I'm not sure how many of you saw President Obama's speech tonight but I missed it. I was being a good American by supporting a local restaurant and temporarily escaping the doldrums of the current economy. I did happen to catch Governor Jindal's response to the speech and the NPR re-cap killing the warm fuzzy feeling of the two margaritas and carnitas. This buzz-kill made me determined to introduce a wine that, no matter your political philosophies, will allow you to enjoy life a little better and save you a few bucks. If you have not started exploring the wonderful world of Portuguese table wines, it is now time. Portugal is producing fantastic dry wines, both red and white, that are easy on the wallet and even better in your belly. You may not be able to say any of the names of the grapes but do not fret...the harder they are to say the better they will taste.
Wine: Dow's Vale do Bomfim, Reserva Douro DOC
Grape(s): Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Barroca
Vintage: 2005
Website: Vale do Bomfim
Retail: $9 to $11
Fun Fact: The wine is from the two best vineyards that Dow's owns: Quinta do Bomfim (Quinta = Vineyard) and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira.
Tasting Notes: This wine is truly a superstar at this price, over delivering in every aspect: aromas, flavors, length, complexity, and balance. The wine is a deep dark red with a touch of staining in the tears (indicating that the wine sat on its skins for a while and a lot of color was extracted from the grape skins). The nose explodes with vibrant aromas of blackberries, black cherries, pie spices, plums, currants, leather, dried herbs, cocoa, dusty earth, and dried flowers. The palate is medium to full in body with rich and ripe fruit flavors caressing the palate. Once you taste the fruit the wine evolves into a more complex wine with earthier and more "minerally" driven flavors sporadically popping up between the fruit flavors. This level of complexity is generally reserved for wines three or more times the price. The tannins are present but not overt, while the balanced acidity keeps the fruit in check and causes you to crave more. Vale do Bomfim is a great accompaniment to lamb dishes, grilled short-ribs, or steak. If you are not a carnivore, a roasted mushroom ragu or risotto would be a good match too. I highly recommend this wine.
As an aside, if you go out and find this wine please come back to this post and record your thoughts both good and bad. I would greatly appreciate it as would the other readers.
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