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In my last newsletter I featured Wine Diva's TOP
100 under $20, this week I am launching my
TOP 50 $20-$50. These are wines that have
achieved a score of 91 points or higher on
WineScores.ca. It's never as easy as it looks whether
its choosing 50 or 100 wines but I think the end result
gives you a good list of wines to print off and give with
a Top 50 gift bottle or just print it off to keep. We have
made some changes - there are no more multiple
pages involved, just one long list for both my TOP 50
and TOP 100 with the addition of page
breaks.
Enjoy!
And Portugal - boy
do I see
some serious competition coming from them. The
wines are good to great and the prices are
exciting.
The Portuguese are proud, they love their
traditional varietals and stand by them but to make
them more interesting for our new world palates they
are focusing on ripe fruit flavours balanced with old
world acidity. Many of the wineries I visited have one or
two wines available locally and many of them have
recently been approached by importers in Canada -
which is good news for us in the near future.
Below is the link to part 1 on my recent trip to Portugal
which includes the regions of Beiras, Estremadura
(now Lisboa) and Ribatejo. Next newsletter I'll feature
the regions of Alentejo and Terras do Sado with a nod
toward ViniPax - the wines from the
south...
Cheers,
Daenna
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Portugal is knocking
Beiras, Estremadura and Ribatejo
Portugal is
knocking.
I suggest we
answer.
Douro and Port are familiar in our wine
vocabulary -
for good reason - but what about the rest of Portugal?
What of Bairrada and Dão, Estremadura and Alentejo,
Algarve and Ribatejo? Diverse and distinctive each,
but well-known wine journalist, author and enologist
Anibal Coutinho advocates placing these Portuguese
regions into three unique categories; the Valleys, the
Atlantic and the South. His conviction is based upon
similarities in terroir. Coutinho is Portuguese; he
knows the wines of Portugal intimately and is a
consummate supporter of them. He has been writing
books and reviewing Portuguese wines for the past
four years - handy guides to the best wines and value
wines in Portugal, he also makes wine and writes
weekly columns. I joined
Coutinho...
read more about; Quinta
do
Encontro, Aliança, Luis Pato, Casa do Cello, Alves de
Sousa, Quinta dos Roques, Casa Santos Lima,
Quinta de Chocapalha, Quinta da Romerio and DFJ
Vinhos...
continue reading...
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Hot off my palate
some on-the-fly picks from recent tastings
What happens when someone arrives in town
and
reintroduces you to an established brand that had
somehow become lost in the caverns of your memory?
Brotte, the family owned winery from
Chateauneuf-du-Pape had a representative from the
winery bring some wine to assist in the
reintroduction of this well known CNP brand. Most
recognizable is the La Fiole du Pape, the
warped bottle with the airbrushed dirt on it (gives it an
aged look) is a well made, juicy, fresh grenache
based wine
with loads of berry and dark floral tones. Lovely on its
own but great with simple French dishes. This wine
was created in 1952 and is, in many ways, the
flagship
wine for Brotte. Its blended from three vintages to
create an
integrated yet fresh wine for under $38.
But, if you
aren't feeling so flush a stunning value at $13.99 is
the Brotte, Les Brottiers Cotes-du-Rhone with
bright raspberry and wild summer berries, violets and
delicate sweet spices. For that price, it's an everyday
drinking and dinner wine with great acidity and no fruit
to bomb you with...
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Coming up next:
more on the delicious
wines of
Portugal
and
Don't
forget to visit
winescores.ca
and winediva.ca for new wine reviews every
day!
I am in Chile right now but I'll be back to
focus on some great holiday wines!
Pink and Cheeky...
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