my friends all worked in sales. different beast.
2013 Niepoort Redoma Branco, Douro (Portugal)
For those not familiar with this wine, the following info â specifically about the 2013 vintage â is from the Niepoort website:
Redoma Branco grapes come from old vines on the right bank of the River Douro. These vines are located at an altitude of between 400 and 600 metres. Being old vines, there are many varieties, with a predominance of Rabigato, CĂłdega do Larinho, Viosinho, Donzelinho and Gouveio. The soils are of mica schist and thatâs why they tend to give the wines a lot of minerality, and make them delicate and very fresh.
VINIFICATION
The 2013 harvest began on 19 August, earlier than usual, in order to maintain the high levels of acidity and avoid high degrees of alcohol. It was a more productive year, around 25% better than 2012. The decision to start harvesting earlier turned out to be the right one, since the main vineyards had already been harvested before it started raining heavily on the 27th September.
After refrigerated transport, the grapes were selected at the entrance to the cellar, and a gentle pressing followed. The must was decanted for about 24 hours.
Fermentation took place in French oak barrels, in the presence of fine lees but without bâtonnage. The Redoma White 2013 remained in the barrels for 10 months and was bottled on July 2.
TASTING NOTES
Citrine colour and crystal clear, Redoma shows a fine and very precise aroma. Has a strong mineral character which gives it freshness, along with stone fruit notes and orange zest. The wood toast is discrete and very well integrated. Good structure in the mouth, has volume and reveals a salty and mineral side, which is also characteristic in recent harvests. The natural acidity makes the wine lighter and very elegant. Rather long finish, with good citric notes. It is foreseen a great ageing potential.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
PRODUCER
Niepoort (Vinhos) S.A.
REGION
Douro
SOIL TYPE
Mica Schist
VINEYARDS
Quinta de NĂĄpoles and PinhĂŁo
AVERAGE VINE AGE
40 to 100 years
GRAPE VARIETIES
Rabigato, CĂłdega, Donzelinho, Viosinho, Arinto and others
VINES PER HA
5000
PRUNING METHOD
Guyot and Royat
ALT. FROM SEA LEVEL
400-600 meters
HARVEST PERIOD
September
HARVEST METHOD
Hand picked
MALOLACTIC
None
FERMENTATION
French oak casks
BOTTLED
2nd July 2014
AGEING
10 months in French oak barrels
DRY EXTRACT
17.5
RESIDUAL SUGAR (G/DM3)
1
ALCOHOL (%)
12.73
PH
3.33
TOTAL ACIDITY (G/DM3)
4.7
VOLATILE ACIDITY (G/DM3)
0.5
FREE SO2 AT BOTTLING (MG/DM3)
16
TOTAL SO2 (MG/DM3)
64
VOLUMIC MASS (G/CM3)
0.9884
PRODUCTION
21.952 bottles
2 Likes
That Magellan is one of my go-to reds. Iâve always got a few bottles on hand. Looks like we both shop at Moore Bros.
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We brought these two bottles to a local BYO last night. I had the Vermentino â a new one for me â with crab cakes. Really delicious. Iâm sorry I didnât know about it sooner because I think itâd make a great summer wine. My husband and daughter drank the Mas de Libian, a southern Rhone. He had it with a rack of lamb; she had it with braised short ribs. Great choices all the way around.
Love Vermentino.
We tasted a local Vermentino (San Diego County) and bought a bottle. At the winery it had an interesting and different floral nose. We opened it at a friendâs home last weekend and the nose on that bottle was so much stronger than at the winery that we couldnât handle it at all. Not corked or oxidized, I donât think, just overpoweringly floral in a not good way.
Iâm not that familiar with Vermentino, so Iâm not sure what to make if it.
This was my first taste of Vermentino, and it wonât be my last. This Vermentino was light, crisp, and a bit citrussy. I wouldnât really describe it as âfloral.â
I spent some vacation time in Liguria a few years ago and had a chance to taste some very nice local wines â reds and whites. Itâs my understanding that most Ligurian wines are consumed locally, with relatively few being exported. My local wine store has been carrying some Ligurian wines â all from small producers. This is the second one Iâve tried and enjoyed. The first was a red, a Rossese from Dolceacqua, which is the small town where I stayed.
Lol yes. Which store do you shop? It is quite perilous I drive past the pennsauken store on my way home from work. The Magellan is great. I never bought this one i like it much better than their cheaper red
I shop in the Wilmington, DE store. Itâs a 20-minute drive, but so worth it! The other go-to for us is the Bela Casel Prosecco. I buy that by the case.
@kattyeyes â
There are lots of great jobs in the wine trade, as well as a lot of really $#|++/ ones . . . just like in every profession. Iâve been lucky in that I spent most of my 40+ year career in the wine trade working for small companies. I worked for one large company that was a lot of fun (Liquor Barn), but we always behaved as a small one. The other large companies (all two of them) for which I worked sucked and I didnât stay there very long!
OTOH, some thrive working for large corporations. But Iâm not one of them.
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There are quite a few Rhone wines weâve enjoyed, thanks to Moore Bros. The Xavier is certainly one of them. I think itâs been offered as one of their email âspecialsâ several times.
Iâve taken quite a liking to pairing Prosecco with Asian food, and since we often go to BYO Asian places, we drink a fair amount of Prosecco. And by the way, if youâd like to try a Prosecco that will definitely surprise you, try Bele Caselâs Col Fondo. Itâs an unfiltered, very dry Prosecco. Although you can let it rest and pour it carefully to avoid letting the sediment get into your glass, the way we serve it is to gently turn the unopened bottle upside down, then right side up to distribute the yeasts; then we pour it. We learned that from the winegrower himself when we visited him and his family in Asolo, Italy.
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For those of you who live anywhere in New England and were looking for an excuse to get to The Big E next year, here you go. Find this tart, cranberry wine in the Massachusetts building. Deliciousâcheers!
ETA: As you can see, itâs not 5:00 here and I donât care. 
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Kattyeyes⌠I canât help but sing along â Itâs only forty past four but I donât care⌠Itâs five oâclock somewhere!
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Serviceable Rhone red going very nicely with a pungent hard middle eastern cheese
Love me some Sicilian reds. This one was spicy, yet smooth, then mellowed out a bit after a few hours but held on to its lively personality 
Also tasted great in the tomato braising gravy I made this afternoon
( check out the WFD thread for full meal experience)
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