Every once in a while you come across a wine that's so special in its own way that it is worth writing home about - or, in this case, devoting a whole blog post to it. I should preface this piece by explaining what brought about making such a discovery.
A few months ago, I got together with a good friend of mine and former colleague, who is now in the wine business, at the Spring Mill Cafe, a long-established French BYOB in Conshohocken. I thought it would be a the perfect occasion to break out a nice bottle of Bordeaux that had been cellaring in my cave for quite a few years (it was a 2005 Saint Emilion) . Alas! As soon as the server poured us a sample and we took a sniff, we could tell something was awry - it was corked (spoiled by a very unpleasant cork taint)! It was such a disappointment since I'd been looking forward to tasting it for a long time.
I decided it was time to test-sample some of the other older bottles in my cellar so I wouldn't get another unwelcome surprise. This is when the Coravin wine preservation gizmo comes in really handy. (I had invested in one of these during the first year of the pandemic, having saved up a little money from the lock-down.)
A prime candidate was another 2005 vintage bottle in my cellar that I was anxious to try and that I probably bought some years ago at the Lisbon Liquors and Wines shop in Newark, New Jersey, which I wrote about previously in this space.
As I dribbled out a sample from the Coravin gadget, swirled and sniffed, I was very pleased to detect no sign of cork taint, vinegar or other off-putting olfactory sensations that may spoil the enjoyment of a well-aged wine. Indeed, what I took in through the nose were deep, rich, revelatory aromas of dark red fruit, pomegranate, cranberry along with a broad palate of burnished mahogany, leather, baked spice and cigar box. These attributes only intensified when I poured myself a full glass with dinner the next day. The wine's intensity and deep, complex flavors were balanced by steely, but restrained tannins extending to a medium-long finish. Such a heady wine seemed to imply a high alcohol content, yet it comes in at only 12.5%, certainly on the lower end for most Portuguese wines, red or white.
This Reserva hails from the Barraida region in north central Portugal, between Lisbon and Porto, near the Atlantic coast, which is duly noted in Hugh Johnson' Pocket Wine Book as a particularly good value in each of its classes, and for its Baga red, one of the dominant varietals in the region. I couldn't find the exact percentages for this particular cuvée, but it does include two other common Portuguese varietals, namely Tinto Roriz (Tempranillo) and Castelão, in addition to the Baga.
I have no recollection of what I actually paid for it, but it was likely in the $12-15 range, no doubt an exceptional value. And this is one of the key factors in anointing it "Wine of the Year" - not necessarily the best, most perfect, or sublime of that year, but certainly, the most memorable and one that will stay with me for many years to come.
For more perspective on special wines, please see this column by my favorite wine writer and critic, Eric Asimov, who probes what makes a wine "great". https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/dining/drinks/great-wines.html
As we enter into another year of unknowns, I encourage you to transform an ordinary "lock-down" day into something special by treating yourself to that rainy-day wine.
Cheers!
