Wine of the week #31: Douro (Red/Portugal)

Hi all,




Another short week (yeahh!) and a Friday coming sooner than usual!
This week, I wanted to check out a Decanter 4-star rated Douro from Sainsbury's and under £10. And yes, it just about made it ;-p !

It is
A dry red wine made from Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca & Touriga Nacional from Douro in Portugal.


Expect
Appearance: medium ruby with purple tinges.
Nose: a lot of light floral aromas (violets), a bit spice and indistinct berry fruits. Very fragrant.
Palate: a very supple and smooth texture, fresh black & red berry fruits (blueberries) and hints of sweet spices. The wine first feels almost thin but aromas and the alcohol build and gently warm up in the palate to create a round but firm and structured wine. The finish is a little bit dry and more on the spice but with a good acidity and not unpleasant at all.


Score: 16.5/20 (taking into account price)


An elegant, smooth and fairly complex red wine with floral (violet), berry (blueberries) and sweet spice flavours for the price. Definitely a great buy!


You'll like it if you like: blueberries, sweet spices, a change from half sweet Aussie Shiraz.


Have it with: 
Herby lamb, grilled chicken or even a creamy red pesto pasta.


Find it:
Sainsburys - Taste the Difference Douro - £8.99 - See above.


Did you know?
> Douro is named after the river 'Duero' that goes from Spain into the Atlantic on the Portuguese side at Porto.


> Douro is also the region where Port is made. In fact, all the grapes is in this particular wine are the main grapes that make usually make up Port. Only half of the region's plantings is used for Port.
> Douro is one of the first and hence oldest wine region in the region to have an official delimitation. The Douro demarcation dates back from 1756. 


> There are about 100 different varieties allowed for the making of the Douro DO still wine.

The beautiful scenery with the Douro river
and the steep vineyard terraces along it.

> In Portugal, the DO (Denominacao de Origem) and the DOC (Denominacao de Origem Controlada) are the highest quality levels for wine and are very similar to the French AC and AOC appellations.


Enjoy your wine!!


:@lex 

Wine of the week #29: Merlot (Red/Chile)

Hi all,

Continuing on the top grapes, I have hunted down the Pub's favourite: Chilean Merlots. Four wines under £10, from £3.99 to £8.99 tasted blinded. And the winner is:

It is

A dry red wine made from Merlot grapes in Chile.

Expect

Appearance: deep ruby, sparse thick legs.

Nose: blackberries, black fruits, pepper and spices.

Palate: very fruit driven with red fruits (red currants, raspberries) with some sweet spices and hints of pepper too, medium bodied, warm pleasant alcohol, slight acidity imbalance and relatively long finish with some tannins but relatively fine-grained.

Score: 11/20 (not taking into account price)

You'll like it if you like: red plums, smooth-textured wines, easy drinking wines, relatively low structure and tannins, Beaujolais, young Tempranillo, standard Bordeaux.

Have it with

Almost anything? Merlot is one of the most versatile grape so try it 

I would recommend some bacon-wrapped chicken or a roasted pork belly. 

Where to find it & scores

1) Laithwaites - The Patriots - £6.99 - See above. 11/20

2) Tesco - Frontera - £6.99 - More complexity (fruits & layers of tobacco) but shorter finish and slightly sticky tannins. 10/20

3) Waitrose - Montgras - £8.99 - Beautiful bottle, smooth wine but slightly sticky tannins and shorter finish. 9/20

4) Tesco - Chilean Merlot - £3.99 - Confected fruit on the nose, easy to drink but bland. 5/20

Did you know?

> DNA research has proven to be the progeny of cabernet franc and another still unknown grape variety.

> Merlot is a black grape that is relatively easy to grow: it ripens easily and produce high yields.

> Merlot can be found in moderate climates (e.g. Bordeaux, Italy) where it tends to produce red fruit driven medium-bodied wines and in hot climates (Chile, South Africa, California) where the black fruit and alcohol dominates.

> In Saint Emilion and Pomerol wines, Merlot is the dominant grape variety, which gives its generally smoother and fruitier flavours.

> There is a white merlot variety which is not a mutation of the black merlot and is still grown in very low quantity in Bordeaux.

Whatever wine you drink this weekend, enjoy your wine!

:@lex