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Tag Archives: alentejo

Julio Bastos Dona Maria Gran Reserva 2015, Alentejo, Portugal

06 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by caspernick in Wine

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$45, 5 stars, 93 points, alentejo, Alicante Bouschet, portugal, VWTC


Second wine up at the 24th Virtual tasting was a Portuguese blend that had 50% Alicante Bouschet- a new varietal to the group.  A deep garnet color, this wine was showing a touch of age.  On the nose we got blueberry, tobacco, licorice, loads of black cherry, some funk and oak influence by way of smoke, creosote, vanilla, charcoal, chocolate and cedar- our tasting group is that sensitive!

The palate was super smooth with silky tannins, loads of oak, spice box, rich blueberry, black cherry and tar with a tart finish.  Low to medium acidity this mid-weight bodied wine has a long finish and is very balanced- 93 points and my WOTN.  At $45 it’s not a daily drinker but value for cash it is a super nice treat wine that gets 5 stars from me.  Drink till 2028 with richer meats and stews.  Salut….

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Joao Portugal Ramos Reserva 2016, Alentejo, Portugal

08 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by caspernick in Wine

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$14, 5 stars, 92 points, alentejo, portugal, tempranillo, trincadeira, VWTC


This blend of Tempranillo and Trincadeira took three days for me to rate. We opened it at the 13th Virtual Wine Tasting and the panel felt it had cardboard box, pepper, black cherry, dark chocolate and earthy notes. It was tannic right off the bat but we coaxed black licorice, dark cherry, sun dried tomato and a hoppy note out of it. I recall writing that this semi opaque wine of medium purple color was quite rich, if not a tad young and rushed. On night 1 it got 12/20 on my rating scale and a technical score of 91 points. I tried it again on night 2 and found it had a muted nose with some red currants and orange peel. The palate was slightly sour with blackberry, licorice and rhubarb. It was still earthy and tannic as heck. Night 3 is when this wine finally opened up for me. Black pepper, jammy blackberry and licorice on the nose gave way to a much smoother palate of iodine, blackberry, bramble and that earthiness. Oak is now evident but restrained making this wine quite complex. It has a smooth finish with well integrated tannins now and is in balance. I’m glad I got to witness a three day evolution of this highly rated $14 wine. It finished out at 92 points from me and gets a massive 5 stars for the QPR it brings. Drink till 2027. I would pair with a hearty steak if opening right now, or decant the heck out of it to soften the tannins. Salut….

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