Talk-A-Vino

Value Wines – it was a fun project. Of course the subject of value wines is endless – there are many blogs fully dedicated to the value wines. However, for me it was a project – here is group of wines, all wines are under $12, let’s see how this group will fare.

I believe the results of this project are in line with the general notion of great improvement in the quality of wines across all regions in the world (I’m sure you read about it in many places). Only one wine out of 15 was really not drinkable, couple of wines were at the border of decency, but majority was quite drinkable with few wines being simply excellent (don’t forget – we are talking about value wines under $12, not first growth Bordeaux).

I’m glad to say that the last wine I tried in the project was one of those excellent wines. 2005 Telha d’Ouro Vinho Regional Estremadura ($6.99), blend of two Portuguese noble grapes  – 50% Touriga Nacional and 50% Touriga Franca. The wine exhibited blackberries and soft plum on the nose. More ripe plums on the palate together with tobacco and hint of pepper. Tannins were hiding at the beginning ( wine had to breathe for about 30 minutes), then opened very powerfully (may be even over-powering). Presence of good acidity makes this wine nicely balanced. It also shows long finish. All in all, excellent wine and deserves drinkability rating of 8.

I also want to mention that I really love back labels on the Portuguese wines. A lot of wines sold in us have a government warning on the back label, plus sometimes a note explaining how much love went into that particular bottle of wine. Sometimes you can find useful information, but this rather an exception than a norm. When it comes to Portuguese wines, they practically always have a great back label which provides a lot of useful and interesting information, such as grape composition, type of soil, how the wine was fermented, suggested serving temperature and so on ( you can see for yourself). Don’t know about you, but this is type of information I’m typically interested in.

That’s all for this project. I will be glad to see your comments regarding your own value wine experiences, and I wish you all lots of good wine discoveries. Cheers!