Caves Alianca Quinta dos Quatro Ventos Douro
Caves Alianca Quinta dos Quatro Ventos Douro
Vintage: 2005
Region: Douro (Portugal)
Varietal: Tinta Roriz,Touriga Nacional,Touriga Franca
Alcohol: 14%
Price: $19.98
Here is another example of the unique and unusual wines that our good friends at Costco are bringing into their Alberta liquor stores. I hadn’t to this point every had Portuguese wine, other than Port so I was excited to see what a standard wine from Portugal was like. This wine is a blend of the Tinta Roriz (Tempranilo) and two new to me varietals called Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. After some research, I found out that the later two are sometimes compared like the blending of more commonly known varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Douro is also a region in Portugal that is better known for Port wines.
Coming out of the bottle, the wine had a dark, inky color to it and was wound as tight a top. I seriously struggled to ascertain any distinct aromas coming from it, straight out of the bottle. I immediately thought that this wine would be an excellent contender for the cellar as in my experience, they often are much better in a few years time when they have had a chance to mellow out in bottle. After two hours of decanting, I was able to get some plums, prunes and oak off it.
As far as taste goes, this was a very, very dry wine with mouth puckering biting tannins. This is not, I repeat not, an after work or afternoon sipper, it needs to be paired with some food to really take those aggressive young tannins down. After re sampling at the two hour mark, this wine was still pushing hard. Only the next day, after at least 12 hours of exposure to atmosphere, did this wine become what I would categorize as easily drinkable displaying plums and prunes on the palate. As well, I found it to be a tad on the one dimensional side and it just lacked the complexity that normally excites me. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good wine that I would revisit in 2-3 years but for right now, hold it and let it live in bottle a few more years.
83 points
- Caves Alianca Quinta dos Quatro Ventos Douro
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on September 17th, 2008
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Esser Cellars Chardonnay
Coming out of the bottle, it exhibited a pale honey straw-ish color and the nose is delivered a bit of baked apple and honey along with some toasted oak, which almost makes it seem like apple pie.
-
Hillside Estate Pinotage
This wine rates in my top 10 Canadian wines, and I would seek it out at if you are interested in giving it a try.
-
Cooper Mountain Vineyards Cooper Hill Pinot Noir
I have been inspired to revisit Pinot Noir as when it is done right, can be heaven in a glass and when done incorrectly, can be a pure disaster. To me it is the thrill of the hunt for that special pinot that is so alluring.
-
Barefoot Zinfandel
My expectations for this one aren’t high, but I have seen other consumers walk out of stores with case loads of this wine and big smiles on their faces so who knows….
-
Against Me! interview with Tom Gabel
Preceding their latest tour stop in Calgary, I had a chance to sit down with Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel to talk about the tour, the past, the present and the future and also had a chance to spin a few miscellaneous questions in as well.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
