WBW #38: Bacalhoa Só Touriga Nacional 2003

If you read the post just before this one, you’ll see that domaine547 was lucky enough to have Ryan and Gabriella from Catavino, hosts of this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday on Portuguese table wines, lead us in the right direction. The wine we drank is now one we’re selling, also thanks to Ryan and Gabriella. Again, you’ll have to read the post just below to get the full scoop on our newly announced Catavino-Pack Portuguese Wine Sampler…

In any case, here’s some dish on the 2003 Touriga Nacional Só from the Bacalhoa winery. It’s from the Terras do Sado region, close to Lisbon, and is exclusively produced from the Portuguese red grape variety Touriga Nacional. The grapes are from the Casais da Serra vineyard, located at the bottom of the Arrábida mountains, and the terroir is made up of “calcareous-clay” which the winery claims, along with the mirco-climate, is ideal for the production of Touriga Nacional. Ultimately, the wine was aged for 8 to 10 months in new Allier and American oak barrels, and the alcohol rings in at 14% according to the bottle.

This wine has a lovely deep purple color, and is virtually opaque. The aromas are of black fruits, and verges on Amarone in style, but stops short of any raisin-like elements. There’s also some mocha on the nose, which we’d assume comes from the time this has spent in American oak.

On the palate, the Só is anything but so-so. It’s really lovely: smooth, elegant, and ever so slightly dusty. The fruit remains concentrated, as the color would have indicated, but the ripe black fruit comes across with lots of floral, vanilla and black raspberry nuances. It’s not overly extracted in the least, and the alcohol is in terrific balance with the acidity and the fruit. This is a bold wine, but one with some femininity to it. It’s definitely walking a line, but it never crosses over to the dark side.

The wine retails for $23, and it’s definitely packing in a lot of bang for the buck. Compared to well made, full-bodied reds in the $20 to $30 price-range, from more recognized wine regions (i.e., Napa Cabs, Sonoma Zins from wineries like Ridge, Super-Tuscans and French Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs), the Só definitely pulls its weight in quality, and in QPR. This is a wine we’d recommend highly. It’s a little different, yet very approachable. We think it would make an especially great “dinner party wine” if you’re going to your boss’s house…it’s an out of the box varietal made in a familiar style.

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