Quinta Nova Pomares Douro Tinto 2021

Another success from this esteemed producer, the richly robed 2021 Quinta Nova Pomares Tinto (40% Tinta Roriz, 35% Touriga Franca, 25% Touriga Nacional) captures the eye with its brilliant ruby hue. Bright cherry and wild raspberry scents waft from the glass. Elegant and subtly complex, this wine graces the palate with juicy berry fruit flavors and deft touches of spice and vanilla. Refined tannins add lift and a racy mouthwatering finish. Pure and crystalline in flavor, the 2021 Quinta Nova Pomares Tinto brings its welcome with an approachable expressive personality. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording this delicious Portuguese red at least 20 minutes of aeration before serving at cool room temperature (no more than 62° F). Anticipated maturity: 2023-2026. Enjoy!

Quinta Nova’s 2021 Pomares Tinto provides the ideal companion to the rich, heady dishes that the Portuguese love to devour in copious quantities. Consequently, one need not be afraid of overpowering this youthful wine. Portuguese Bean Soup, a heady concoction of beans, sausage, potatoes, carrots, and almost anything else you care to throw in, makes an especially fine companion. Marinated Pork or Lamb, bathed in plenty of red wine, onion, garlic, bay leaves and more, also gets our nod to accompany the 2021 Quinta Nova Pomares Tinto. Duck confit or roast duck with a spicy blackberry or cherry sauce make other fine pairings. Fettucine Alfredo, Spinach Gnocchi with a vodka cream sauce, and Vegetable Lasagna also warrant two thumbs up. Enjoy!

Quinta Nova embodies the history and extreme beauty of the Douro, Portugal’s most iconic wine region and home to Port as well as the country’s most renowned unfortified red wines. Quinta Nova was owned by the Portuguese royal family until 1725 when it became known by its full name Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo (New Estate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel) when two estates merged. It has been recognized as a bona fide Douro estate since the first demarcation of the Douro in 1756. And throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several Portuguese families contributed to the growth and importance of the property by giving life to the vineyards, fruit orchards, and olive grove as well as the property’s historic chapel, winery, and manor house, all of which are integrated into the estate’s hills. Since 1999, four generations of the Amorim family have been the owners and guardians of this formidable estate.

Quinta Nova’s 120 hectares (296 acres) of vines climb the steep hillsides above the swift running Douro River to bask in the sun and brilliant light that reflects off the river. As one expects from the Douro, red wines account for most of Quinta Nova’s production. The estate’s Pomares Tinto (this month’s feature) is a traditional blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Touriga Nacional, and it is the most emblematic of Quinta Nova’s wines. The estate also produces several other exceptional red wines, including an exceptional Terroir Reserva and Mirabilis, a very dense, long-lived red. Quinta Nova also fashions small quantities of Pomares Branco, a splendid Douro white wine from indigenous Portuguese varietals. And of course, Quinta Nova crafts an exceptional portfolio of Ports.

Tinta Roriz, also known as Aragones, is Portugal’s name for Tempranillo, the Iberian Peninsula’s most prized red grape variety. Tinta Roriz, like its Spanish sibling, thrives on the hills above the mighty Douro River in both Portugal and Spain where the Douro goes by the name of Duero. Tinta Roriz/Tempranillo also figures significantly in the finest wines of Spain’s Rioja and Castilla y León. Touriga Franca is the most widely cultivated grape in Douro and is one of the five recommended grape varieties for Port. It is a deeply colored, highly perfumed, and richly fruity grape that lends both flavor and elegance to the Douro’s wines. It is often blended with Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional. Touriga Nacional is a distinctive Portuguese varietal that many consider to be Portugal’s most important grape variety. It produces a very full-bodied red wine with long ageing potential, which makes it a favorite among the Port houses. It is also increasingly being blended with Portugal’s other indigenous varietals, especially in the Douro and Dão regions, where it also accounts for many of Portugal’s finest unfortified red wines.