Portuguese Red Wines from the Setubal and Alentejo regions...

After an excellent dinner last night (mussels a la poivre, garlic shrimps, and spaghetti aglio e olio with some very spicy chillies I was inspired to take a couple of photos of the bottles of red that we enjoyed. The best Portuguese reds (with some notable exceptions) are rarely exported out of the country, leaving the Portuguese to enjoy their own best wines at home for prices that, by London wine standards, are absolutely ridiculous. That extends itself across the table, however, as the mussels here are also incredibly cheap - Setubal has some of the best seafood I have ever tasted.

From left to right, in the photo, we vary in price range, in Euros, from 4.99 to under 2. These are: Herdade do Porto da Bouga, Quinta da Esperanca (Farm of Hope), Dona Ermelinda, Vila das Gamas Vidigueira and the humble JP Azeitao. While the latter is a basic budget table wine for the hard times when you're an AAWD ('alcoholic artist without dough'TM), its pedigree originates with the great Joao Pires & Sons wine estates that now include the Bacalhoa brand in Azeitao, just a few kms from Setubal. JP have some excellent reds as well as the famous Moscatel de Setubal, a great desert wine. Bacalhoa also produces one of the best cabernets I have tried, clocking in on the wallet at an astounding 14.99. That one is reserved for the successful tours and gold record parties, of course! Posh? Haha. Anyways, the JP Azeitao is Bacalhoa's humble blend of the Castelao, Aragones and Syrah castes that wins our cheapest decent wine award.

Next up we have a curious recommendation courtesy of "El Burguesito" my psychologist friend and doctor Miguel Moita (www.eraumavez.org), who must also have fallen in somewhat hard times as he used to exclusively drink Bouga. The Vila das Gamas Vidigueira, from the Alentejo region - for those not familiar with Portuguese geography, that's the province directly southeast of Setubal, covering the entire southern half of Portugal north of the Algarve. Not much goes on in the Alentejo, actually, and you can drive for a few hours through some lovely fields and rolling hills (it is mostly flat) without seeing a soul. But in the 'montes' there is typical farming activity and includes some of the countries' best vineyards. I would in fact make the case for the Alentejo region being responsible for Portugal's most enjoyable wines, although the rich northerners from the Douro river valley would obviously disagree. These are the wines of the people. But I digress.

Vila das Gamas Vidigueira, clocking in at about 2.50 blends the Alfrocheiro, Aragones, Trincadeira and Castelao castes. Note that Castelao, I believe, is also marketed under the brand name Periquita and thus widely exported - I have seen Periquita in Canada and Sweden for example. This 2006 Vidigueira is more refined than the JP Azeitao and has character - a distinct personality.

Next (to the left) is my latest find, courtesy of my sister Andreia and her man Vitor Guerreiro, who brought not just one but two bottles. Family! Dona Ermelinda, at about 3.50 damage to the wallet, is an absolutely unbelievable find (sometimes sold at a higher price, and rightly so!) from the Palmela region (just north of Setubal, beautiful old village on a hill with an amazing castle) featuring the Castelao grape once again. My new favourite, and names after the wine-maker's Grandma!

At about 4.00 Euros comes the much-awarded Quinta da Esperanca, or "Farm of Hope", featuring 6 prizes below its label including the Gold award from Canada's Selection Mondiale des Vins 2007, the German Mondus Vini prize, and the International Wine Challenge (Bronze) 2007. I suspect the caste/grape to also be Castelao, although it is not specified on the label. An excellent tasting wine as well, but not quite the Dona Ermelinda.

Finally, at 4.99, the Herdade do Porto da Bouga - available exclusively at Pingo Doce supermarkets - is already a classic around here, well deserving of mention alongside the other greats (Monte Velho, Marques de Borba, etc.) that I urge anyone visiting Portugal to try. It combines the Trincadeira, Aragones, Alicante and Syrah castes with Portugal very own Touriga Nacional grape - a national treasure!

Well, that was a lot of typing and it's made me thirsty. A nossa!