Picked for its pretty label, but not just a pretty face. Blackberry and dark cherry, then cinnamon and black pepper, with tannins and bright acidity in excellent balance.
Recently I’ve found myself announcing, to anyone that will listen, that I’ve come full circle when it comes to picking new wines off supermarket shelves. I started by picking pretty labels. I then graduated to a pretentious phase where I squinted at vintages, regions, and tasting notes. Now, I’m back to picking pretty labels. There are simply too many variables when it comes to picking wine at random, that whether or not the label looks nice is the only solid, immediately available piece of information we have. It feels like there is some weight to this logic too, as if the producer has gone to the effort to present their wine in the best manner possible, it says something about the wine within.
All of this preamble is a justification for why I first picked up a bottle of the Esporão Reserva. As a Portuguese wine north of twenty pounds, it’s on the top shelf in Tesco. Gleefully I came bounding over to my wife, and gave her the sales pitch on why we should buy it. I now know that each vintage features original artwork commissioned from a renowned Portuguese artist. At the time, my sophisticated pitch consisted entirely of: “this looks nice”. The pretty label wasn’t enough, however. At that price it had to be an excellent wine too. Fortunately, Esporão Reserva is not just a pretty face.
In the glass
Deep ruby, it’s almost black. The first aromas off the surface are ripe blackberry and dark cherry, then comes some oak, showing up as toast, and better noses might find cloves and a bit of cinnamon. My wife said straw, and afterwards I couldn’t miss it.
In the mouth the fruit certainly carries over, but the spice is much more pronounced now. There’s black pepper from the Syrah, and the cinnamon is unmistakable here. It’s excellently balanced, even with the tannins, which don’t wipe out the fruit, and the acidity is bright but not enough to have you puckering the lips. I can imagine it aging well (is what professional people would say).
Worth it?
At around £20 it sits right in our sweet spot for our weekend wines. It’s a lovely wine, and looks great on the table.
Nose & palate
Pouring a glass? Tap the notes you can find.
The grapes
- Aragonês25%
Portugal's name for Tempranillo. With Touriga Nacional it drives the ripe blackberry and juicy plum fruit and gives the mid-palate its smooth, fleshy feel.
- Alicante Bouschet20%
A rare teinturier grape, red-skinned and red-fleshed. It gives the deep ruby-purple colour and the firm, velvety tannins that build the full body.
- Touriga Nacional20%
Portugal's star grape, adding wild berry fruit and a floral lift.
- Cabernet Sauvignon15%
Blackcurrant on the nose and firm, architectural tannins for structure and ageing.
- Syrah15%
The warm spice, black pepper and dark chocolate, plus a plush, round texture.
- Trincadeira5%
Only a splash, but it brings earthy, herbal notes (dry straw, forest floor) and the acidity that keeps it fresh.
Drink it with
- Slow-roast lamb shoulder
- Chorizo
- Aged Manchego
