First of the Summer Wine (Tasting)

Join us for our first tasting of the summer, when we will be showcasing 10 of our favourite, fabulous wines summer wines! Think sizzling BBQs,grassy gardens, balmy evenings and sunny weekends.

Taste your way through different styles of bubbly, shades of rosé, zippy Sauvignon, crisp Riesling, summer berry reds, and big bbq reds!

Let us tell you the story of small, boutique, craft & family run winemakers.

 

RESERVE YOUR GLASS HERE

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The New Arrivals: Areal Vinho Verde

Quinta da Pousada is located in the sub-region of Vale do Ave in the heart of the Vinho Verde region. Owned by José Areal & family, Quinta da Pousada has 6 hectares of vineyards and is understood as a family farm, devoting itself diligently to produce high quality wines.  All oenological practices applied are intended to elevate the high quality wines. The Region of Vinho Verde is a region dominated by the influence of the Atlantic, creating a microclimate in the sub-region of Vale do Ave influencing very particularly the vineyards of Quinta da Pousada. The temperature does not show extreme values, resulting in a mild climate of not too cold winters with heavy rainfall and summers relatively dry and cool.

With vineyards of granitic sandy loam soil and South exposure it allows the correct number of hours of sunlight necessary for the best maturation of the grapes.The vineyards of Quinta da Pousada have a modern system of planting, acquiring more harmonious maturation and achieving wine of distinctive quality. In addition, the evolved technology used in the vinification process, ensures the strict protection of the typicality of the grapes.

Throughout the year there is an extreme care to preserve the vineyard. Defoliation is done regularly, but never in excess, allowing the grapes to breathe and absorb the sun without burning. There were significant investments starting with the vineyard (the most important for the quality of our wines) with the expansion of over 700 m² planted last year, then continue with the remodeling of the winery, a process of great dedication and passion and at the same time of continuous learning and improvement.

Areal Vinho Verde 2018 €13.95

The Vinho Verde Areal – Colheita Seleccionada , our Selected Harvest, a blend of the 4 grape varieties Arinto, Loureiro, Trajadura and Alvarinho, presents citrine color and clear and bright look. At taste the flavor is delicate, hot and melodious.

Areal Arinto Vinho Verde 2018 €14.95

The Vinho Verde Areal – Arinto reveales on tasting a fresh, lively and persistent flavor. Outstanding mineral notes, with a very pretty nose of green apple and lemon. Presents a clear appearance with bright and citrus color. Very refreshing.

A Portuguese Original

Quinta de Chocapalha Castelão 2014

Castelão, one of Portugal’s most famed and widely planted varieties, is known for its beautiful, fruit character. Quinta de Chocapalha’s interpretation of this varietal is a stunning example. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in French oak for 12 months, this Castelão retains its fresh fruit essence long after its 6 month of refinement in bottle.

Quinta de Chocapalha Castelão is a radiant purple in color with an alluring nose of fresh raspberries, ripe cherries and subtle nuances of cocoa. The silky tannins and supple body attribute great balance and elegance to the palate. The perfect pairing for casual barbecue or charcuterie plates.

Normally €17.95 but currently on Promotion at €14.95

Its a Cabernet Guys

Right a whole of the wines we talk about here are made from “interesting” grape varieties like Albarino, Zweigelt and Gruner Veltliner, that is not to say Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and the more common ones aren’t interesting but generally we tend to stick to the more exotic sounding ones. Well recognising this and needing a nice bottle of red wine to entertain some friends last friday evening i decided to grab the first “regular” wine that I saw on the shelves. Turned out to be a Cabernet Sauvignon, which was nice because I have noticed that Cabernet tends to ignored quite often in our little shop as boring and typical! This wine however was slightly different coming as it did from Quinta de Chocapalha, in Lisboa in Portugal.

