Dão
Alvaro Castro Dão Tinto 2007
Just a quick note on this one. This is Alvaro Castro’s entry level wine and I find that it’s the kind of wine that polarises people. It’s gamey and a bit wild, I find I need a couple of sips to get into it, but once I’m there I have a great time.
It’s a blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Jaen (Mencia) and Tinta Roriz that sees 6 months in old wood before being bottled.
The nose starts off with a gamey meat smell, followed up with some plums and black cherries, subtle spice and an old campfire note. The palate has the goods however, smooth and focused with some sandy tannins on the finish. It’s very complex and I feel like my palate is pulled from one side to the other at times. It’s very dry and a bit wild, more notes of plum and dark fruits with strong wild sage character, a touch of chocolate and liqorice. It’s not something I’d want to drink a lot of on it’s own, but with a spicy sausage pasta it was a treat. 87+ Pts
Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $33 Closure: Conventional Cork
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Even for my portuguese taste it is a little bit wild. Store it for about 5 years and it shoud be just great.
…And yes Jaen is Mencia (but not always) and Tinta Roriz is (always) Tempranillo.
NOG
I was under the impression that these were early drinkers, I’ll follow your advice and put some in the cellar to see what happens.
It’s so good to be able to get this kind of advice, otherwise I’d never know! What other grapes are known as Jaen?
In Portugal old vines have different grapes all together and it makes the task to investigate them very difficult. Almost every time Jaen is indeed identified as Mencia, but sometimes it can be mistaken by old Alfrocheiro grapes.
I prefer, as a rule, Spanish 100% Mencia wine rather than Portuguese 100% Jaen wines (and we do not have a lot of that because we traditionally use Jaen together with other grapes like Tinta Roriz).
… I would say is something like the Portuguese and Spanish Alvarinhos but the all the way around… since top Portuguese Alvarinhos can be a lot better than the top Spanish ones (IMHO).
Nuno
ahh I see, that would make it hard in older vineyards. Are people still planting it?
Unfortunately we get hardly any Portuguese alvarinhos down here…
i’m a very casual blogger, i sometimes blog about booze. - i wrote this up in september, and got surprisingly similar flavour vibes.
i am however surprised that you’d be reluctant to drink it without food? and not much of it?.. i must point out that i’m a complete european wine noob, and definately no pro taster.. and i’m not arguing with you, just curious as to why you wouldn’t suggest it without food?
it appealed to me without food (although i’ve had it with, and you’re right.. it rocks) but i found it to be very easy going wine.
also, if i like this.. is there anything else you can suggest?
Hi rm, great questions. Basically, there are other wines that I find more enjoyable on their own. I tend to think about the level of enjoyment you get from the wine, afterall this is why I drink it, and this is much more enjoyable with food.
If you like this, I would check out the Luis Pato wines, they are similar in style. Let me know how you go…
i’m assuming they’re at tsa?
Yep, TSA are the importers of Luis Pato.
which retailers have a good chunk of their portfolio? i’ll go and snaffle some asap.
my tn for alvaro is the link on rm btw.