Sidecar Tinto NV Portugal: a bi-regional, amphora-aged beauty

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Sidecar Tinto NV Portugal: a bi-regional, amphora-aged beauty

sidecar

This is a lovely wine. It’s a collaboration between Susana Esteban (who works in the Alentejo), and Filipa Pato and William Wouters (who work in Bairrada). Half of the wine comes from Portalegre in the Alentejo, and half is Baga from Bairrada. It’s made in amphora.

Susana created the Sidecar brand with a view to working with a different winemaker each year. In 2014 it was Dirk Niepoort; in 2016 Eulogio Pomades (who, like Susana, is Spanish). She explains the concept here:

To share moments, ideas and experiences with other oenologists or people connected to wines is something that I have always liked and encouraged. So, I decided to create the brand Sidecar.

Each year I will challenge a friend to produce wine in my wine cellar, in Mora.

They will decide how to interpret this region’s fantastic vineyards…. by driving the motorcycle!

For Sidecar’s second edition, I invited two friends, the winemaker Filipa Pato and the sommelier William Wouters. Quite a mix, you would think… It makes all sense though!

We decided to bring out the best field blend of indigenous grape varieties from the Serra de São Mamede, in a higher and cooler part of Alentejo and mix with an illustrious Baga grape from centennial vineyards of Atlantic influenced Bairrada.The wines were both fermented and aged in amphorae.

Sidecar Vino de Mesa NV Portugal
12.5% alcohol. This is beautifully stony and aromatic with cherries, plums and fine spiciness. Grainy texture with an appealing bitter damson edge. This has freshness and purity with a nice stony dimension to the fruit. It’s a ripe wine but it shows restraint. Supple, elegant and delicious. 94/100

Find this wine with wine-searcher.com

1 Comment on Sidecar Tinto NV Portugal: a bi-regional, amphora-aged beautyTagged
wine journalist and flavour obsessive

One thought on “Sidecar Tinto NV Portugal: a bi-regional, amphora-aged beauty

  1. I’m sure it’s a great wine but I think it throws open the big question of why we place so much reverence on terroir. 94 points is a pretty good number and there are (some) other examples of making a blend from different areas, e.g. Grange.

    If these wines are so good, why don’t more people do it? Why is terroir and single vineyard generally seen as the Holy Grail?

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