Portuguese Wine Tasting

Having gone to Portugal in May 2016 and been forced to drink much of the local wine due to the wettest May for 50 years, I was excited to go to a Portuguese Wine Tasting at Harry's bar in the city to get my hands on some more Touriga Nacional. The event actually took place before Christmas and I wrote this post at the time, but just never put it up!

I persuaded a fellow big red lover to join me, and we walked into the bar just a little bit more excited than we should be for a Tuesday evening (we might have had a couple of small beverages en route). The event was run by husband and wife team (Steven and Michelle) who own the Portuguese Vinhos website. We were introduced to a couple of light ports mixed with soda and some fruit as an aperitif. The red was definitely more to my taste than the white, but I could see how they were trying to get port to appeal to a younger audience. It's probably a nice drink in the heat of the summer sun in Portugal...

The evening started off by Steven telling us a little bit about the main growing regions of the country, which was a great reminder of what I learnt when I was out there. They then introduced a lady from the Martha Port company, who took us through what ports her family had been making for the past 4 generations.

Then we moved onto the best bit, the tasting. My partner in crime for the evening is not a massive fan of white or pink, so the Vinho Verde was off the menu for us. This wasn’t really an issue for me, as I think green wine is best enjoyed sitting in the sun in Portugal (or any other hot climate for that matter). So we started with some lesser bodied reds (makes them sound like a bird) before moving onto the main event for me – various blends of Touriga.

We really enjoyed a number of the fuller bodied reds (particularly those from the Douro), and the Rocha Rosa (2011 and 2012) was very quaffable and a good price at £12 a bottle. Between us we made up an order for a case of reds for the Christmas season (and I have managed to hold a couple back for these long winter months!)

We saved the best for last with the Port tasting. We know what we like so didn't waste any time on young Ruby Port, and instead went straight for a 20 year old and a 40 year old tawny port. I’ve never had a 40 year old anything before, so the taste and aroma really was something special. But at £55 for a bottle it was a  bit steep for my tastes. Instead the pair of us purchased a bottle of the 20 year old Tawny – a treat for Christmas.

If you haven't tried Portuguese wine, I really recommend you do. I have enjoyed everything I have tasted with Touriga Nacional in its blend. 

Visit: Portuguese Vinhos