This month our wine club box features three great wines from Portugal. Portugal has a winemaking history dating back thousands of years and nearly all its wines are blends made with indigenous grape varietals. With our Portugal wine club selection, you can sample a crisp white wine, a balanced red wine, and a delicious tawny Port wine.
The Wines:
Vieira de Sousa ‘Alice’ White Blend 2022
This wine, consisting of indigenous Portuguese white varieties Rabigato, Viosinho, and Gouveio, is grown on the family’s plot of land roughly 500 feet above sea level in northeast Portugal. Fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, the resulting wine is fresh, vibrant, and alive. The nose is bright with notes of ripe citrus, pomelo, basil, and orange blossoms. The palate bursts with laser sharp acidity, slate, fresh papaya, and lime. Remarkably crisp and expressive, pair this wine with scallop ceviche or fish tacos.
The Producer: Vieira de Sousa
A newly established Port house with roots dating back to the 1800s, Vieira de Sousa is helmed by Luisa Vieira de Sousa Borges, an ambitious young winemaker in her mid-30s. Her family has been farming grapes for Port for generations, but sold their juice to the larger estates nearby. After completing her degree in oenology in 2008, Louisa returned home to take the family business to another level. In a world traditionally dominated by men, Luisa is making some of the most exciting wines in Portugal, with remarkable tables wines like this white blend being made alongside traditional styles of Port.
The Region: Douro
While the Douro is most renowned for its Port wines, the region produces just as much table wine as it does fortified wine. Table wines have always been produced here, but for a long time little of it ever left Portugal. The person credited with making the first ambitious Douro wine was Fernando Nicolau de Almeida when he produced the first vintage of Barca Velha in 1952. A few more ambitious wines were produced in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the 1990s when the wines began to receive international attention. Today, many famous Port houses make table wines alongside their more traditional fortified offerings.
This red wine, composed of a blend of Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, and Trincadeira, is a classic example of a Portuguese red blend in a country where single varietal wine is exceptionally rare. The Mariana, named after a famous 17th century nun who lived nearby the winery, packs impressive weight and concentration. A dark ruby color in the glass, this wine is full of black cherry, ripe red berries, floral notes, and soft tannins. Dry, full-bodied, and structured, this wine remains perfectly balanced without any sense of heftiness. Pair with barbecued ribs or a cheeseburger.
The Producer: Herdade do Rocim
The Herdade do Rocim estate, located in the Lower Alentejo region, spans 100 hectares with 60 dedicated to vineyards. They prioritize quality winemaking, led by Catarina Vieira’s and General Manager Pedro Ribeiro. They invested in regenerating vineyards, constructed a modern winery, and embraced sustainable farming practices. Catarina aims to showcase Alentejo’s terroir through elegant and complex wines. She envisions Rocim as a producer of globally recognized, high-quality wines, elevating Portugal’s winemaking reputation.
The Region: Alentejo
Situated in the southern part of the country, Alentejo is the largest wine producing region in Portugal. It covers more than 30% of Portugal and offers an array of terroirs, which allows a wide range of wines to be produced here. Also a large producer of cork, Alentejo is most famous for its red wines produced from a large variety of indigenous grapes.
This Tawny Port is a delightful representation of the ‘Tawny Style’ in the region. Made with a traditional blend of indigenous grapes, the hand-harvested fruit undergoes foot-treading press in old granite lagares. It is then fortified with Brandy and aged in large old vats to create an oxidative environment. The result is a rich and balanced palate with elegant notes of nuts, caramel, dates, and figs, culminating in a long and expressive finish. Pair this Tawny Port with milk chocolate or caramel ice cream.
The Producer: Vieira de Sousa
Vieira de Sousa is a new Port house with a long history of producing traditional Port. Since the 18th century, they have farmed grapes and made fortified wines, most of which were sold to larger Port houses nearby. The first vintage port made by Luisa was produced in 2008, but the winery sells vintage Ports going back decades before that. All Ports are made in the traditional style: tread by foot, fermented by indigenous yeast, natural settling for clarification, and quality brandy for fortification.
The Region: Douro
The Douro wine region in northern Portugal has a historic legacy centered on the production of fortified wines. The region’s renowned Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia have been instrumental in maturing and exporting these robust and flavorful fortified wines, making Douro a key player in the global history of wine production.
The Style: Tawny
Unlike Ruby, which ages for most of its life in bottle, Tawny Ports are aged in barrel for several years. This allows oxygen to interact with the wine, giving Tawny Port its nutty and caramel character, and the pale, “tawny” color that gives the style its name.
