Portugal is such an interesting wine country. These are three interesting wines that I’ve recently tried. The Almeida Garret is superb value, especially.

Alves de Sousa Quinta da Gaivosa 2015 Douro, Portugal
14.5% alcohol. Dense, ripe and nicely structured. Sweet plum, blackberry and cherry fruit with herbs and spices. This is a rich style of Douro, but it has balance and intensity, with an appealing savoury twist to the sleek fruit. Nice potential for development. 93/100

Altano Organic Red 2016 Douro, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. Floral black cherry nose with some olive hints. The palate is fresh and supple with bright berry and cherry fruits. There’s a sleekness but also some freshness. Supple and stylish with some grip. 90/100 (c£12 stockists National / Online: Amazon, Waitrose, E.H. Booth and Co, South East: The Vineyard (Surrey), Taylors Fine Wine (Surrey), The Framingham Wine Shop (Suffolk), Cambrdge Wine Merchants (Cambridge), North East: Mr and Mrs Fine Wine (Nottinghamshire), The Dram Shop (South Yorks), Fenwick (Newcastle), London: Harvey Nichols, Bacchus, South West: Magnum Wine (Wiltshire), Dartmouth Wine Company (Devon), North West: BJR Hanby (West Yorks), Swift Wines (West Yorks), Roberts and Speight (West Yorks), Lancaster Wine Company (Lancashire)

Almeida Garret Entre Serras 2015 Beira Interior, Portugal
13.5% alcohol. From the slopes of the Serra d’Estrela, with granite soils, this is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barocca and Trincadeira. This is so fresh and bright with nice concentration and freshness. Lovely black cherry and blackberry fruit with good acidity and bright, focused fruit. Hints of meat and olive too: delicious stuff. 90/100 (£6.25 The Wine Society)