Something to drink while you’re listening to my recent podcast with João Portugal Ramos, who makes this wine alongside his son, João Maria, Marquês de Borba is a wonderful, richly flavoured southern Portuguese blend from the Alentejo region, produced from a medley of Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez (Portuguese Tempranillo), Castelão and Syrah. Foot-trodden in traditional fashion before ageing in older wood, it’s a plush, ripe, inky delight that would work equally well with a summer barbecue or a winter stew, showing flavours of blackberry, bramble and plum, smooth tannins , stony intensity and well-integrated tannins.
Country: Portugal
A Different Path
by Margaret Rand
Did any grower ever say, ‘I’m looking for a really cold, wet site – Yorkshire, maybe, or Derbyshire – so I can plant Ortega and Huxelrebe and Rondo’? Equally, how...
2021 Marques de Borba Vinhas Velhas, Alentejo
( £12.99, 14.5%, Majestic )It’s good to see João Maria Ramos working alongside his father João Portugal, one of the leading lights of the Alentejo region, these days. The pair have made a very tasty old-vine blend in 2021, partnering Alicante Bouschet, 20% Aragonez (aka Tempranillo) and 15% each of Castelão and Syrah. Intense, grippy and full-bodied, it’s just the thing for a cold November evening, preferably accompanied by a good stew. Spicy, muscular and intense, with aromas of spicy oak, thyme and liquorice and a core of damson, fig and blackberry fruit.
2021 Invincible Número Dois, Douro
( From £18.74, 12.5%, Dionysus Wines, Givino, Heritage Cellars, Majestic, Philglass & Swiggot )The Douro Valley is mostly red wine (and Port) territory, but its whites can be brilliant too, as long as the site is cooler and at altitude. That’s the case with Rita Marques’ brilliant assemblage of local varieties, dominated by Rabigato, Arinto and Códega de Larinho. Aromas of saffron, fennel and wet stones segue into a palate that has lovely granitic minerality, layers of citrus zest, lime and wild thyme and a mouth-watering finish.
Tailoring Terroir
by Margaret Rand
In London, if you want your friends to hate you, give their dog a squeaky toy. In Ireland, or at least in the house on the West Coast where I’m...
Falling In Love With Baga
by Cong Cong Bo
If you enjoy Barolo or Burgundy, I would recommend trying Bairrada, the Portuguese region most known for the red grape, Baga. These are lofty comparators, but justified: Baga retains high...
By The Book?
by Margaret Rand
Can winemakers still be self-taught? Or must they, in this technocratic age, be able to sport some letters after their name? When I asked Peter Hall, the arch-maverick of Breaky...
2017 Quinta da Silveira Colheita Branco, Douro Valley
( £16.95, 12.5%, Davy's )It’s something of a paradox. How can a region as hot as Portugal’s Douro Valley, home of full-throttle Ports, also produce elegant, graceful white wines? The answer lies in site selection, picking dates and the acidity of the local grapes. This cuvée of Rabigato, Gouveio, Viosinho and Arinto is a delicious example from winemaker Rodrigo Martins. It’s both lightly tropical and refreshing, with notes of caramelised pineapple, pear and green apple, fresh, almost salty acidity and a hint of kerosene that’s reminiscent of an aged Riesling. Remarkable at the price.
2020 Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande, Douro Valley
( £14.00, 13%, Hedonism, The Old Bridge Wine Shop )Portugal’s Douro Valley is best known for Port, of course, and increasingly for the quality of its dry reds, but its best whites can be every bit as exciting. This brilliant value blend combines four local grapes – Viosinho, Arinto, Rabigato and Gouveio – from vineyards at over 600 metres and is a stony, tangy, aromatic delight. Gracefully wooded in 500-litre barrels, it has notes of honeysuckle, lime and citrus peel, with a dusting of vanilla spice and a zingy finish.
2018 Marquês de Borba Vinhas Velhas, Alentejo
( £11.99, 14.5%, Majestic )It’s something of a paradox that the best winter reds often come from warm climates that produce throaty, full-bodied wines. This old-vine cuvée from the Portuguese Alentejo region is a case in point. Made with Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez (Tempranillo), Castelão and Syrah, it’s spicy, intense and textured, unfurling bramble, fig and blackberry flavours in the glass, with a patina of sweet cinnamon oak.
The Best Wine Books of 2021
by Henry Jeffreys
How do you write a wine book that appeals to the general reader? All the stuff about schist, clones and yields that make up a good part of wine writing...
2020 Mimo Moutinho Portuguese Loureiro, Vinho Verde
( £6.49, 11.5%, Aldi )Vinho Verde gets a bad rap sometimes, deservedly so in its sweeter iterations, but can be wonderful if it’s made in a pithy, dry style. This great value Loureiro from Aldi is appealingly fresh and focused, with low alcohol, lime and lemon zest flavours, a hint of carbon dioxide and a pure, tangy, Atlantic Ocean-influenced finish. Just the thing for a seafood supper.