60% Baga, 40% Touriga Nacional, from a mixed vineyard. Fermented and aged for 10 months in wooden ‘balseiros’ (large wooden casks). 20% stem inclusion, 12,5% ABV. Crunchy red apple dominates the nose, with a few barely ripe berries and forest aromas peeking from the background. The palate on day 1 was frankly tart and acidic, and made for a mediocre pairing with red meat and cheese. On day 2 it had softened just enough to be lively and zippy without being too self-consciously austere and ‘cool climate’. The aromas were also more balanced and thus the impression was of greater complexity, with a hint of floral that finally displayed some Touriga character. Still zero presence from the black fruit spectrum. New world lovers, get the fugg outta here.
This is the entry level bottling from Nuno Mira do Ó’s project in the Bairrada, VPuro, with fellow oneologist João Soares. I’m starting to see a trend in domestic wines that I like: old vines in the hands of anti-crowdpleasing winemakers. I have long felt that Nuno do Ó’s whites were fantastic: his Druida wines in the Dão have an unashamedly burgundian inspiration (down to the labels and terminology), and the white Aliás (from this very same Bairrada project, made out of old Bical vines) is a marvel of concentration, depth, freshness and purity, one of those goldilocks wines which feels simultaneously like an intellectual achievement and a hedonistic indulgence. Small production has probably kept these wines from achieving the same fame as comparable luminaries (Filipa Pato, Niepoort, etc.) in profile and quality. Based on this showing I am 100% willing to back up the truck on the Baga varietals in the portfolio, totally blind.
Thank you Tomás for this very informative tasting note. Based upon your description I will pick up a few bottles as it aligns well with my palate. It sounds as though the wine would benefit from additional aging. I am also seeing the Mira do Ó Arinto Reserva Branco 2018 available. Do you have experience with this wine?
Absolutely. I would love to revisit this in a few years, since it still feels a tad astringent for my taste.
That is probably the most genuine and interesting expression of Arinto in Bucelas that I can think of. Arinto is a high acid white grape that is common throughout Portugal, usually in blends in order to provide an extra acidity kick. It originally came from Bucelas and appears as a varietal there, but almost always in the category of ‘good, not great’. Nuno do Ó’s Arinto vines are also meant to be old, though I don’t know exactly how much.
Baga definitely a grape to my tastes (younger me liked Touriga Nacional, and though I probably never tasted a Baga back then, I suspect I may not have liked it so much)
Touriga Nacional, like Cab and Syrah, is very much a versatile grape in that it shows well, and distinctively, in both hotter and cooler climates. It is in fact a Dão, and not a Douro grape, and in its Dão expression (cooler summers and warmer winters than in the Douro) it has a characteristic profile of violets and confit red fruit that I feel is friendly and attractive to many different palates - certainly to mine. My favorite example of that is the recent Alameda de Santar from Quinta da Alameda (by Anselmo Mendes), but Álvaro Castro’s Touriga varietal from Quinta de Saes is also quite fine, and readily available.
I notice that the Alameda de Santar is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen and Tinta Roriz whereas the Alameda de Santar Installments is 100% Touriga Nacional. Have you compared them? I confess that I most often prefer Touriga Nacional as perhaps the largest component of a blend.
Scott, what vintages are you referring to? Pre-2018 Quinta da Alameda is a totally different ball game from the wines today. They were made by Carlos Lucas, of Quinta do Ribeiro Santo fame.
I’m not referring to Quinta da Alameda specifically. I’ve not yet tried their wines.
It was a general comment with regard to the wines that I’ve had from the Dao and Douro. I do like the Quinta do Ribeiro Santo wines though. Especially the Reserva.
You specifically mentioned two wines from Quinta da Alameda, so I was asking which vintages of those two wines you were referring to, since the post 2018 wines (just out on the market) are from a new team. They sound like they are the newer ones, since the latest Alameda de Santar is the blend that you mention (which is in fact the classic Dão blend) and the Installments is probably a translation of the Portuguese ‘Parcelas’, meant for the international market (much like Niepoort’s Diálogo is known as Twisted in the English speaking world). If it is the Parcelas, then I must say I much prefer the Alameda de Santar at a fraction of the cost. It’s oak free and much more fresh and balanced for my taste.
Thank you Tomas. It sounds like the Alameda de Santar is the wine for me given my preference and your recommendation! Yes my Chrome browser translated Parvelas to Installments on the Portugal Vineyards website!
