The Insider - January 2025
Hello 2025! Phew…2024 was something, wasn’t it? We don’t know about you but we made it through thanks to some great wine and great friendships. As that amorous old bard, Ovid, said in The Art of Love, “When there is plenty of wine, sorrow and worry take wing.”
To kick off the year, we’re going back to The Wine Fellas’ very own ancient history (December 2023 to be precise), bringing back some trusted old favourites.
As always, 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.
Infinitude Semillon/Chardonnay
[grape/vintage] Semillon, Chardonnay / 2022
[region] Lisboa
This is a real lover’s tiff, an amorous tit-for-tat, a passionate power play between two classic French grapes that are undressed and full of life from a year maturing in stainless steel. Stick your nose and palate in between these two and try and work out who is right, who is wrong: pungent, colourful Chardonnay with its guava and lychee and peach, or rootsy, earthy Semillon with its green pepper and forest floor and diesel.
Pairs well with itself or almost any meal, even red meat, but we recommend with a meaty grilled fish, some lightly fried calamari, or grilled jumbo shrimp dipped in lemon butter sauce. Don’t serve too cold!
Check it out in The Cellar.
Casa Américo, "625 Mts"
[grape/vintage] Baga, Jaen, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Pinheira / 2021
[region] Dão
One sip of this subtle, complex tinto and you’ll be transported deep into the high rocky hills of the Dão region. Keep drinking. Breathe in the wild flowers and river stones. Taste the ancient soil and old gnarled forests. Born at altitude from a single harvest, old vine field blend, and aged in steel and oak for over a year, this wine tells a story as old as the hills.
Pairs well with a creamy, smoky carbonara, a slow roast beef loin, game or meaty fish. Decant and let breathe an hour or so.
Check it out in The Cellar.
Rapariga da Quinta, Reserva Tinto
[grape/vintage] Alicante Bouschet, Aragonês, Touriga Nacional / 2021
[region] Alentejo
It’s late afternoon in a summer orchard. Fig trees, plum trees and a scattering of blackberry bushes. Heat, barely a breath of wind, the buzzing of insects, a bird chirping nearby. Ancient dolmen stones lie scattered about among the cork trees. All this is smoothly, expertly bottled up in this delicious, full-bodied blend by Luis Duarte and his family. Open, let breathe, serve slightly below room temperature, and taste the rocky soil and blue skies of the Alentejo.
Pairs well with a big fat sausage off the grill, dripping in fat or a classic Alentejano cake covered in rich plum sauce. Decant and let it open up a little before serving.
Check it out in The Cellar.