a mix of both continental and oceanic climates. These two terroirs are, in fact, not too far away from each other and express one of the things I find fascinating about Portuguese wines: you can have a huge variety of climates inland due to its large sea front and the mountains which cut most of the Atlantic breeze.  This was probably the reason that made the Danish Hans and the American Carrie Jorgensen move to Portugal and start a pretty successful wine project in the country.   With a strong design which is easily recognizable they have managed to establish a continuity in the market due to the quality of their wines and its visual impact.  But how important can design be? It is true that the eyes also buy and the aesthetics of a bottle can, in fact, play an important role. When I was back at the university in Lisbon, I had a friend who have s...

 One of the main doubts that invades me before opening a bottle of wine is whether this unique time that I am doing it is the right one. Being a "Reserva" this question is even more dramatic. To be properly done, I should have read something about the wine before, know what the enologue recommends, make my own calculations about the time when it was produced and what sort of storage have I given to the wine. Even though it sounds rather complicated, it is, in fact, quite an easy and even agreeable thing to do.  My major weakness in the whole process is an uncontrollable wish to open the bottle whenever I start digging information about it, ignoring some of the major advises to do it later.  And that is exactly what happened with this Poliphonia. When I have started reading the whole historical background offered by the company on the wine description, along with some good information about the enologue, it just happened that the bottle ended up open. And soon I realized t...

One of the words to describe wine that I listen the most whenever I go to wine tastings in Germany is: "uncomplicated". I have to confess that it took me quite a while to understand the full meaning of it. Maybe it was due to my shameful German knowledge. My first impression was, anyway, that it was tremendously appreciated by most people around. Being rather stubborn and curious, I have started paying particular attention to the moment where the word "unkompliziert" was used. When I finally thought that I knew what it could mean, I have used it in a tasting and I had everyone looking at me in pure shock, till the sommelier who was organizing the evening said: "oh, he's Portuguese." The other guests looked at me as if I have just came out of space and the tasting proceeded without any further incidents. I kept on working on finding out what could this word mean for most Germans and, after almost five years from this small episode that I have shared, ...

For many years Alentejo has been a synonym for extremely harsh wines, with strong tannins which made them incredibly bitter  and corky in the mouth and with a strong presence of alcohol in them.  This stereotype has long been abandoned, if ever true at all, and there have been some pretty exciting developments in the last twenty years as some small producers have been entering the market with pretty good wines that challenge and break this stereotypes as well as challenge the traditional quality wine producers. A good example of that is this Rafeiro. It is an incredible fresh and young wine, with strong notes of berries allied with some chocolate, revealing an intense and unique character.  It is quite an uncomplicated wine to drink both solo or along with some meat dishes or stronger cheeses. It is also interesting the mix of both Portuguese and foreign grapes, which gets mirrored in its extraordinary balance. And all this without forgetting to assume itself ...

Having some difficulties which wine would better match the codfish I had prepared for dinner, I have decided to ask my 3-year-old daughter to help me.  These sort of decisions often need a mix of uninterested and impartial amount of luck to come to a safe port. When seeing the bottle of Monte da Peceguina, there was no doubts as she promptly exclaimed: Oh papa, you have bought my favourite wine!! Decided to take this as a sign, I have put the other bottle away and opened it while she kept on looking at the butterfly of the label with a smile in her mouth. What for a better way to open a bottle, than with a smile? In the nose we are allowed to feel quite an impressive bouquet of berries along with some exotic scents such as liquorice. In the mouth this suggestion consubstantiates and it is quite a fresh wine despite its 14,5%. Strong fruits and a long ending, making me recall the long ends of the day from Alentejo. It was quite a perfect combination for some codfish cooked...

There's some wine producers whose personality arises in us a tremendous curiosity to come across their wines. After having seen and read a couple of interviews with Miguel Louro, that was exactly what happened to me. His image of enfant terrible , irreverent and witty has awoken my curiosity and made start looking for his wines and how to have them in Germany. The first one I tried was this Vinha do Mouro, which is his entry-level for red wines. Even though I expected something a bit more complex and matured, I was positively surprised by quite some freshness and strong berries fruits which made it a pretty interesting wine, full of character. Even though there is a mix of autochthonous and foreign grapes, I dare to say that it is quite a strong translation of the terroir where it comes from. I would even define it as a rather temperamental wine, asking for some strong stews and rather spicy food. If there are wines which are the image of its creators, this is definitel...

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...