DiNNER/WINE TASTING IN HERDADE DA MAROTEIRA

DiNNER/WINE TASTING IN HERDADE DA MAROTEIRA

After a beautiful journey in the Herdade da Maroteira, it is time to go to Aldeia da Serra, a quiet, sober and silent village, very close by. Hotel Convento de São Paulo is also right there. The weather is fine, late afternoon, warm, but not too light, slight breeze. We arrived at the agreed place ahead of time.

The Serra D’Ossa Restaurant is a traditional place where you can expect to eat well, be received with friendliness, and, above all, eat what is traditional in the region.

Unfortunately, no one from Maroteira joined us. The hustle and bustle of the new wine cellar, in Redondo, was justification. Patience. The food and wine were already there waiting for us. And let’s get to that. Our cicerone was worried: they were out of water. Some problem in the network surely … But we learned that is a recurring problem on this place … very surprising these days … Anyway, things that do not appear in the media, since other type of news have much more priority … otherwise, it would not happen so often …

We have 3 wines (1 white and 2 reds) to taste. The entrees are olives, cheese from Alentejo, bread and the olive oil. Then came a gazpacho and fried little fishes (janquizinhos). For main course: black pork “secretos” and “lagartos”. Finally, sweets from Alentejo. But let’s go to the wines:

1 – DEZ TOSTÕES 2017

  • Type: White Wine
  • Grape varieties: Antão Vaz
  • Alcohol content: 13,5%
  • Price: 9 euros
  • Points: 16,5

Light fruit in the aroma. Tropical fruit in the mouth … Balanced and pleasant, surprisingly fresh, but with volume in the mouth and also a nice end. A different and curious Antão Vaz. The note was almost consensual.

  • 16,5 Points 83% 83%

2 – DEZ TOSTÕES 2016

  • Type: Red Wine
  • Grape varieties: Alicante Bouschet, Aragonês, Touriga Nacional e Syrah
  • Alcohol content: 15%
  • Price: 12 euros
  • Points: 16.5

You can feel the alcohol and the ripe fruit in the aroma. And cherries. In the mouth it is very tasty, it is full bodied, but it manages to maintain a certain balance. And the ending is very interesting, with a slight sweetness that (interestingly) is not negative. Maybe one of the best Dez Tostões ever. The note was not consensual, being that it did not reach the 17 points, but almost.

  • 16,5 Points 83% 83%

3 – CEM REIS 2016

  • Type: Red Wine
  • Grave varieties: Syrah
  • Alcohol content: 16%
  • Price: 25 euros
  • Points: 18

Cem Reis classic fans can rest that the wine once again has the profile that characterizes it. Only 2015 was a bit off the mark. This 2016, although new, is ready to drink and has all that intensity, flavor and power that identifies it. Aroma brutally more intense than Dez Tostões, with slight notes of barrel. In the mouth it is very full-bodied, very tasty, very sweet, with a slightly acid but very pleasant finish. It’s that sweet wine that all the fans love. It had 18 points, and almost reached 18.5 … A very, very good wine … Every year increasing in price, but we can see why ….

  • 18 Points 90% 90%

FINAIL NOTES:

There were few proven nectars, but they were good! With a well composed belly, and with a full soul, we return by the fresh to the capital of the Empire. If the Holy Scriptures say, “A good wine rejoices a man’s heart,” who are we to contradict them?

w4p (JUL 2018)