Sarah Ahmed – The Wine Detective

My return flight to London is delayed but here I am, at Lisbon airport, posting the very good news.  It’s been sunny from start to finish, always raises the spirits, but really it’s been a great trip for information gathering for my 50 Great Portuguese tastings next year and for Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine, to which I contribute on Portugal.

The focus was almost squarely on Alentejo and I’ve tasted some truly fabulous wines of great pedigree, complexity and balance.  Stand out experiences from some classical names included:  Fundacao Eugenio de Almeida Pera Manca red and white, verticals from Quintas Zambujeiro and do Mouro, the iconic (with good reason) 1986 Garrafeira Tinto made under Julio Basto’s then label, Quinta do Carmo (he now makes wines under the Dona Maria label) and Mouchao’s latest 2005 flagship releases including, also 79 Mouchao.

As for new kids on the block, Sao Miguel, Paco de Camoes’, Malhadinha, Herdade do Rocim and Grous hit the target, as did the top wines from Fita Preta.  From the Algarve, I enjoyed the characterful, intense organic wines of Monte da Casteleja, quite different from anything else I tasted from there.  Back to Alentejo, new variety on the block is Petit Verdot and tank and barrel samples from Cortes de Cima and Dona Maria showed why it looks like a good bet for the region.

In Estremadura,  Monte d´Oiro, Syrah and Viognier pioneers, go from strength to strength under winemaker Graca Goncalves’ delicate touch.  Food match of the trip was her Madigral Viognier 2008 with King Crab with vanilla mayonnaise – heavenly.

I’ll post more in a regional report – lots more to tell.

All best

Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective