Pair from Portugal

My mom rounded up some Portuguese wines for me in New Bedford, MA before heading out west to visit for Christmas. New Bedford has a large Portuguese population, and many of the package stores (New England speak for liquor shops) have a plethora of non-port offerings from Portugal. I've said it before and I'll continue to push these wines because they usually represent great values.

The two we tasted were the 2000 Borges Reserva Douro ($11.49) and the Quinta do portal Mural Tinto ($8.99).

Borges: 13.5% alcohol. On the nose I found dry coffee grounds and nice berry notes. There's oak and vanilla on the attack, but not too much that it seems overdone. The wine quickly switches gears to a coffee-chocolate taste, and then the finish lingers on raspberry notes. Pleasant wine, great deal for the price. This wine reminded me of the much more expensive 2005 Benziger Tribute ($80) a biodynamic wine and Bordeaux blend.


Mural Tinto: Wasn't a big fan of this one. Alcohol-soaked cherries, gamey flavor, and red currants. Was wondering if I had a bad bottle, but I'm not inclined to try it again.