Introduce yourself to Portugal's reds - Gannett News Service

[Mario Ferreira]

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 8/1145/ENT

Wine Column: Introduce yourself to Portugal's reds

By Frank and Kate Sutherland
Gannett News Service - Lafayette, West Lafayette, Indiana

Portugal's most famous wines are, of course, ports. While many people are familiar with the fortified red dessert wines that put the country on the wine map, most have never tried Portuguese dry red wines.

That's a shame. Portuguese wines offer a rustic Old World style that is rapidly disappearing in the globalized wine community. Producers follow the traditional winemaking methods of the country.

They use indigenous grapes such as touriga nacional and tinta roriz - the same as in ports - to produce wines that typically have dry tannins and medium body.

The results are distinct wines that reflect their origins. So if you're in the mood to get out your cabernet sauvignon rut, look for something from Portugal. Our panel compared five:

Wine of the week:

2004 Prazo de Roriz Douro.
- Price: $19.99.
- Aroma: Reminded us of cinnamon toast, caramel, butterscotch, herbs, plums and blood-orange reduction.
- Palate: Sweet plums and strawberries up front, followed by dried herbs and juniper mid-palate. The finish was perfumed.
- Verdict: This wine had the richest nose, backed up by a juicy, ripe palate. It was our favorite wine in the tasting.

How the others stacked up

2003 Altano Douro.
- Price: $9.99.
- Aroma: Fruit oriented, with ripe blackberries and other sweet fruit, roses and eucalyptus.
- Palate: Somewhat thin texture with notes of coffee. It had a savory finish.
- Verdict: This wine had a fruit-driven nose, but was quite lean in the mouth. It was our second favorite.

2000 Vinhos Sogrape Reserva.
- Price: $15.99.
- Aroma: The nose was predominantly tobacco with leather, sweet oak, black fruits such as fig and prunes, and minerals.
- Palate: Showed soft, silky tannins and a lingering finish of raisins and prunes.
- Verdict: The aroma was complex, and the dried fruits carried through to the palate.

2003 Cortello.
- Price: $9.99.
- Aroma: Scents of black olives, capers, matchstick and a hint of strawberry.
- Palate: Smoke, green peppers and strawberries.
- Verdict: Wine was lean (not as much fruit) in the mouth.

2001 Periquita.
- Price: $10.99.
- Aroma: Suggested strawberries and new rubber bands. The palate was bright and fresh with sweet strawberries and a bubblegum finish. This wine had the least oak. It reminded us of a Beaujolais. It was the freshest of the five.

[...]
Contact Frank Sutherland at The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville 37203, or e-mail fsutherland@tennessean.com. Frank and his daughter Kate Sutherland's wine-tasting group consists of representatives from the five wine distributors in Nashville, a wine collector, a restaurateur and Tennessean food writer Thayer Wine.

[Andy Velebil]

Thanks Mario,

I have had the 2002 Roriz and liked it, my TN is here on the forum. I will have to track down the '04 and give it a shot.