Casa da Passarella 'A Descoberta' Rosso 2020
Made in stone lagars and aged in cement tanks along with some large old wooden vats, it's a very typical Dão blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (elsewhere, Tempranillo), Alfrocheiro and Jaen (aka Mencia).
A Descoberta means 'to be discovered' and the somewhat mystical label, a box tagged 1942 is a folkloric reference to an early version of a time capsule a box hidden in the stone walls of the house of Passarella containing a will to be opened 50 years hence and directing the riches of the box be re-distributed to the poor. The box was empty. Enrichment comes from the intangible not the material, it seems ...
A lovely wine supple, fleshy and spicy, with extra delicate tannin and oak. From lead-off, the cherry-chocolate fruit really shows the Dao granite, and is laden with wiry dark herbs. In the mouth, it's fleshy-meaty and mineral fresh - round with good movement and fruit-earth interplay. It has excellent presence in the mouth but is not reliant on weight for the show. Wonderfully composed, it sits and radiates, effortless in affect. Gorgeous delicate tannin is the frame, rimming the mouth and allowing the fruit and spicy acid to radiate delicately. A wonderful advertisement for varietal blends. The Spanish Acquisition.
We tasted this wine along with a myriad of Iberian wines upstairs in the shop with Richie the importer and it was one that stood out that day. From the Dao Region up in the mountains of Portugal, grapes sourced from a vineyard at 400m elevation on Granite soils, it's a blend of local Portuguese varietals including Touriga Nacional which you see in the fortified ports of the Duoro Valley.
Medium to dark ruby in the glass, it has attractive aromas of dark plums, spice, earth and smoke. Medium bodied black fruits sit nicely on the palate alongside the savoury notes that are evident on the nose. Touriga Nacional is known for producing robust tannins but they are really well managed in the wine and there's plenty of interest at this price point. A really good introduction to Portuguese red table wines and what in particular comes out of Dao region. Cameron, FWC.
