Marquês dos Vales Grace Vineyard 2009

15.5 / 20

Producer: Quinta dos Vales

Region: Algarve

Country: Portugal

Coming from the Algarve, made with Siria, Malvasia Fina and Arinto, it shows a nice deep yellow color, almost golden.

Intense and open in the nose, with flowery notes and sweet white fruit - lots of apricots and peaches. There's also a sense of minerality here, nicely balancing the sweetness of the fruit.

Surprisingly, it feels very dry in the mouth, with lots of lemon and lime notes, with the corresponding fresh acidity. This dryness nicely cuts through the sweetness of the white fruits, also present in the body. Dry and filled with citrus notes, the ending is medium long, effectively cleaning the palate.

Really good by itself, it lost a bit of focus when matched with a light salmon dish, so I would recommend this by itself.

Tasted on 2012-09-17

Foral de Portimão Petit Verdot 2008

16.0 / 20

Producer: Quinta da Penina

Region: Algarve

Country: Portugal

Very dark - almost black - to the eye, this Petit Verdot from Algarve shows a very intense, concentrated nose where lots of black, sweet fruits mingle with toast notes, vanilla and a hint of spices.

Feeling very young in the palate, the oak still a bit upfront but also showing some intense black fruits, it has a very good structure, a big body helped by some very solid tannins. Medium long finale with notes of black fruits and a nice dry feel.

A good example of the Petit Verdots that have started to appear recently from the south of Portugal.

Tasted on 2011-10-11

Onda Nova Syrah 2007

15.0 / 20

Producer: Adega do Cantor

Region: Algarve

Country: Portugal

Owned by Cliff Richards, the Adega do Cantor in Algarve has been making wines for the past 6 years or so.

This, the 2007 vintage for their Syrah, has an extremely dark, purple color. Lots of jam in the nose, along with dark ripe plums, some nice toast/oaky impressions and a hint of mint that gives it some freshness. All very fruit forward and new worldly.

Soft bodied in the palate, with some hints of spices and very nicely integrated oak. Balanced acidity and mellow tannins make it an easy to drink wine but also seem to prevent it from being a bit more structured and layered. Brief persistence with lots of dark plums.

For my taste, I think this would benefit from a slightly better structure but, as it is, it's an easy to drink, enjoyable wine.

Tasted on 2011-10-09