I feel that I am on something of a roll having found a white D last week and a red E this, two tasks I failed on last year. For the white I had to stretch the budget quite a long way, but this week we are back in comfortable financial territory.
I found the supplier through Wine Searcher and at first glance it is a deli in East London (North London? where's the boundary?) but seems to be the hub of something much more interesting. Have a look at Portuguese Conspiracy to see what I mean.
Rather like week R (2014) the red grape I have selected this week is best known for its use in the production of pink wines. Espadeiro is a native of the cool climate region of Northern Portugal most famous for the white wines of Vinho Verde, of which we have sampled a couple on our journey to date. This then is the third visit to Vinho Verde, but this time we are in the pink.
Week E (2014) Arca Nova Rose, Vinho Verde DOC 2013. Portuguese Conspiracy £10.50
I doubt that this is an interesting observation, certainly not useful, but the first thing that I noticed when opening the wine was how small the cork was. I reckon it was a good centimeter shorter than the average. Is this because the wine is intended to be drunk young? Is it a new, more efficient type of cork? Is it just saving cost? I doubt it is the last of these as the bottle was quite substantial compared to some. Probably none of the above, and I am sorry to have mentioned it.
There's no doubting that this a rose wine. It is a beautifully vivid pink, the colour of fresh strawberry juice. On pouring into the glass you get the little spritzy bubbles typical of the region's produce which make the wine not so much sparkling as prickly and exciting.
It is off-dry, but a long way from the sickly sweet pinks beloved of young ladies, and it has the aromas and flavours to match the expectations that may have been set by the colour. Fresh red summer fruits and nicely balanced acidity.
At 11.5% abv and with that appealing spritz this would make a great wine for a warm summer evening, or perhaps a lazy afternoon picnic.
Vinho Verde is despite its reputation for white wines (the name itself means 'green wine') produces a wide range of styles. The producer of this range, Arca Nova, is Quinta das Arcas who make one other range in Vinho Verde and two more in Alentejo, which is a warmer region further south. They also produce cheese, olive oil and Brandy.
I really like this week's selection and am suitably intrigued by the idea of the Conspiracy that I think I will be exploring further.
I found the supplier through Wine Searcher and at first glance it is a deli in East London (North London? where's the boundary?) but seems to be the hub of something much more interesting. Have a look at Portuguese Conspiracy to see what I mean.
Rather like week R (2014) the red grape I have selected this week is best known for its use in the production of pink wines. Espadeiro is a native of the cool climate region of Northern Portugal most famous for the white wines of Vinho Verde, of which we have sampled a couple on our journey to date. This then is the third visit to Vinho Verde, but this time we are in the pink.
I doubt that this is an interesting observation, certainly not useful, but the first thing that I noticed when opening the wine was how small the cork was. I reckon it was a good centimeter shorter than the average. Is this because the wine is intended to be drunk young? Is it a new, more efficient type of cork? Is it just saving cost? I doubt it is the last of these as the bottle was quite substantial compared to some. Probably none of the above, and I am sorry to have mentioned it.
There's no doubting that this a rose wine. It is a beautifully vivid pink, the colour of fresh strawberry juice. On pouring into the glass you get the little spritzy bubbles typical of the region's produce which make the wine not so much sparkling as prickly and exciting.
It is off-dry, but a long way from the sickly sweet pinks beloved of young ladies, and it has the aromas and flavours to match the expectations that may have been set by the colour. Fresh red summer fruits and nicely balanced acidity.
At 11.5% abv and with that appealing spritz this would make a great wine for a warm summer evening, or perhaps a lazy afternoon picnic.
Vinho Verde is despite its reputation for white wines (the name itself means 'green wine') produces a wide range of styles. The producer of this range, Arca Nova, is Quinta das Arcas who make one other range in Vinho Verde and two more in Alentejo, which is a warmer region further south. They also produce cheese, olive oil and Brandy.
I really like this week's selection and am suitably intrigued by the idea of the Conspiracy that I think I will be exploring further.
No comments:
Post a Comment