Wine with Leslie: The best of Portugese wines - including a €13 rosé
Douro Valley, Portugal. Pic: iStock
I always feel that Portugal is a sort of brother nation to Ireland. Both countries have a long Atlantic coastline, we share a timezone, and we both have a big neighbour to the east of us that has not always been neighbourly.
I hear that Portugal receives more visitors from Ireland per head of population than from any other country, and anecdotally I don’t think I know an Irish person that hasn’t been there on several holidays.
Often these are simple sun or golf holidays to the Algarve, but city breaks to Lisbon and Porto have reminded the Irish just how important food and wine is in Portuguese culture.
I have spent most of my time in Northern Portugal visiting Dâo, the Douro and Vinho Verde, but I have also visited Alentejo which is beautiful, almost empty of tourists, and has excellent wines from producers such as Esporão, Herdade Dos Grous and Malhadinha Nova.
In the same way that the Michelin Guide has found Ireland in the last decade, so too has it found Portugal and you can dine extremely well. The difference in Portugal is that they focus more on the bounty of the Atlantic in a way that we never have.
The most thrilling meal I have had in Portugal was in The Yeatman Restaurant, in the five-star hotel of the same name owned by Taylors Port.
It has two Michelin stars and a hugely creative menu as does the city’s other 2-star Michelin, Casa de Chá da Boa Nova which is so close to the sea the waves can splash the windows.
I also adore Pedro Lemos’ eponymous restaurant in Foz, a seaside suburb or Porto (their Dalkey, if you will), where the Douro meets the sea. Lemos is as charming as his food is elegant and creative.
If fine dining is not your thing don’t worry you could happily live on Porto’s famous fast-food treats, Bifana pulled pork sandwiches and Francesinham Porto’s take on the Croque Monsieur.
My Portuguese wine selections this week are all fruit-focused and lively, and do not break the bank. A couple of the wines this week are available from TheAllotment.ie, a great online shop that will have Black Friday deals later this month.
You probably think Rosé is over for the year — I disagree! This cheery red cherry and strawberry-flavoured wine will brighten up any evening and match nicely with a curry, a spice bag or on its own. Made from Vinhão, Azal and Borracal with a touch of spritz of fizz to heighten bright fruit flavours. At 9.5% it’s almost diet wine.
The Douro is the king of Portugal’s wine regions thanks to Port and many lauded wines so bargains like this are rare. Made from a typical blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Sousão and others. Bright red fruits with darker berries on the palate and admirable freshness — juicy, supple and weighty. Gorgeous for the price.
Casa Santos Lima’s wines have appeared here before, you can always expect fruit, character and a bargain price. This Arinto-Chardonnay blend is ripe and fruity with pear and dried lemon flavours and balancing zesty freshness. The Tinto is a Euro more and is also recommended with cinnamon and clove-scented soft dark fruits.
This wine is usually €17 but importers Mackenway have a deal on for Christmas so the price should come down to €15 - either way it is worth it. Made from Aragonês (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Trincadeira and brimming with ripe supple red and darker fruits - textured, luscious and delicious.
I’ve not mentioned this excellent Douro before, the estate was created by Doña Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (of the Ferreira Port family) and is a model for the region. This is full, fruity and supple, with sweet red fruits hitting first, followed and darker riper tones. Ripe, open and complex with lingering spice and elegance.
I adore this wine but have not featured it recently. The delightful labels are designed by the kids in the family and change yearly. The 2021 hits the palate with a big dollop of red and black fruits all mixed together – blackberry, blackcurrant and cherry. Generous weighty fruit flavours, but with a lightness of touch. A must try.
Ireland has many connections with the Caribbean, it is even said the Jamaican accent owes a lot to the Irish indentured servants exiled there. This excellent new limited edition Jameson is a Grain & Pot Still blend first aged for 18 years in Barbados rum casks (Foursquare Distillery) and then given a further 3 years in Cuban Havana Club Rum casks.
Orange-gold hue, tangerine, figs, cut grass, nutmeg, honeycomb on the nose — rounded on the palate, spice and pepper hit on the mid-palate. Creamy baked orange flavours with fruity intensity and lingering sweet spices with the rum cask having the final say leaving demerara sugar hints. Limited to 2,900 bottles so don’t delay.
