Wine Region: Alentejo

(2026) A fresh and zingy white from local varieties Antão Vaz, Roupeiro, Arinto, and Gouveio, this is aromatic with grapefruit, peach and blossom and a touch of talcum powder. In the mouth good balance with a bright fruitiness, some nice textural weight and a balanced, crisp finish. A lovely little white, especially if you see it on offer at £8 as it was recently.

(2026) Always a terrific white wine, this organically certified blend of local Antão Vaz, Arinto and Roupeiro from clay soils over granite and schist was fermented and aged six months in a combination of 75% steel tanks and 25% new American and French oak. Vines are aged 18 to 28 years. Nutty, burnished and creamy on the nose, there is peach, citrus and a lightly herbal note to the aromatics. On the palate it is ripe, rich and mouth-filling, with loads of textural heft and creamy and unctuous fruit, but the definition is there thanks to crisp and precise acids that smooth and refine the finish. Use the wine-searcher link to shop around as prices vary from under £17 to over £25 in various retailers. Watch the video for more information.

(2023) An organic certified wine from granite and schist soils in the Alentejo, a big blend of Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez (Teempranillo), Syrah, Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Franc. Having fermented each variety separately, the blend is aged 12 months in American (60%) and French (40%) oak barrels. A lovely nose, so fragrant with wild strawberry and black cherry notes, a potpourri of spicy, floral overtones and a creamy underlay of oak. In the mouth it combines sweet, ripe and glossy fruit with a bit of solid structure. There's an intensity here, a bittersweet concentration that dries the mouth with extract, tannin and acidity. This should soften over five or six years in the cellar, or match it to a  steak or something from the char grill now.    

(2023) A new wine from the respected house of Cartuxa, this is an unoaked blend of typical Alentejo varieties Aragonez (Tempranillo), Trincadeira and the red-fleshed Alicante Bouschet, along with Syrah. The wine is a medium to dark and quite vivid crimson. The nose is really attractive: vinous, so fresh and grapey but plummy too, more of a red fruit character than black, with a nice floral lift. Super sweet and ripe, creamy and mouth-coating as it hits the palate, the tannins are very fine and soft so this is a real pizza or barbecue glugger, but the pert acidity and touch of peppery spice does enough to also keep it fresh. Watch the video for more information.

(2023) From selected plots on clay/limestone soils, this is aged in new and used French oak. It's an aromatic wine, not shy of coconut and vanilla-infused oak aromas, but creamy peach fruit beneath. On the palate it is powerful and concentrated, the 14% alcohol and the barrel component add lots of weight and texture, broad and dry, some orange as well as more peachiness, it has retained good acidity, but perhaps just a touch less oak might have given this an extra freshness. No UK stockist listed at time of review.

(2023) A lovely little wine and very good value at £11.50, this is 100% Encruzado, aged in French oak for four months, but only older barrels are used so the influence is subtle - but successful. A light almond creaminess to nutty, Cox's pippin aromas, flows through to the finish where pristine, white fruit (peach, pear) flavours are braced by a generous orange acidity, hints of the luscious and tropical licked into shape by the acid structure. A bargain.

(2021) A highly unusual white wine made from the black grapes, Syrah and Touriga Franca, and aged six months in French oak. With only 12.5% abv it is feather light and pale straw in colour, a sheennof almond and light buttery toast over pristine peach and line fruit. The palate is crisp, dry, and beautifully refined, the acids keen and sustained through the finish, but the fruit always adding ripeness and juiciness, underpinned by quite delicate oak. No UK retail stockists listed at time of review.

(2021) Ravasquiera suggest good longevity for this top wine, a single vineyard blend of Syrah and Touriga Franca, aged 20 months in new French oak barrels. Deep, deep crimson, the nose is so elegant: there's graphite and a hint of cigar box, refined but ripe black fruit and that little suggestion of florality in the mix. In the mouth it has the intensity and the concentration, but it has such a lovely fruit profile, juicy with blackberries and plums, edged with bittersweet dark chocolate and bolstered elegantly by smooth tannins and a ripple of acidity. A really very, very classy wine. Price and stockist quoted is for the previous vintage at time of review.

(2021) This blends Touriga Nacional with Syrah and spends 12 months in French oak. Another deeply-coloured red, this has a certain lift and elegance aromatically. There's something floral and minty, really aromatic garrigue  notes. In the mouth this is soft and seductive. Whilst still bold in the style of this producer, there is something gentle about the black fruit quality here, but it is not jammy. The tannins and acids here are proportionate and give the wine very nice length, some spice and creaminess into the finish.

(2021) Heading away from Portuguese varieties for this bottling, 97% Syrah plus Viognier is a northern Rhône recipe, the wine aged 18 months in French oak. Deep crimson-black in colour, there's a little meatiness here, a little touch of meatstock and umami over black fruit. In the mouth the wine is positively chocolaty, with a great sweetness of dark fruits edged with a raspberry brightness. This is another concetrated wine, but a spine of acidity and really very nice, rich and ripe tannins give a certain sumptuous character. Bold, flavour-packed and quite long, it is a large-scaled wine, but well-balanced. No UK retail stockists listed at time of review.