BILL ZACHARKIW, Montreal GazetteDouro 2009, Vila Regia, Sogrape, Portugal red, $10.10, SAQ # 464388. Dark fruit and lumbering, but bursting with that Douro power. No effort here to round off the edges, so if you want a wine that has torque and screams Douro, here you go – and all for $10.10. Serve at 16C. Drink now-2011. Food pairing idea: spicy sausages.
The Vila Regia was the “rawest” (of 3 Douros tasted) – lots of fruit, not a lot of complexity, and without the polished tannins of the other wines. This, I assumed, meant that it spent little or no time in oak barrels. To me, this is a sign that the grapes came from younger vines, which usually tend to produce softer fruit flavours with less complexity. There is always room for a well made $10 wine, especially one that speaks so genuinely of where it is from – and is unpretentious and simple.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Wine+primer+pricing/5513411/story.html#ixzz1ad7u7Z79
