Showing posts with label alentejano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alentejano. Show all posts

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  • Date publishedMonday, March 28, 2022

São Miguel Escolha dos Enologos 2019 (Portugal) - Wine Review



red wine review is a lovely Portuguese blend that arrives at the LCBO this coming weekend as part of the LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Casa Relvas, a family that has been living from the land on two continents for five generations. With a desire to continue the family's history, Alexandre Relvas (Sr.) purchased Herdade de São Miguel in São Miguel de Machede - Redondo in 1997 after he saw the landscape at this site which was similar to his African roots. The Relvas family developed a passion for Alentejo and respected the region's unique and authentic nature, leading to the planting of a typical afforestation. But their true passion was in the vineyard of this region that had a culture of more than 2000 years of history.

In 2001, the Relvas family planted their first 10 hectares of vines, followed by another 25 hectares in 2002 after Nuno Franco, a viticulture and oenology consultant, joined the project. The winery was built in 2003 and they launched their first wines a year later. In 2006, Alexandre Relvas Jr. joined the company after a year of viticultural training in Bordeaux, and success soon followed. With a love for celebration, the mission at Casa Relvas is to produce quality wines that accompany every moment in life. Today, as the family has grown, the Relvas family now manages 750 hectares of forests, 250 hectares of olive groves, and 350 hectares of vineyards. Casa Relvas believes in the importance of sustainability in social, environmental, and financial aspects and is a pioneer of the Alentejo Wine Sustainability Program.

Casa Relvas has number of estates and ranges of wines within their portfolio. This particular red wine is from their Herdade de São Miguel estate located in Redondo, east of Evora in the middle of the Alentejo. The vineyards are planted in clay-loam soils derived from schist and surrounded by a cork oak forest. Herdade de São Miguel wines are nationally (and internationally) recognized for their special terroir where the sun of Alentejo perfectly combines with the soil to produce grapes with a lot of character to produce strong and vigorous wines, without losing freshness.

This red wine is a blend of 50% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga Franca, and 20% Touriga Nacional from grapes grown on exclusively at the Herdade de São Miguel estate on clay and schist soils. The grapes were hand-harvested and completely de-stemmed, followed by maceration for 48 hours and then fermented in with controlled temperatures in open vats with automatic pigeurs. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels, and was then aged for 9 months in 400 L French oak barrels.

With a cold winter that had some rain, followed by a mild and dry spring and summer, the weather was ideal as the cool, dry nights allowed for perfect phenolic maturation. Although yields were low, 2019 was a year of excellent in Alentejo. Let's see how this 2019 red from Portugal is tasting tonight...

São Miguel Escolha dos Enologos 2019 (92 pts)

Tasting Note:

SÃO MIGUEL ESCOLHA DOS ENOLOGOS 2019 - Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal (#445122) (XD) - $24.95
This blend of 50% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga Franca, and 20% Touriga Nacional has rich, perfumed, dense, and spicy aromatics that deliver a lovely bouquet of ripe dark and red berries, black cherry, florals, damson plum, and sweet oak spice notes. It's full-bodied and richly concentrated with lovely dark and red berry, and floral aromas replays on the slightly warming, yet balanced, palate. Juicy and elegant with gritty, refined, and structured tannins. Savoury wood notes, even a touch of mineral, linger on the long, juicy finish. Gorgeous! Will be even better in a couple of years. Highly recommended buy! Score: 92 pts

Other lovely wines by Casa Relvas are available through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.


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  • Date publishedMonday, April 26, 2021

Flor de Maio Mayflower Alentejano Branco 2019 (Portugal) - Wine Review

Following up on the 2016 Flor de Maio Mayflower Tinto that I opened back in February, wine review is this nice, crisp, dry, white wine from the same producer. This Portuguese white wine is new to the LCBO and featured as part of the theme on Sustainable Wines from the LCBO VINTAGES Release.

This white wine is produced by Magnum - Carlos Lucas Vinhos, a winery founded in 2011 by winemaker Carlos Lucas. With over 25 years of winemaking experience and a dream to produce quality wines, Carlos works today with a dynamic team to continuously innovate while also respecting winemaking traditions and its history. Magnum produces wines from all of the major wine regions of Portugal and is pursuing sustainable winegrowing practices while also aiming to show the authentic characters of every region where it has vineyards.

Like the companion red, this white wine is also a blend of grapes grown in the Mora municipality within the Évora district in central Alentejano. This white wine is a blend of indigenous varieties Arinto and Antão Vaz grown in a 60 hectare vineyard on a low altitude plain, low slope terrain with exposure to the South. The soils are poor and consist of mainly clay and limestone. Vinification took place by destemming and pressing, followed by fermenting in stainless steel vats, then ageing (in tank) and bottling.

