With global warming spreading, and temperatures rising, the traditional wine growing areas in the world are dealing with that increased heat. It means many things, including earlier harvests, planting different varietals and potentially different characteristics from existing grapes. With white wine varietals such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Gris, cooler temperatures help keep acid levels intact and support the fresh, crisp drinking experience these are known for. It get harder to do that if temperatures rise and especially if daily temperature swings narrow.
Not all areas are dealing with significant change. Case in point is the Alentejo Region in Portugal. This area has always been hot and dry. Surprisingly, the region has also been producing a large amount of aromatic white wines that span a wide range of complexity and style. Indigenous varietals shine, such as Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro, Fernão Pires and Verdelho. You can read more about the Antão Vaz grape and some of the wines it produces in a previous article here. You can find surprisingly refreshing wines from this area, along with others that bring body, texture, complex profiles and elegant fruit. A lot of that difference can result from when the grapes are harvested. There is something for everyone. The Alentejo is my favorite region in Portugal. Over the years we’ve reviewed many wines, both red and white. If you type Alentejo into our search bar you’ll see a number of reviews and articles.
For this article we have six white wines from the Alentejo. We’ll do them in two parts. Below are the first three.
2021 Torre de Palma Vinho Arinto Alvarinho – This wine is made with a mixture of Arinto and Alvarinho
grapes. Harvested by hand, the grapes are transported in small boxes and rest in a cool chamber for 24 hours. Then they are hand selected and pressed gently. After fermentation the juice is aged in previously used Burgundian oak barrels. The wine is allowed to rest sur lie. The result?
The color is a pale straw with some green hues. Initially apples and pears present on a very fruity nose with undertones of more tropical and rich fruit. Those tropical fruits emerge more with time and eventually hold sway. This has some nice body and texture, beautiful balance with refreshing acid and a clean, long finish. Clear lime flavors wrap up a pretty special white wine. I absolutely love this wine. $40 SRP, worth every penny. Highly recommended,
2018 Adega de Portalegre Conventual DOC Reserva – This is made with Arinto, Fernão Pires, Siria (another name for the aforementioned Roupiero) and
Bical. Grapes were all handpicked. After pressing the wine naturally decants on the must for 24 hours. It is processed only in stainless steel. Our thoughts?
The color is a greenish yellow. On the nose I got citrus notes and some spice. There was also something along the lines of birthday cake frosting, white buttercream to be exact. No kidding, it just struck me as exactly that. I can’t remember ever using that descriptor before. The palate is restrained, with citrus and lime. It finishes quite long. This is very good and very different. From the 2018 vintage, this also has some bottle age on it. At $25 SRP it is a good value.
2020 Adega de Redondo Porta da Ravessa Special Edition White – Here the blend is Verdelho, Arinto and
Antão Vaz. Fermentation in stainless steel vats is followed by stirring the lees during aging. Temperature is controlled at 15C. What did we think?
Light yellow in color with greenish hue. The nose is full of ripe fruit, including citrus, apricot and some banana. The palate is fruit driven and the wine has a noticeable minerality. It finishes long, and it is bone dry. Overall this is an elegant and very good white wine. At a $15 SRP it is also a good value.
There is quite a range of style and profiles in the three wines above. We have three more that we’ll report on shortly. You would expect the ripe fruits and more substantial structures of the last two wines from the Alentejo, but the the elegant, fresh, oak aged juice in the Torre de Palma is a bit of a revelation. It is sublime.
Looking forward to the next three wines!
A votre santé!
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