The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the Tavares family estate, and aged for 16 months in oak, about half of which was new. An intense violet colour, the nose is classic Cabernet with elegant and restrained blackcurrant fruit and some herby notes and a hint of mint. In the mouth juicy cassis and blackberry fruits are complimented dark chocolate and cocoa, and again a touch of fresh mint. A really elegant red that opens up beautifully and was difficult to convince my friends was a Cab. To me the style sits nice between the tightly restrained style of good Bordeaux and the sometimes overly fruity Chilean and Aussies.

Savvy Sauvignons with a twist

As the fine weather has evaporate our wall of Sauvignon is coming down quicker than the buckets of rain outside. The Galway Races are in full swing and the been a Weather warning orange, meaning the rivers of orangey brown fake tan from ladies day are about to start flowing. But as the wall came down we noticed a few wines that had tipped along nicely under the radar, sure the Marlborough Sauvignon and Sancerre practically walked themselves out the door in by the case load but two sneaky under dogs went with them and drew many a drinker back for a second sip. So the award for the little wines that could go to Quita De Chocapalha Sauvignon Blanc and Muller ‘Eichbuhel’ Sauvignon.  practice

These two lovely wines may not have been the belle of the ball but they certainly turned a few heads and changed many an opinion.

The 2011 Chocapalha Sauvignon comes from Lisboa region of Portugal, located to the north of the City of Lisbon this area is famous for its Bucelas white wine made from the Arinto grape (incidentally Quinta de Chocapalha do a mean Arinto). So is it any wonder that this area would produce an interesting and vibrant Sauvignon. The 2011 has a pungent nose of prickly nettle, citrus and pineapple fruit on the nose all over classic freshly cut grass. The palate is fresh with a racy edge and lashing of pineapple, melon and tropical fruits.  ( Warning this is probably a Marmite wine, love it or hate it!)

The 2012 Muller Sauvignon comes from the family’s vineyard in Eichbuhel in Kremstal. The Sauvignon blanc vines are located in the highest point in the vineyard and this combined with the terroir gives the wine its minerality, fruity character and finesse. Bright greenish-yellow, the nose has an abundance of citrus and green peppers, fine notes of minerally lemon lime on the palate, slightly stinging nettle. Straight forward compact palate with great length.

Lisbon and the wonderful Quinta Do Chocapalha

http://www.winesofportugal.info/

Lisboa is a prolific wine region located at the center of Portugal’s Atlantic coast. Despite being one of the country’s most productive vinicultural areas, its name remains relatively obscure, as its wines have traditionally been labeled with the names of the local sub-regions rather than of  Lisboa itself.  To further complicate matters until recently Lisboa was known as Estremadura. Confused?

We were too! But here is our take on Lisboa wine.  Most wine here is now produced under the VR (Vinho Regional) Lisboa but the area also contains 9 DOC (Listed in the image above).  More than 30 grape varieties are used (Portugal rivals Italy in the diversity of its vine portfolio), the majority for white wine production. But in the past few decades the likes of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot have increasingly been used, as have Portugal’s traditional (and some say superior in this climate) varieties Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz/Aragonez (Tempranillo).

We began importing some very interesting wines from this region last November, from a family run Estate call Quinta Do Chocapalha. Alice and her Husband Paulo bought their estate in the Lisboa Region in the 1980s and made significant investments in its 45ha of vineyard. The introduction of new cultivation methods has allowed the family to consolidate the quality and reputation of their wines. Their daughter Sandra is in charge of the winemaking and is famous in her own right for producing some of the Douro’s best wines (Wine&Soul Winery, which she runs with her winemaking husband Jorge Serôdio Borges and whose wines could be seen very soon on these shores). We started with five of their wines 3 reds and 2 wonderful whites.

• Quinta De Chocapalha Arinto 2010
  
• Quinta De Chocapalha Tinto 2008
  
• Quinta De Chocapalha Sauvignon Blanc 2011
  
• Quinta De Chocapalha Reserva 2008
  
• CH BY Chocapalha Old Vine Touriga Nacional 2009