January 2015 - Dry Portuguese Red

We started our tasting by sharing a nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone. It seems to have become a tradition for those who arrive early to share a bottle of sparkling or white wine before the tasting begins.

We had another interesting tasting this month. Finding a dry Portuguese red in Indianapolis was a challenge as can be seen by the number of people bringing the same bottle of wine. We had 3 bottles of the 2011 Assobio and 3 bottles of Duas Quintas, though one was from 2011 and the other two from 2009. It is always interesting to see how the same wine can seem to taste so different. Is it the food we are eating? How the wine was transported? How it is stored in the shop? Different bottling of the same vintage? This month's winning wine was a standout, winning by 8 points.

#1 Semaphore Reserva, 2011, $10 (19 points)

#2 Assobio, 2011, $15 (11 points)

#3 Crasto, 2012, $17 (8 points)

#4 Assobio, 2011, $12 (6 points)

#5 Duas Quintas, 2011, $18 (5 points)

#6 Tie - Collabriga, 2008, $19 and Assobio, 2011, $15 and  and Duas Quintas, 2009 (4 points)

#7 Grilos, 2008, $9 (2 points)

#8 Duas Quintas, 2009, $13 (0 points)