Cult of the wine critic: Charles Metcalfe addressing his followers!To round off the 2nd European Wine Bloggers Conference Charles Metcalfe tutored a brilliant tasting of eight Portuguese wines, which had a very high strike rate.
These are the wines that most impressed me:Whites:
Covela Escolha 2008
Made mainly from a blend of Avesso and Chardonnay with a small percentage of Gewurztraminer, this quite aromatic wine has an attractive combination of weight and mineral freshness in the finish.
Quinta do Termos Fonte Cal Reserva 2007
100% Fonte Cal giving weight and concentration but with some minerality in the finish. More evidence of the quality of an increasing number Portuguese whites these days.
Reds:
Afros Vinhão 2008
From the Vinho Verde, Vinhão is a tenturier grape with very high acidity. Made by Vasco Croft, whose estate is in conversion to biodynamics, this has 12.5% alcohol and 7g of acidity. The wine has sufficient concentration of fruit to make this work. Charles recommends this with grilled sardines. I fancy it would also work well with roast suckling pig.
Barranco Longo Reserva 2006
From the Algarve – sweet toasty, plum and prune fruit balanced by acidity and a touch of leafiness in the finish.
Madeira Barbeito Boal 2001
Lovely new style Madeira from single white variety – Barbeito – nutty concentration with quite austere concentration in the finish. Beautiful complex wine.
Each wine is linked to the Adegga site, which provides links and details on the wines.
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