Winery Location: Portugal/Italy (While this red blend is listed as Portuguese in origin, apparently Birds on a Wire also makes an Italian Sangiovese)
Today’s featured wine is Birds on a Wire Red Blend from Portugal. Portugal is a wine country I enjoy not only for their trademark port wines, but their full flavored yet endearingly smooth reds. One of my favorite inexpensive red wines, Silk n Spice is a red blend from that nation.
So how does this red blend stack up? It is rather bright, with fresh aromas of cherry and other red fruits and a tiny hint of spice (cassis?) on the nose. There’s also cherry on the palate along with raspberry. Unfortunately the wine isn’t quite as smooth as I would have liked; the tannins are stout and earthy, but the wine doesn’t quite have the body or mouthfeel to tame them. Still it is a good wine to accompany fatty meats and bold flavors, I’m having it with duck liver pate’ right now and it’s really tasty. I’m also thinking that this wine may get a little better with age, having those tannins break down may create a smoother wine with depth. Something to think about.
You may wonder what are the grape varieties used to make this blend. Unfortunately the tasting notes are scant on this information, but it seems they have chosen three grapes, apparently indigenous ones, to make this blend. I wish I can find out what they were. I may have some new varieties to add to my tasting list.
Ed's Wineglass Adventures 