A Very Highly Recommended Reserva Double from Portugal's Vale De Lobos

A Very Highly Recommended Reserva Double from Portugal's Vale De Lobos 

Vale De Lobos Touriga Nacional Reserva Tejo 2021, 13.5% ABV.

€20.00 (on offer 16) Matson's Bandon, Grange and Youghal

“a round, persistent and balanced wine”

The colour of this 100% Touriga Nacional from Portugal’s Tejo, is a dense ruby. Aromas are complex (plum and blueberry) and the intense violet (typical of the variety) heading the posse.  And they remain through the palate where you will most definitely note spices and vanilla (it has spent 8 months ageing in French oak barrels).

A round, persistent and balanced wine with a long finish, it is proposed as perfect for matching grilled or roasted red meat (such as the prize-winning thick-cut steaks from James Whelan Butcher (https://www.corkbilly.com/2024/08/james-whelan-butchers-win-coveted-3.html ). Serve at 18 degrees. It is Very Highly Recommended and is just one of a selection of well-priced wines from the “small family-run farm” imported by Matson’s.

Touriga Nacional, previously and still very much associated with Port wine, is now increasingly popular in single-varietal red wines and blends from the Duoro Valley and beyond, says Wine Folly. 

This excellent example is made by Quinta da Ribeirinha, a small family-run farm, which is located in Póvoa de Santarém and is dedicated to the production of Wines, Olive Oil and Jams. The winemaker is Cesar Machado.

The Tejo region in central Portugal, just northeast of Lisbon, is split by the longest river on the peninsula, the Tejo (known to Irish secondary school students in the 60s as the Tagus). Tejo is often overshadowed by the larger Alentjo further to the south.

Vale De Lobos Vinho Tinto Reserva Vinho Regional Tejo 2019, 14.0%% ABV.

at Matsons Bandon, Grange, Youghal.

A compelling wine

“Foot Trodden” is the name of a 2021 published book, a pretty good one, on Portuguese wine. Not a nostalgic work, but quite up to date as you see from the story of this Very Highly Recommended wine from the Valley of the Wolves.

Elegant and balanced, our well-structured Reserva is produced from hand-picked grapes, is fermented with selected yeasts at a temperature of 28ºC, in stainless steel vats, with foot treading for four days. Four days? That must be some party! After malolactic fermentation, it is aged for 8 months in French and American oak barrels.

Ruby is the colour here. It is a compelling wine, intense in the mouth, with scents of black fruits, and some sweet spice...and there’s quite a pleasing finish. Pair this excellent blend of Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Aragonez with Grilled red meats, Pot roast, Game meat, Stews, and Roasts. Serve at 16-18 degrees.

It is another of the Quinta da Ribeirinha wines from the Tejo imported this year by Matson’s. It is certainly one of the best and indeed may well be the best of those I have tasted so far.