TN: 2008 Cortello Touriga Nacional

[Ray Barnes]

On a miserably rainy, windy and cool winter day in the Pacific Northwest, even by our liberal standards, taking some inspiration from the December 2011 Newsletter, it was time to search for a good cheap Portugese red wine to fight the cold and the post-Christmas blues. Bingo.

This wine is going to rock, in my opinion, for people who love full-throttle California Petite Sirah. In a blind tasting, I would have guessed that immediately, or perhaps an Aussie Petit Verdot (yes they do it as a stand alone varietal). It's labelled Vinho Regional Lisboa, presumably from near Lisbon. I could not find a website for this producer. In the glass, it is opaque, almost purple with a bit of violet at the rim - almost like the 2003 Taylor VP. Very open bouquet, with a lot of pepper, and some black cherry and blackberry. The flavour is smoother than I expected for such an aggressive aroma and look, but still has quite firm tannin, with dark fruit. Its taste is not very complex, but far from unpleasant too. 13% alcohol, well integrated. If the taste were a bit more complex this would be an amazing find at $12 a bottle. As it is, it remains a very good wine and a real no brainer for some guilt free drinking. I have seen no notes on this wine anywhere but expect it ought to score in the 85-87 range. With some bottle age this could improve, but at this price I may never know. Recommended!

[Ray Barnes]

PS - It was enjoyed with my last House of Brussels Chocolate Hedgehog hazelnut truffle. Absolute killer combination.

[Andy Velebil]

Always good to hear of decent quality wines at good prices for a daily drinker. But I must admit I've never heard of this one or seen it either.

[Ray Barnes]

Well, if it were available in your area, it would likely be going for less than $10 a bottle. Even with the local draconian pricing, it is quite a bargain. A day later, by the way, the wine's bouquet is almost screaming Petite Sirah, and the flavour has gotten a little - for lack of a better term - jammier. I've had many clarets in the $20 to $25+ a bottle range that couldn't hold a candle to this. If this is the kind of house wine one might find at a Lisbon restaurant, I'm really hankering to go there - and elsewhere in Portugal.

[Ray Barnes]

Just enjoying the last glass and a half of this bottle, 10 days after opening. The wine is in very fine shape - and several nights ago, a good friend was also very impressed with it. All things considered, I would give it a rating of very good, and excellent value at $12 in BC. Great Saturday evening wine with the NFL playoffs on the tube. Wish I had more of it!