REVIEW : DRINK - Winemakers Series Wine Events Scotland, Portugal

Come with me on walk through the Portuguese vineyards and soak up some unique flavours with Terra D’Alter and winemaker Peter Bright.

Peter Bright is one of the original Flying Winermakers (a consultant that flies into various wineries across the world to impart knowledge and expertise) and after honing his craft in Australia, settled in Portugal over 30 years ago. Along with José Roquette and António Borges, Peter set up Terra D’Alter in 2004 in Alto Alentejo, Portugal and has been obsessed with indigenous grape varieties since. However, his wine, both red and white, will also stand out as he is a master blender producing wines that are well balanced, sophisticated and structured.

REVIEW - Winemakers Series with Wine Events Scotland - The Unique flavours of Portugal with Terra D’Alter

Diana at Wine Events Scotland, truly highlights some amazing wine producers and always manages to deliver on every aspect of her online zoom wine tastings. On this ‘February Winemakers Series’ not only did we get to taste 6 incredible wines, but we got to spend two evenings with Peter Bright learning all about his wines, grape growing and the wonderful world of Portuguese wine.

Terra d’Alter is located 200km from Lisbon and translates as High Ground. The place is Alentejo which, apart from being a stunning area of Portugal, has a tendency to be hot. It’s inland, with no sea influence, warm during the day and cool at night which has a large impact on the grapes.

First up, the white wines of Verdelho, Encruzado and Reserva.

Terra d’Alter Verdelho

This is the one I would pick out of the whites. On opening the bottle, the aroma that fills the air is that of melons, passionfruit, guavas and honey. Such big juicy aromas, you can’t wait to get your tastebuds wrapped around it. It’s very dry with a long finish but light and soft at the same time. An absolute stunner for Summer drinking.

Terra d’Alter Encruzado

If you are looking for a zesty wine, then this is a great choice. Made from Encruzado grapes which are one of Portugal’s finest white grape varieties, Encruzado makes for rich, full-bodied wines with aromas of lemon, woody herbs, stonefruit and melon, often with floral overtones and that’s exactly what you’ll find here.

Terra d’Alter Branco Reserva – a superb blend of Siria, Arinto, Verdelho, Gouveio, Viognier, Antão Vaz, Encuzado and Rabo de Ovelha. What a blend! This wine is complex and layered although very fresh and not as dry as the previous two white wines. To me this wine has a bit of everything, and I felt like my palate didn’t quite know where to go - I picked up vanilla, oak, salt, peach, grapefruit, butter and melons. It was quite buttery or creamy to me and definitely a wine if you want to shake things up a bit.

Red Wines
Terra d’Alter Alfrocheiro

Oh my goodness, I fell in love with this wine. A screw cap releases massive aromas of big, bold, juicy cherries (it’ll smack you in the face!). There’s red berries in there too but also loads of cinnamon and spice. It’s smooth with good legs and so so easy to drink.

Terra d’Alter Alicante Bouschet

This is one of the few red grapes with red flesh giving it a very distinctive colour - its a dark ruby red. This is another fantastic wine that has an aroma that fills the air once you pop the cork! A deep breath reveals earthy beetroot, burnt tarmac, prunes leading into wafts of rich creamy chocolate. It’s robust and full flavoured and a really attractive young wine with long legs but definitely buy two bottles of this and store one for a few years. This will only get better with age. The tannins here are soft due to them keeping the skins on during fermentation for 2-3 weeks and keeping the oxygen flowing. A very close second to the Alfrocheiro.

Terra d’Alter Tinto Reserva – a rare red blend using Trincadeira, Tinta Caiada, Alicante Bouschet, Aragonêz and Petit Verdot.

A gorgeous blended wine that’s really powerful on aroma as well as the palate. Full bodied, round tannins, with plums, ripe red fruits and black fruits that give you a big velvety intense mouthfeel. Superb for a young wine and another that’s worth maturing!

Another absolute corker of a wine tasting and I’ve found two new wines which I’ll definitely be adding to my wine list.

If you’d like to join in a wine tasting with Diana, she has tastings to suit most budgets; from the Uncorking Midweek events which are BYO (buy your own) which costs £10 to the Winemaker Series which is 2 sessions tasting 6 wines which are included in the price for £88.

Her next Winemaker Series continues next month with De Wet Viljoen from Neethlinghof in South Africa - www.wineeventsscotland.co.uk/events/neethlingshof-south-africa/

I’ve found two new wines that I adore and will absolutely be adding to my wine list.