TNs: Portugalia get-together

[Michael Malinoski]

We had six people for a fun evening at Portugalia Restaurant, where we dined on their fantastic food and shared some bottles with one another. Nothing was served blind and there was no specific order or flights.

NV Cecilia Beretta Prosecco di Treviso Poggio delle Robine Extra Dry. For whatever reason, I never got around to trying this.

2013 Anselmo Mendes Vinho Verde Muros Antigos. This is tingly, bright and fresh on the nose, with pretty floral notes of chamomile, peach fuzz, orange blossom, cantaloupe and potpourri lifting up airily out of the glass. In the mouth, it has a zesty, bright presence to it, with clean, easy-flowing and zesty flavors of green melon, cantaloupe, green grapes, mineral salts and grass. It finishes dry, with pretty floral tones. It’s friendly and welcoming light-bodied stuff to enjoy now.

2000 Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa Valley. Bright gold in color, this is nonetheless a bit cloudy and hazy in appearance. The nose is a tad narrowed at this point, but features a really beautiful beam of tropical exotic yellow fruit (mango, plantain), lanolin, caramel, dried apricot, mace and allspice aromas. In the mouth, it is oily and gently leesy in feel, with huge amounts of mace and nutmeg spice tones riding atop a rich core of yellow apple, pear, lanolin and woody flavors. It’s more toned and less plump than the younger Kongsgaard Chardonnays I’ve had, but it has good drive and acidic structure to carry along the flavors just fine. I might not hold too much longer, but it’s drinking nicely for now.

2004 Calabretta Nerello Mascalese Sicilia Vigne Vecchie. Served from magnum. There are some fine Old World stylings here on the nose, showing off really nice aromas of leather, black tea, smoked black cherries, dirt mound and slight funk surrounded by richer dark fruit and earth notes. It’s smooth and seemingly well-resolved in the mouth, with very little in the way of tannic interference. There’s a nice little squirt of acidity to carry along the flavors of cherry, cassis and raspberry fruit and little puffs of smoke and tarry earth. It finishes dry and very even-toned—a solid wine drinking well right now.

2002 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses. This is a very healthy dark ruby color, with just a hint of clearing at the rim. It features an earthy, savory-tinged bouquet of charred leather, black tea, granite stone, black plum, tobacco leaf, linen and jalapeno pepper scents that are cool and old fashioned in the best sense. In the mouth, it is a little tannic and sticky in texture, with the acidity fairly aggressive right up front. It just seems really youthful and strapping at this stage, with the earthy flavors up front and the fruit held in reserve. It’s medium-plus in body, with fine tobacco and dusty earth edgings to the dark cherry fruit buried down deep. I like its personality and overall make-up a good deal, but concede that it needs another 3-5 years or so before trying again.

1999 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. This is simply excellent all around, starting with the wild, exotic, fun-filled nose featuring aromas of incense, spice cake, Turkish coffee, bridle leather, wild blueberries, allspice and clean horse barn. In the mouth, it’s smooth, juicy, giving and generous with its spice-accented flavors of blueberry and black cherry fruit atop funky earth tones. It has easy tannins, great flow, wonderful energy and delightfully fun flavors—just lovely to drink at this stage. My WOTN.

2000 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rubis. This is darker and a bit more serious in nature on the nose—with aromas of mushrooms, scorched earth, leather, chalk dust, toasted grape stems, black raspberries and blueberries. It veers much more toward the red fruit spectrum in the mouth, delivering warm jammy flavors of cherry, raspberry and cassis surrounded by gentle spices and hints of confectionary sugar. The texture can be a tad fudgy, but otherwise it’s easy-flowing and devoid of tannic restraints. It shows good life and enveloping fruit all the way through, and would seem to be drinking at peak. It’s clearly not in the class of the ’99 Pegau, but it can be said to be showing pretty well nonetheless.

2005 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Imperial Reserva. Dark purple in color, this wine is just loads of fun to sit and sniff—pumping out inviting and exotic aromas of eucalyptus, cedar closet, dried dill, sour cherries, blackberries, mulling spices and incense. It’s super-smooth in the mouth, with no hard edges anywhere and a beautifully creamy texture to carry along the blueberry, sour cherry, dried plum, vanilla, sweaty funk, cedar and oak spice flavors. It has nice tangy acidity, too, and is just a lovely young wine with lots to give now but also many years ahead. This is a very nice showing, indeed.

2003 Château Rieussec Sauternes. Here one encounters a rich and honeyed bouquet of orange marmalade, crème brulee topping, coconut shavings, iced tea, nectarine, Christmas ribbon candy and botrytis spice aromas that are typically lovely. In the mouth, it’s unctuous, rich and sweet, but finely-controlled with its flavors of burnt orange peel, frozen persimmon fruit, orange pekoe tea, apricot, allspice and botrytis cream. It’s just smooth, luscious and delicious from the first sip onwards.


-Michael

[AKR]

The last 4 things seem like stuff I would have brought

[Nicklasss]

Great report, fun to read Michael.

When I started to like Chateauneuf du Pape, Beaucastel was my favorite, but you need to drink it young or old because in between there is a strong dumb phase. With the years, i sampled more Pégau Réservée, and would say that the Pégau is clearly my favorite CdP now, as the dumb phase is not as strong, and drink relatively well at almost any age.

Nic