Flor de Maio Mayflower Alentejano Branco 2019 (88+ pts)

Tasting Note:

FLOR DE MAIO MAYFLOWER ALENTEJANO BRANCO 2019 - Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal (#18378) (XD) - $13.95
This blend of indigenous varieties Arinto and Antão Vaz has a pretty, fresh, medium+ intensity nose of melon, citrus, tropical fruit, apple and papaya aromas. The fleshy, medium-bodied palate is dry, ripe, and gently spicy with floral, honeysuckle, citrus, melon, and apple flavours with a tinge of honey that is balanced with fresh, balanced acidity. Subtle mineral notes arrive on the crisp, lengthy, and slightly spicy finish. Recommended buy for Spring sipping. Score: 88+ pts

Other delicious wines from Magnum - Carlos Lucas Vinhos can be ordered through their Agent - Rare Earth Wines.


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  • Date publishedFriday, February 26, 2021

Flor de Maio Mayflower 2016 (Portugal) - Wine Review

wine review is a nice Portuguese red ideal for a Friday night. It arrived at the LCBO last weekend as part of the LCBO VINTAGES Release.

In 2011, winemaker Carlos Lucas founded his winery, Magnum - Carlos Lucas Vinhos, It was born out of a dream to produce quality wines with a team that was dynamic and continuously interested in innovation, while also respecting tradition and history. Carlos is originally from Dão and the company has various production facilities throughout all of the major wine regions of Portugal, including his own private domain in Dão - Quinta do Ribeiro Santo. He has always had concern for the environment and respect for the land, and is now pursuing a sustainable growth strategy with the goal of producing authentic wines from each region where it grows vines.

This red wine is named after the many flowers that bloom every May, including the green fields filled with red poppies in Alentejano in the South of Portugal. It is a blend of Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional, and Syrah from vines that are 13 years old and sourced from poor soils (remember, this is good for wine) that consist of mainly clay, granite, schist and limestone from the Mora municipality within the Évora district in central Alentejano, which itself is a large region that covers the lower third of Portugal. The south-facing, 60 hectare vineyard is located on a low-altitude, slightly sloped plain. The wine was fermented and aged without the use of any oak, and bottled in May.

Flor de Maio Mayflower 2016 (87 pts)

Tasting Note:

FLOR DE MAIO MAYFLOWER 2016 - Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal (#427195) (XD) - $13.95
Fermented and aged completely in stainless steel tanks, this unoaked red wine is a blend of Trincadeira, Touriga Nacional, and Syrah, and has generous aromas of black fruit, blackberry, spice, and black plum with some savoury notes rising out of the glass. It's medium-bodied on the palate with ripe, dark-fruited, blackberry, spice, and savoury flavours. Acids are still fresh, while the rounded tannins are slightly chalky textured. Nicely balanced with very good length on the succulent, savoury and spicy finish. For the price, this is very good wine. Score: 87 pts

Other delicious wines from Magnum - Carlos Lucas Vinhos can be ordered through their Agent - Rare Earth Wines.


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  • Date publishedTuesday, January 26, 2016

Tiago Cabaço .com Premium White 2014 (Portugal) - Wine Review

white wine comes from the Alentejo region in southern Portugal. It is produced by Tiago Cabaço - one of the most promising producers in Alentejo.

Tiago was born and raised in Estremoz, in the heart of the Alentejo wine region, and worked in his parent's vineyard at an early age where he learned first hand about grape growing, grape varieties, and the best soils and climate for each of the grapes. In 2004, Tiago began his own wine project and with an opportunity to showcase his own winemaking capabilities. Today, with access to some of regions best and oldest vineyards, Tiago Cabaço is one of the stars of the new Alentejo.

It will be available at the LCBO as part of the upcoming February 6 VINTAGES release.

Tasting Note:

TIAGO CABAÇO .COM PREMIUM WHITE 2014 - Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal (#429316) (XD) - $14.95
Unique blend of Antão Vaz, Verdelho, and Viognier. Citrus and spring flower aromas from the cork. Elegant nose of floral, citrus zest, tropical fruits and some minerality. On the light-to-midweighted palate, it has a fleshy character with flavours that mimic the aroma profile along with some pear notes. Vibrant, juicy acids make this very much a wine for pairing with food. Very good length on the finish. Don't overchill this white wine. Will be enjoyed with oven roasted chicken. Score: 88 pts


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