In this edition of Supper Club Sips, we explored five really stellar Portuguese red wine blends from the Alentejo region. We attended a wine sustainability program late last year and had the pleasure of sampling a couple of these wines already, but stacking five blends together in one sitting, plus pairing them with Valentine’s Day faire, was a special treat.
[Related: Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program Virtual Wine Seminar]
Wines that we sampled:
Cartuxa Tinto 2016, DOC Evora (Blend: 40% Aragonez, 40% Alicante Bouschet, 20% Trincadeira)
Adega de Borba Reserva Red 2015, DOC Alentejo (Blend: Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Castelão)
Herdade Sao Miguel Colheita Seleccionada Red 2017, Regional Alentejano (Blend: 50% Alicante Bouschet, 30% Touriga National, 10% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Carmin Reguengos Garrafeira dos Sócios 2014 (Blend: 65% Alicante Bouschet, 20% Touriga Nacional and 15% Tinta Caiada)
Esporão Reserva Red 2016, DOC Alentejo (Blend: Aragonez, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouschet)
Usually we select specific foods to pair with wine samples, but in this sitting we sampled each of the five wine blends by themselves. It was a great opportunity to remove price bias, varietal bias, host(ess) bias, or any other preconceived notions while pairing with food. And it let everyone in the supper club select which was their favorite to enjoy with our meal of peppered filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and spinach souffle (and chocolate cake). In our small supper club, we discovered a wide range of “favorites,” which led me to believe that dinner parties need a variety of open bottles to sample before meals so that everyone is pleased. Otherwise, you get what the host(ess) dictates. In my case, the Adega de Borba was my favorite and I will be expecting this wine as future hostess gifts.
As always, everything was lovely and I appreciate Creative Palate for sending over these fantastic samples, and our friends Cory and Sarah for hosting our Supper Club.
For more information on Wines of Alentejo and to explore the region, visit their website here.