I wish I could afford more white Burgundy

[SteveTimko]

2004 Dow Douro Reserva Vale do Bomfim - Portugal, Douro (2/13/2015)

I brought this as a second, bonus bottle to a pre-Oscars screening of "Citizenfour" because I thought it was over the hill but it's still in good shape with a couple of years to go. It's not a profound wine and it's not getting any better, but it has aged well. Mostly dark fruit on the nose and palate. I don't know what the grapes are, b ut I didn't detect touriga nacional. I've had a half dozen dry Portuguese wines and all were lighter than this. It seemed matched for a nice steak. I only bought one bottle for $12. I wich now I had purchased several so I could track this wine's development over the years. Imported by Premium Port Wines, Inc.

2008 A. et P. de Villaine Rully Les Saints-Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully (2/13/2015)

This is showing great. Excellent acidity. Crisp, clean. Excellent minerality. Nicely balanced and elegant from the attack to the mid palate and into the lingering finish. I was so happy it wasn't premoxed. I wish this was still the bargain it was when I first tried it. A Kermit Lynch import.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Wow, you can detect Touriga Nacional? Kudos. In any case, Portuguese dry reds tend to be lighter outside the Douro and Alentejo, which are scalding regions. This heat makes the Douro great for Port, but not so great if one wants dry reds with sufficient natural acidity (though some older, cooler vintages can show quite well).

 

[SteveTimko]

With dry touriga nacional I usually pick up the white flowers, a meatiness and noticeable tannins. I got none of that in this wine.