South of the Tejo River in Portugal lies a region that produces world class red wines, in a hot climate that stresses the vines. There are more acres under vine here than in all of Napa, so this is a serious wine producing area. We’ve reviewed many of the reds over the past few years, but here let’s take a look at two white wines. You wouldn’t ordinarily associate good white wine with a climate this hot, but let’s see what’s in the bottles.
Wine: 2022 Antao Vaz da Malhadinha
Winery Location: Alentejo, Portugal
Tasted By: Neil Date: January 2024
Tasting Notes: Light golden in color, the wine has a nose of apple, lemongrass and a hint of peach. It is light but exuberantly fruity, with brisk acid that keeps everything very fresh and lively. Lemon wraps up the finish. It also has nice length. This is super clean, fresh and pretty delicious. It is lightly pressed and finished in all stainless steel, which preseves that clean fruit profile.
Price Point – $30
Would We Buy It? – Yes. This is a delicious white to sip on your patio this summer. It’s a solid wine at a reasonable price point for the quality.
And now the second wine:
Wine: 2021 Quinta da Fonte Souto Branco
Winery Location: Alentejo, Portugal
Tasted By: Neil Date: January 2024
Tasting Notes: Also light golden in color, this white sports a 14% alcohol level. It has a rich nose filled wth peach, banana, pineapple and wet stones. It is also rich in the mouth, with texture and viscosity. It reminds me a bit of a good, barrel aged Chardonnay without the heavy buttery oak component. It’s not overdone in any way, but is a white of substance. Part of the wine is finished in 500 liter French oak barrels. This larger barrel knocks down the effect of the oak a bit, resulting in this perfect balance. It is smooth and very long. This is one excellent white wine.
Price Point – $29
Would We Buy It? – Oh yes. This is flat out delicious and opulent while still maintaining elegance. It is a beautiful wine. Not inexpensive but still a very good value at this price.
We usually find good things when we take our wine taste buds to the Alentejo. These do not disappoint.
A votre santé!
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