Seriously, I have had several really weird wines through a shop called Garrafeira Nacional: Serradayres 1947, Borba 1979, Carcavelos, Colares - apart from one or two notable exceptions, these have all been under 30€ / bottle!Tonight I shared one more of these wacky Portuguese delights with a friend of mine:
Where is this from in Portugal? Is it fortified? Was it originally made in an oxidative style? Does anyone know anything about the producer that has a whole four hits on Google?
Whatever the story behind it, the Virgolino José Torroaes Vinho Branco Especial 1930 was wonderful. When served this blind, I was thinking of Palo Cortado: delightful rancio aromas, nutty, captivating. Dry, with wonderful bite, but perhaps not as much alcohol as PC would have? I can't tell if this is fortified and the label doesn't have any indication of alcohol. What a wonderful surprise. Whatever it is, I thought it was lovely.
The cost? About 25€ including shipping. QPR-level? Very high. I love Sherry, and think that it has some of the best QPR anywhere, and this was similar in style to Palo Cortado - and cheaper than many of them.
