June wines of the moment

A mixed baker's dozen (plus) of wines worth taking bad photos of...

M&S 'Found' Weißburgunder 2021, Pfalz Germany (12.5% abv): Or Pinot Blanc to use its more familiar French name (Pinot Bianco in Italy). This juicy zesty pear and nectarine tinged dry white is from talented winemaker Gerd Stepp, who's made other tasty 'modern' German wines for Marks including delicious Riesling and Pinot Noir. Resembles Alsace Pinot Blanc in style but with more flavour. £9.50

The Wine Society: 3 whites, 3 rosés, 3 reds.

These nine varied wines are available from the Wine Society in the UK (and some of them from other wine stores and in other countries), which I became a member of recently, and represent my favourites from a first mixed case purchased (I picked each wine but you can order from several pre-selected options).

Portugal: 'wines of the moment' (and restaurant tips in Funchal).

Or Portuguese 'holiday wines of the moment' since these recommendable bottles were sampled and enjoyed recently on the wonderful island of Madeira (a separate piece on two Madeira cellars is here), enhanced by a few eating-out tips where some of them were discovered. These are all convincing examples of just how happening Portugal now is on several different levels: well-made flavoursome wines, across the red white and rosé spectrum, fantastic diversity including many excellent (although sometimes difficult to get your tongue around pronunciation-wise) indigenous grape varieties and, to crown off the clichés, often good value too! 

Portugal: Lisboa wine focus

"Stretching out to the north and west of energetic Lisbon, this big wine-producing region used to be called Estremadura... renaming it 'Lisboa' seems logical (captain) thereby closely associating location and identity with the Portuguese capital... The most common grape varieties planted here are, for reds, Aragonez or Aragonês aka Tinta Roriz (isn't that often the way just to add a little charismatic confusion, and the Spanish call it Tempranillo, Tinta Fina, Cencibel...), Touriga Nacional, Castelão and Touriga Franca, with expanding plantings of Syrah and other French varieties..."

Available as a special 20-page report with pics focusing on the exciting Lisboa wine region and featuring these ten wineries and my reviews of their ranges: Vale da Capucha - Quinta de São José, Sociedade Agricola Labrugeira – Vale das Areias, Quinta de Sant'Ana, Quinta do Monte d'Oiro, Quinta de Chocapalha, Marta Vine - Azulejo (Casa Santos Lima), Félix Rocha – Quinta da Ribeira, Quinta do Pinto, Companhia das Quintas - Quinta de Pancas.

Plus three extra winery profiles in different regions: Aliança Vinhos de Portugal - Bairrada, Dão. Douro Valley: Quinta do Portal (including a Vintage Port retrospective 1995 to 2000) and Quinta do Romeu (organic)...

And two bonus retro features: Niepoort Port 'masterclass' led by Dirk Niepoort including Garrafeira, Colheita and Vintage ports spanning a century back to 1912...
And my tasty Algarve and Tavira wine and food touring article...

All yours for a mere £1.99 - this special report is published in PDF format and emailed to you once I receive confirmation of payment from PayPal (pay by card or use your own PP account, although you don't need one to do so: select it in the drop-down menu).

Select:

French wine e-magazine English wine guide Cava guide Slovenia & Croatia Portugal special

"Vasco da Gama Bridge and Tagus River, Lisbon" - Photo by Jose Manuel from www.imagesofportugal.com.

MORE ON PORTUGAL HERE.

Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and beyond...

New on WineWriting.com! Focus on Portugal with over 50 smouldering Atlantic wines reviewed including a "Douro masterclass" and eight featured producers from the Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and Vinho Verde... My best wines at a glance: Crasto, Favaios, Graham's, Duorum, Lagos, Outeiro Mouro, São Miguel, Quevedo, Dona Matilde. Also have a look at my "winery snapshots" page for more detailed Portuguese "profiles"... Photo = storks from herdadesaomiguel.com

Portugal: Cortes de Cima wines & olive oil

Cortes de Cima olive oil
from www.cortesdecima.pt

Many Mediterranean wine estates also produce high quality olive oils. Cortes de Cima, found in Vidigueira in Portugal's sweeping Alentejo region, released this delicious olive oil at the end of 2004: see notes below. Plus a handful of their red wines tasted on various occasions; and they also grow and make rather nice kiln-dried tomatoes by the way...

2003 Azeite Virgem Extra - made from Cobrancosa olives, cold pressed and unfiltered. Deliciously fresh, herby and nutty with zingy green fruit; lighter, tarter (acidity is 0.2% if that means anything to you) and more elegant than other Portuguese olive oils I've tried, which can be quite earthy and rich, I like the delicate fruitiness of this one. Tasted 2004-2005. 90

Another great olive oil producer: Chateau de Caladroy in the Roussillon.

Originally archived under Previous wines of the moment: tasted December 2003 - January 2004

2001 Cortes de Cima Reserva Alentejo DOC (Aragones Syrah/Shiraz) - Pretty serious wine showing nice mix of chunky smoky fruit, light oak overtones and full rounded palate; good power and length. 90

2002 Cortes de Cima Incógnito (15% Syrah/Shiraz) - Similar to the Syrah but more concentrated and greater depth of spicy black cherry fruit, chocolate oak backdrop and powerful finish; the alcohol's a bit heavy but this is still good stuff with hearty food. The name comes from the fact that, when they first made this wine, Syrah wasn't officially permitted so they didn't reveal the variety on the label. 88

2002 Cortes de Cima Syrah (14%) - Appealing nose of very ripe black cherries / berries with peppery notes, creamy currant palate, quite full and alcoholic but shows fair depth of nice sweet fruit too; tannins add texture and dryness but are supple and forward. Not so complex yet has a bit of bite and length, drinking now but should improve up to one year in bottle. 87

Lots more Portugal here.