The Enthusiast - December 2024
Hello December! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…lots of wine and mince pies and baked bacalhau! We’ve all got our favourite holiday cuisine and The Fellas have picked three wines to slide right in there with your “lütvisk” or your “oliebollen” or your “turducken”.
Wine descriptions below, and if you run out, you can order more from The Cellar.
Don’t forget, you can look up past boxes in The Archive.
Vinha de Santa Maria, "Granítico" Encruzado
[grape/vintage] Encruzado / 2022
[region] Dão
Think of sunshine. Think of apples and peaches. Think of sliced lemons. Then dust it all in fresh snow on a field of Edelweis on a cold winter morning. A deliciously good Encruzado on any day of the year, but we would pop it open next to a platter of smoked salmon and capers on rye toast. Single vineyard, manual harvest and stainless steel fermentation – natural, clean and simple.
Pairs well with smoked salmon on toast, a frisée salad with toasted walnuts and calves liver, a lemon tart.
Read more about it in The Cellar.
Omnia, Tinto
[grape/vintage] Sousão, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional / 2021
[region] Douro
Dark and stormy in the Douro hills. A shepherd’s hut amidst the brambles and plum trees, a warm fire on the hearth and a cabrito stew cooking in an old iron pot. This low-intervention wine captures the essence of traditional Douro winemaking: find the best grapes and blend them in the barrel for the perfect long finish.
Pairs well with veal marsala, a rich game pie, a flourless chocolate torte with heavy cream.
Read more about it in The Cellar.
Quinta da Atela, Reserva Tinto
[grape/vintage] Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah / 2019
[region] Tejo
This could be the setup for a bad joke: three French grapes walk into a bar. But in this case, the bar is in Portugal and the barmen’s Portuguese and he makes them all get along. Which means we get to enjoy a smooth, balanced and unpretentious wine with dark fruit and existential angst from the Syrah, smooth-talking cherry and cranberry from the Merlot, and a floral broodiness from Monsieur Petit Verdot.
Pairs well with spaghetti and meatballs, lamb souvlaki, roast veggies, cherry pie.
Read more about it in The Cellar.