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An
undiscovered gem
from Portugal
A trilogy of fine whites upcoming at Vintages
Michael
Vaughan
Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
National Post • Saturday, April 28, 2001
I
have always been a fan of Portuguese table wine, not just because they
were inexpensive but also because they could be extremely delicious. For
my palate, they offer a wonderful alternative in terms of flavour and
style to most mainstream internationally styled supermarket wines.
Unfortunately,
it isn’t easy waxing poetic about these unknown wines. Sure it’s easy
to expound on the virtues of rarified Ports or Madeiras, which are on
everyone’s hit lists. But when I start talking about my passion for
everyday inexpensive Portuguese buys with some well-heeled wine buffs, I
get looks as if I had just come out of the closet! It never fails to amaze
me that some snobs would rather drink over-priced plonk with expensive
labels than decent wines they’ve never heard of.
For
those who aren’t fixated with labels, there’s no joy like uncovering a
new wine. And given the tremendous variety of Portuguese wines produced
from a vast expanse of generally unknown, traditional, indigenous grapes,
there’s a lot to discover. Fortunately, there has been a recent
revolution is winemaking and quality.
A
testimonial to this transformation is a tiny soft cover book entitled Jancis
Robinson tastes the best Portuguese table wines. Only 2,000 copies
of this book were produced in 1999 – not exactly a best seller. What
makes it special is Robinson’s candor and honesty, something that is
somewhat elusive in more popularized publications.
A
total of 224 wines were evaluated with a full page being devoted to each.
There were 50 whites tastes with only 3 scoring a high of 17 points (out
of 20). And guess what? One of those three wines will be released at next
Saturday’s Vintages release. Naysayers might think that they all did
well, but that isn’t the case. In fact, much to the chagrin of some
producers, scores of 5, 6 and 7 were recorded.
So
what is this wine? It’s from Palmela, which is spartanly described as an
“IPR in southern Portugal” in Robinson’s recently revised,
indispensable opus The
Oxford Companion to Wine. This is not an auspicious start. In
fact, Palmela is one of 32 Portuguese appellations (obviously not as well
known as Dao or the nearby Setúbal). It does, however, belong to a larger
regional designation known as Terras do Sado, which is located south of
Lisbon. While it produces a treasure trove of excellent reds (J.M. da
Fonseca’s excellent Quinta de Camarate is a classic example), some fine
whites are starting to emerge.
The
gem in question is J.P.
Vinhos 1998 Catarina Terras do Sado at only $12.80. It is
extremely deep yellow in colour with a complex, rich nose exuding buttered
toast, ripe pear and hints of clove. It’s dry and yet rounded on the
palate with rich, mouthfilling, apricot-pear purée flavours followed up
by a lingering finish. Mature and ready to drink – it’s a perfect
match for white meats and poultry.
Made
from Fernao Pires (70%), Tamarez and Rabo de Ovelha (5%) and Chardonnay
(20%), the grapes for this well-balanced white originated in the stony
soils of the 6-hectare Serra da Arrábida vineyard. This wine was first
introduced in 1982 and seems to get better as time goes by. Some 220 cases
are available at next Saturday’s Vintages release.
More
mainstream but still hard to sell is Gewurztraminer which exudes spicy,
seemingly sweet, honeysuckle, lychee and rose flavours. These tastes
aren’t for everyone. Worse yet, getting a decent one is always a
challenge. And so I am pleased to recommend a well-priced ($16.55) gem
from Alsace, which will tickle your fancy – Ruhlmann
1996 Gewurztraminer Vieilles Vignes. This is a terrific, albeit
slightly mature, example. It’s extremely perfumed, honeyed, lychee nose
carries over perfectly on the viscous palate, which is gently sweet with
lingering lychee flavours.
If
you are looking for a spicy, floral white but find Gewürz a little too
flavourful, then give Neil
Empson 1999 Bollini Pinot Grigio from Italy’s Trentino region
at only $11.75 a try. The nose is gently honeyed with some wildflower and
orange citrus notes – shades of Viognier! On the palate it is pleasantly
dry but rounded with medium-light bodied, faintly spicy, apricot-citrus
flavors that show good length. Versatile and approachable, this white is a
safe crowd-pleaser, which will work with pasta, poultry and seafood.
Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
(electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net