Like you do now, I stared at this shop window for a while on Rua Augusta in Lisbon. My wife was somewhere behind me in a shoe store as I stood in front of this liquor store for more than 10 minutes. I felt the desperate urge to buy and try the 1938 KOPKE Late Bottled Vintage Port. The price tag of AU $791 (or Euro 491) however had an immediate cooling effect on my enthusiasm. ItÂ’s a romantic idea to come to Portugal to taste great old vintages of port, sure why not? ItÂ’s a only a question of money.
It was in Lisbon 17 years ago, back then as a 22 years old backpacker.
I still remember how we drunk a full bottle of Sandeman port with a Japanese-American chick in the Alfama just after lunch. In the evening we embarked on a restaurant tour with a few enthusiastic German readers. We looked for the cafe where Remarque’s excellent book “The Night in Lisbon†took place. That book was the “Da Vinci Code†of the eighties for them. Ports like the 1941 Kopke back then sold for about AU $45 if I remember correctly.
“Snap out of it. We can’t afford it†my wife’s voice sobered me as she suddenly stood next to me. I said a silent good bye to the bottles in the window and moved on.
One of the best discoveries I found later was the very modern Portuguese wine tasting centre on Praca do Comércio. It’s a fully air-conditioned huge place complete with giant plasma screens showing short films about the Portuguese wine regions. The staff spoke excellent English. I decided to try a few wines from the Ribatejo region.
My great AU $5.65 discovery. Very surprising!
After tasting about five different whites, one wine caught my attention. It was a beautifully made fresh and dry wine, not unlike a good Hunter Verdelho. My wife tried it as well.
“It’s really good, isn’t it. Probably around AU $30. Let’s get two bottles!†I suggested. To my biggest surprise, the wine only cost AU $5.65 each. Wow, just like back in the eighties, there are bargains to be had! I was beaming, my short impression below:
2004 TORRE DA TRINDADE-Quinta Da Atela-Ribatejo
Made from the Portugese Fernao Pires grape variety. Grapes harvested from vines planted on sandy soil. Fermented in stainless steel for 12 days.
Colour bright clear. Inviting aromatic nose of white fruits and a hint of rockmelon. On the palate very clean and smooth with some interesting fiery character. Completely dry and flavourful. Drink now for its liveliness and freshness. I enjoyed this a lot.
One other good wine we drunk with dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant in Cascais, a beach resort not far from Lisbon:
2003 BSE-José Maria da Fonseca-Terras do Sado
This flavourful dry white has nothing to do with the Fonseca port house in the north. This wine comes from south of Lisbon, from the Setúbal Peninsula region. The winery established in 1834. This wine retails around AU $10 in Portugal.
Colour light golden. Interesting nose of pear and rockmelon. The palate had lots of interesting and slightly unusual flavours, perhaps similar to a Mitchelton Marsanne of gooseberries and white stonefruits. Medium bodied with lovely acid structure and excellent length. Slightly exotic and completely dry. Absolutely delicious drinking with food.
We tasted this wine while looking through the extensive menu.
"Sweetheart, ordering Spanish Paella is not exactly Portuguese food†I tried to convince my wife to go with the Bacalhau (dried, salted cod) since it was one of the local specialities. Unfortunately she saw what the dish looked like earlier so she patted my hand.
“No, sweetheart, you go with the “Bacalyou†or whatever it is†she smiled.
Fine, bring on the Spanish Paella.
We only stayed for a few days in Portugal but it was fun all the way.
Cheers,
Attila
Tasted: June 2005