portuguese blend with some unique grapes

Grão Vasco Red Wine (2004)
Grão Vasco/Sogrape Vinhos
Aragonês | Trincadeira | Alicanta Bouschet | Touriga Nacional | Jaen | Alfrocheiro Preto | Tinto Pinheira
Dão, PORTUGAL

Aside from Port, I don't think many people think of Portugal as being a major wine producing country. That or they often get lumped in with Spanish wines. This is certainly unfortunate especially because most of the still wine made in Portugal is made from native grape varieties. This Grão Vasco for example has (at least) seven different grapes in it, only a few of which I think I've actually had. I'll talk more about the different grapes below.

This blend was paired up with a light calamari dish I had served with mushrooms, citrus, and capers. Here's what I thought:

Appearance: Clear pale wine, bright ruby red in color.

Nose: Clean with some age development, soft to medium aromas of red fruit, cherry, raspberry. Complimented by deeper notes of violet, mint, tobacco, and leather.

Palate: A dry wine with medium alcohol, body, and tannin - it tightens your cheeks a little but then softly lets go. Flavors of raspberry and cherry paired with vanilla, smoke, spice, and a little yeastiness.

Overall this was a really nice pairing with the food because it is not super heavy. The wine was aged entirely in stainless steel as opposed to oak, so there wasn't a lot of added tannin, and those derived from the grapes were soft. The subtle earthiness paired well with the mushrooms, and the soft acidity complimented the orange zest and capers.

As for the grapes found in this blend, there are a couple that may be more familiar by other names. Aragonês is the Portuguese name for Spain's flagship grape Tempranillo. In fact this grape has a huge number of pseudonyms. Another familiar variety will be Jaen - known elsewhere as Mencía. This is the grape that started it all here at oe•no•phile in my first post!

Of all the grapes, Touriga Nacional is one of Portugal's primary grapes. In fact, the region this wine is from (the Dão DOC) requires at least 20% of a blend to be Touriga. It is also commonly used for making Port. Lending to the raspberry and spice is also Trincadeira, plus some added fruitiness and tanning from Alicante Bouschet. Finally, other characteristics including the mint are likely from Alfrocheiro Preto.

I would recommend this wine as a replacement for other light bodied reds - Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, or Gamay for example. Paired up with cheeses, light dishes, and even fish this would make a good table wine.

Cheers!

deutsch wein ist gut mit thai essen ja

Clean Slate Riesling (2007)
Clean Slate Wines
Riesling
Mosel, GERMANY

On recommendation from Crighton, one of the friendly specialists at my local Whole Foods, I snagged a bottle of Clean Slate to pair up with some Pad Thai. Eagerly he chilled a bottle and let me sample it in the store, and I definitely knew I'd be writing about it before long. Now later in the week I've got a new bottle and some notes to share (well, I might not share the bottle...)

Appearance: Clear, pale lemon yellow with a little pétillance, or effervescence.

Nose: Clean with light to medium intensity. Youthful aromas including green apple, lemon, lime, pineapple, slate, and anise star.

Palate: An off dry wine - 2.8% residual sugar - with medium acidity, body and light alcohol. Intense fruit flavors characteristic of the variety including apple, citrus, and lime. Also some pear, orange, and floral notes finished with a soft minerality.

The very subtle sweetness this Riesling has made it a perfect pairing for my Pad Thai with a little spiciness and fresh basil and lime tossed in. However, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dry Riesling - this definitely is refreshing and crisp given the lively acidity to balance it.


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The label - which would certainly appeal to any minimalist - is also notably cool. A narrow band of paper depicting a stylized (to look like slate of course!) aerial of the Mosel River makes the bottle look like it's wearing a pair of skinny legged jeans. The Mosel region, taking it's name from the river is home to some of the world's best Rieslings. Zoom out on the map above to get a better idea of how the river winds through wine country. The southern facing slopes are where the best grapes are grown.

The region used to be known as the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, but apparently that wasn't very "consumer friendly." Granted yes, most bottles of wine imported from Germany have horribly confusing labels, it'd be hard to go wrong with many of their Rieslings. "Americanizing" labels is understandably easier to market, but I have to say that as Americans (or anyone outside of a given country) we should make the effort to be a little more educated about these things. And if you can't read a label then ask for help, you might miss out on some great wines otherwise. While you're practicing your Deutsche though you can safely enjoy this wine.

Cheers!

chilean gewürz just needs some "chill" time

Visión Gewürztraminer (2006)
Cono Sur
Gewürztraminer
Casablanca Valley, CHILE

I really love Gewürtzraminer, but the first time I tried this one I wasn't a huge fan. I'm not really certain why I even picked another bottle up other than I just felt the need to stock up on every day, approachable white wines. I opened this new bottle last night just to have a glass while I watched TV, and as before it struck me that for what it is it was far to hot, or had out of balance alcohol. I stuck it in the fridge and went to bed.

Tonight determined not to waste a bottle of wine I poured some more and was struck by the noticeable difference just since opening the bottle. Perhaps I overestimated this wine on first impressions. Here are my notes:

Appearance: Clear pale wine with a bright golden color.

Nose: With a few swirls, and the glass still sitting on the table, the aromas were already flirting with my nose. Pronounces and aromatic, slight indication of age, and very complex aroma levels. Up top was a perfume of dried flowers and honey. Deeper into the glass fruity aromas including ripe apple, pear, and peach come through. Minerality, like chalk, ginger, and some mint complete the bouquet.

Palate: Dry with higher than average acidity, alcohol, and body. Not out of balance though like when I opened it. On the palate there was a slight carbonation and the minerality showed up again reminding me of tonic water. Tropical fruit, apple, lime, and lychee. An outstandingly long finish (5+ seconds) with a resounding flavor of peach and nectarine-like I'd just finished eating one.

I am incredibly excited about this wine now - it's not often you come across a new-world white with so many layers of complexity. I found myself scribbling more and more notes as I picked up new aromas and flavors. The best part was seriously the finish - peach, peach, peach.

Known as a German variety, this is a Chilean Gewürztraminer, and I'm thinking all that ludicrous sunshine has something to do with the 14% alcohol. The concentrated aromas and flavors also remind me of those you might find in the Alsace region of France. Theirs have a touch more sweetness though - this one just has some really bright acidity. If I wanted to summarize this in one word, I think the best term I could find is assertive.


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The Casablanca Valley, part of the Aconcagua region, is well known for the white wines produced there, most notably Chardonnay. Close to the town of Valparaiso and located right along the coast line, this region benefits greatly from ocean breezes.

I'm very pleased that I gave this wine a second chance, even it it was by accident. Happy cows are from California, though I think happy grapes might be from Aconcagua, Chile. Olé!

Cheers!