The
wines of Herdade São Miguel, Alentejo
A new Portuguese star from the Redondo subregion of the Alentejo
Website:
www.herdadesaomiguel.com
I
tasted through this range of wines with Alexandre Relvas (above),
who is the enologist of this, his family’s wine company.
It’s
in the subregion of Redondo (east of Evora in the middle of the
Alentejo), where the soils are clay/schist. The vineyards of Herdade
São Miguel cover 35 hectares (the property was purchased in 1997 by
Alexandre’s father, also called Alexandre, and covers 175
hectares). There’s also a second family vineyard of 65 hectares.
In addition, some grapes are also bought in from Borba. Production
is 1 million bottles annually, ranging from inexpensive entry-level
to high-end.
‘Up
to €5 ex-cellar we intend to have modern wines,’ says Relvas.
‘With the more expensive wines we try to make things that we
really like.’
The
vineyards were planted from 2001, and the first vintage of Herdade São
Miguel was 2009.
THE
WINES
Herdade
São Miguel Branco Colheita Seleccionada 2009 Alentejo
Fresh, fruity, citrussy and pith with lovely bright fruit.
Nicely judged. 87/100
Ciconia
Rosé 2009
A blend of Touriga Nacional, Syrah and Aragones. Rich, fruity
and soft in an off-dry style with nice rounded cherry and strawberry
fruit. Attractive and jellyfish. 88/100
Ciconia
Tinto 2009
This was the first Alentejo wine under screwcap (a saranex liner
is used). Sweet, open, berryish nose leads to a sweet, full palate
showing approachable berryish fruit. Very attractive. 86/100
Atlantico
Tinto 2008
A blend of Alicante, Trincadeira and Aragones. Sweet open cherry
and herb nose is quite seductive. The palate shows nice freshness
with sweet cherry, herb and berry notes. Nice savoury twist on the
finish. 87/100 (£5.99 Averys)
Montinho
de São Miguel 2008
This is a similar blend to Ciconia, but the Ciconia has some
American oak and more residual sugar. Lovely bright, berryish fruit
with some nice savoury notes. Nicely balanced. 86/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Aragonês 2008
Sweet, bold, focused red berry fruits with some creamy softness
from the oak. Vanilla and fudge richness behind the berry fruit.
Seductive and still quite primary. 87/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Colheita Seleccionada 2009
Sweet, pure, lush dark cherry and berry fruit nose. The palate
is sweetly fruited and well defined. Very sweet, juicy berry fruits.
Seductive but still fresh. 88/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Rich, quite dense and ripe with some spicy, tarry oak supporting
the lush dark fruits. The palate has some furm, mouth-drying
tannins. A really powerful Cabernet with real potential. 90/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Touriga Nacional 2008
Relvas says that he prefers Touriga Franca to Nacional. Sweetly
fruited and dense with a nice leafy edge to the fresh, structured
plum and raspberry fruit. There’s a nice aromatic, peppery, floral
character here. Tannic finish. A keeper. 91/100
São
Miguel dos Decobridores Reserva 2008
Touriga Franca and Alicante Bouschet. Stylish and quite elegant
with dense but fresh berry and black fruits under the fine-grained
but dense tannins, with some spicy, earthy notes under the fruit.
Very stylish. 91/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Reserva 2007
A blend including Alicante, Cabernet and Aragones. Dense, rich
and intense but beautifully balanced with very classy oak and
fine-grained tannic structure. Pure with lovely balance. Fantastic.
93/100
Herdade
de São Miguel Private Collection 2006
A selection of five barrels. Sweet nose with notes of herbs,
spice and tar. The palate is dense, mineralic and spicy with real
presence. Lively spicy notes and firm tannins, with real interest. A
distinctive wine. 93/100
See
also:
Visiting
Portugal's Alentejo region
Wines
tasted 05/10
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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