Sarah Ahmed – The Wine Detective

Oddbins’ buyer Ana Sapungiu has listed some tip top wines for the company’s September Portuguese promotion. In the brand’s buccaneering spirit of old, these include select parcels of idiosyncratic as well as classic kit.  Sapungiu is also working on an online case.

Stock of the new lines and parcels is due into stores next month; those asterisked will only be available on the website and London Bridge, Mitchell St (Glasgow) and Queensferry (Edinburgh) stores.  These stores, also Crouch End and Tunbridge Wells, will be running Tutored Consumer Portuguese tastings throughout September and at the beginning of October.

Though, with 35 stores, Oddbins is a fraction of its former size, it’s great to see Portugal’s wonderfully unique wines embraced by a national chain.  Below you’ll find tasting notes on my picks of the bunch, followed by a list of the other wines included in Oddbins’ September Portuguese promotion.

My picks of the bunch

Quinta Alorna Portal Regional White 2011 (Tejo)

Initially a touch jelly bean on nose but this soon blows off and a fresh and fragrant nose and palate offer classic Fernão Pires & Moscatel  floral, citrus (pineapple) and (white) peppery notes, honeydew melon too.  Nice concentration and persistence, with bright acidity.  Worth spending another quid on this over the Cigarra Branco which, ironically, isn’t as fresh though bottled under screwcap (unless my sample was at fault). 13% abv. £7

Portal da Aguia Red 2009 (DO Tejo)

Again worth spending another quid on this, the DO wine, over Portal’s 2010 Vinho Regional .  With a dash of Alicante Bouchet (with Tinta Roriz, Castelao and Syrah), it packs a lot of punch for £8!  It shows tight-knit red currant, berry and cherry fruit on nose and palate, shot with savoury spice and eucalypt notes; dusty tannins and firm acidity make for a traditionally-styled wine I’d recommend pairing with hearty, robust food.  13.5% £8

Quinta de Azevedo 2010 (Vinho Verde)

Regular readers will know that I reckon this single estate white is a benchmark example of a Vinho Verde blend of Loureiro and Pedernã (a.k.a. Arinto).  Light-bodied, but with good intensity of flavour, this just off dry screw-capped white shows pretty floral, talc, honeydew melon and citrus notes to its crisp, fresh palate.    10.5% abv £7.25 (also stocked by Majestic and Waitrose, the former of whom currently have a deal on multiple purchases).

Duas Quintas Adriano Ramos Pinto 2009 (Douro)

Though warm, the 2009 vintage has produced some really stand out wines from producers who, like Ramos Pinto, respect balance.  Here, the clue is in the name – Duas Quintas or, in english, two vineyards/estates.  Fruit from the classic schistous soils of Quinta de Ervamoira in the heart of the Douro Superior brings heft while grapes from the higher altitude (600m) granite soils of Quinta dos Bons Ares, lend elegance and freshness.  This is a ripe but juicy red blend of 40% Touriga Franca, 40% Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Spain’s Tempranillo) and 20% Touriga Nacional.   Succulent damson and black plum fruit has a salty edge I associate with this region.  Plum skin tannins are fresh and pithy.  Approachable, but with plenty of interest – fruit, oak and mineral – balanced!  14% abv £10.75   Watch this space for a report of a visit to Quinta de Ervamoira earlier this year.  [P.S. And here it is].

Filipa Pato FP White 2011 (Beiras)

I was thrilled to see that two of Filipa Pato’s wines made the cut for Julia Harding MW’s 50 Great Portuguese Wines, both of which are part of Oddbin’s Portugal promo.  This, the first, is a blend of Bical and Arinto.  Soft and rich, with gentle rolling – pebble in a pond – acidity and a touch of residual sugar (c. 5g/l), it’s attractively weighty in the mouth with leesy texture and length, without being showy.     Makes it own shape and very nice it is too! 12.5% £11.50 NEW

Conceito Contraste Vinhos Branco 2010 (Douro)

I enjoyed a terrific visit earlier this year with Rita Ferreira Marques (see here).  With the benefit of lees stirring, this has an attractive limpidity and texture, with a chalky, talcy character to its ripe grapefruit.  Nice length.  Very well done.  £12.50 Parcel

Conceito Contraste Vinhos Tinto 2009 (Douro)

Quite firm and fresh, with a succulent mid-palate of black cherry and plum, supported by ripe but present tannins.  A whisper of toffee on the finish expresses the warmth of this vintage.  Good.  £13.50 Parcel

Manz Cheleiros Dona Fatima Jampal 2011 (Vinho Regional Lisboa)

Another Harding 50 Great Portuguese Wines selection.  A pure nose and palate shows ripe lemon, pretty perfumed pear and quince with a touch of herbal lift.  Its six months in French oak has seemingly loaned focus over flavour.  Fresh with an edge of tannin (it sees some skin contact), it’s a well defined, bright wine.  13%  £15.00 Parcel

