VINEgeek

As sales of Port have been trending downward, many Port houses are using a portion of their grapes to produce red table wines. I like Port, but I drink it maybe a couple times a year and almost always at a restaurant by the glass. So I love this trend. I love that they use indigenous grapes that are rarely found elsewhere. I love that they aren’t 15% alcohol monsters. And I love the price point – most are under $15.

Let’s see if this one is a winner.

Producer: Symington Family Estates (Dow’s)

Grapes: 40% Touriga Franca, 25% Tinta Roriz (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo), 20% Tinta Barroca, and 15% Touriga Nacional.

Appellation: Douro Valley DOC (Portugal)

Vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim (profile) & Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira (profile). Schist soils and hillside vineyards.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation, then 9 months in a mix of French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $10-12

My tasting notes: Inky dark color – near opaque. Nose of dark fruit, oak and dried flowers. (Both Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional are noted for producing wines with floral qualities). A bit green and stemmy, but not in an unpleasant way. Rich blackberry and cherry flavors with leather, mineral and chocolate notes and chewy, spicy tannins. Maybe a bit on the rustic side. A lengthy finish.

Overall assessment: This is an enjoyable red for those who don’t require exuberant fruit. While there is a richness to this wine, and it’s certainly not austere, it’s not what I think most people would consider fruit-forward (note the lower alcohol, too). I liked it and would like to try it again with more time in bottle. B-

Free association: I normally don’t use photos of the vineyards in my “free association” spot. I like to be less literal. But the Douro is such freaking beautiful vineyard land, that’s what my mind goes to when I think of these wines. Feast your eyes…

(Photos from the Dow’s website.)

More info:

Other bloggers reviews of this wine (all liked it): The Wine Curmudgeon, The Grape Crusader, The Wine Skinny, Red White and Food, The O’Neill Review. Also a few reviews at Cork’d and CellarTracker.

A discussion of the 2006 vintage in the Douro (and at Bomfim in particular) by Paul and Charles Symington at JancisRobinson.com

The producer’s tech sheet.

“Portugal: The California of Europe” - Interesting marketing from PortugalWines, a promotional organization for Portuguese wines in the US. Isn’t it usually the US producers comparing latitudes with famous European wine regions?