KValley
08-03-2001, 07:39 PM
So, I warned you that our recent pilgrimage to Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle would result in wine reviews. Here's the first:
JP Vinhos, Tinto de Anfora 1998, Vinho Regional
This is a humble regional wine from the plains of the Alentejo, located in the bottom third of Portugal, which stretches east from the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish frontier; a sun-drenched region where most of Portugal's famed cork oak is grown.
The winery, JP Vinhos, has been brought to some reknown by an Australian winemaker, which might account for this wine's large, ripe taste. It is a blend of several Portuguese varietals, but the Aragonez (20 percent) is the same as Spain's Tempranillo. This would explain why I liked it so much (love my Spanish reds!).
It was delight from the first sniff. Warm, ripe, sweet cherries in aroma; on the palate it was lush cherry, and ripe, slurpy plum. It is a red that needed no food to accompany- I could have had it for dessert!
Dinner was a bit eclectic- I broiled salmon that had been marinated in soy sauce, garlic, and dark beer and made a salad of greens, chard, shiitake mushrooms, orange bell pepper, sliced almonds and gorgonzola. We also had leftover Chipotle-Maple Sweet Potatoes and Coconut-Lime Rice. Trying to match a wine with such diversity in flavor (hot, sweet, tangy, sharp) was nigh to impossible.
The wine was best with the salad and salmon- the sharp, tangy cheese and mushrooms brought out the toasted oak in which it had been stored; the salmon welcomed the generous berry flavor.
All this for $10. Europeans just do it better :D
JP Vinhos, Tinto de Anfora 1998, Vinho Regional
This is a humble regional wine from the plains of the Alentejo, located in the bottom third of Portugal, which stretches east from the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish frontier; a sun-drenched region where most of Portugal's famed cork oak is grown.
The winery, JP Vinhos, has been brought to some reknown by an Australian winemaker, which might account for this wine's large, ripe taste. It is a blend of several Portuguese varietals, but the Aragonez (20 percent) is the same as Spain's Tempranillo. This would explain why I liked it so much (love my Spanish reds!).
It was delight from the first sniff. Warm, ripe, sweet cherries in aroma; on the palate it was lush cherry, and ripe, slurpy plum. It is a red that needed no food to accompany- I could have had it for dessert!
Dinner was a bit eclectic- I broiled salmon that had been marinated in soy sauce, garlic, and dark beer and made a salad of greens, chard, shiitake mushrooms, orange bell pepper, sliced almonds and gorgonzola. We also had leftover Chipotle-Maple Sweet Potatoes and Coconut-Lime Rice. Trying to match a wine with such diversity in flavor (hot, sweet, tangy, sharp) was nigh to impossible.
The wine was best with the salad and salmon- the sharp, tangy cheese and mushrooms brought out the toasted oak in which it had been stored; the salmon welcomed the generous berry flavor.
All this for $10. Europeans just do it better :D