Manz Cheleiros Pomar do Espirito Santo 2010 (Vinho Regional Lisboa)

This blend of 20% Touriga Nacional, 40% Aragonês (another Portuguese name for Spain’s Tempranillo), 30% Syrah and 10% Castelão most definitely has an Atlantic freshness and elegance about it.  A floral nose shows crunchy redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit, which follow through on a fine but firm, austere even, palate – the kind beloved of acid heads like me!  There’s an edge of pithy (grapefruity?) spice and white pepper to its long, elegant finish, its lovely line maintained by a fine sheen of tannins and well integrated acidity.  Will appeal to fans of Bairrada Baga and Dao reds (though it’s slighter in build than most).  13%  £15.00 Parcel

Filipa Pato Calcario Tinto 2010 (Bairrada) *

An exceptionally pretty, pure and open-faced (if young) Baga, perfumed and mineral with bright, crunchy pomegranate, sweet red cherry fruit and cherry fruit near the stone bite.  Fine but present, powdery tannins remind you this is Baga and it’s going to last!  Lovely, with terrific line, length and lift. 13%  £30.00 Parcel

Quinta do Noval 2007 (Douro) *

I believe that I last tasted this vintage in December 2009, so it’s been a while, but here’s my note from back then (a visit and vertical at Noval, reported here): 50% Touriga Nacional, 40% Tinta Franca, 10% Tinta Cao. This really flies, with ripe but really juicy dark berry fruit and succulent black cherry. I observe you don’t notice the oak, which is pretty much true of the range, prompting Seely to assert “you don’t need make up in the Douro – oak is used for that, but it’s not necessary nor is it a positive.”  Fine, powdery tannins carry a very long, persistent finish, with hints of violet and rock rose. Terrific. £35.00 Parcel

Niepoort Redoma Tinto 2006 (Douro) *

2006 wasn’t the most distinguished of vintages but it meant that “declassified” fruit, which would normally have gone into Batuta, Niepoort’s flagship wine, went into this wine instead (no Batuta was produced in 2006).  I haven’t tasted it for a couple of years but it’s always been an elegant, mineral wine, less full-bodied than other vintages.   I’d expect it to be in great form with 6 years under its belt – here’s my most recent note from September 2009, when I tasted a vertical of Redoma (click here for details).  This is lifted, with a lovely intensity of sweet red cherry with chocolate; vinous in texture it shows great freshness and persistence with an underlying minerality. A really lovely wine.  £36.00 Parcel

Niepoort Doda 2008 (Douro/Dao) *

A stand out of last year’s vertical tasting of this idiosyncratic blend, reported here.  Here’s my note – intense, mineral sluiced, floral and fine tannined – if you’ve read my report of 2008 Douro tastings (see here) this absolutely chimes with my take on the vintage – really, a top, top vintage for lovers of elegant wines so, although this is stereo-typically Dão in its florality and elegance, it’s very Douro 2008 too.  13.5% £45.00 Parcel

The complete list

Passeo White Vinho Regional Lisbon £5.50

Passeo Red Vinho Regional, Lisbon £5.50

Cigarra White Vinho Regional, Lisbon £6.00

Cigarra Red Vinho Regional, Lisbon £6.00

Bons Ventos Vinho Regional 2010, Lisbon £6.50

Quinta Alorna Portal Regional Tinto 2010, Tejo £7.00 NEW

Quinta Alorna Portal Regional White 2011, Tejo £7.00 NEW

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde 2010 £7.25

Setencostas DO, Lisbon £7.75

Quinta Alorna Portal DO Tinto 2009, Tejo £8.00 NEW

Duas Quintas Adriano Ramos Pinto 2009, Douro £10.75 NEW

Filipa Pato FP 2011 white, Beiras £11.50 NEW

Quinta dos Roques 2009, Dao £12.00

Cortes de Cima tinto, Alentejo £12.00

Conceito Vinhos Branco 2010, Douro £12.50 Parcel

Bons Ventos Magnums, Lisbon £13.00 Parcel

Conceito Vinhos Tinto 2009, Douro £13.50 Parcel

Manz Cheleiros Dona Fatima Jampal 2011, Vinho Regional Lisboa £15.00 Parcel

Manz Cheleiros Pomar do Espirito Santo 2010, Vinho Regional Lisboa £15.00 Parcel

Filipa Pato Calcario Tinto 2010, Bairrada £30.00 Parcel

Quinta do Noval 2007, Douro £35.00 Parcel

Niepoort Redoma Tinto 2006, Douro £36.00 Parcel

Niepoort Doda 2008 Douro/ Dao £45.00 Parcel