Winemaker Notes
Pêra-Manca is the label the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation reserves for its most exceptional wines. This wine is full-bodied, complex and elegant, with an aroma of raisin and notes of oak. Given the great quality of tannins and the oak used for aging, the wines have great longevity, needing time to achieve their full potential.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A powerful red, with sinewy tannins structuring the focused yet dense core of blackberry and dried currant flavors, flanked by cedar, iron and Earl Grey tea accents. A thread of baking spice and espresso adds a touch of richness through the long, mineral-driven finish. Trincadeira and Aragonez.
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Wine & Spirits
The Fundação Eugénio de Almeida, a charity foundation, owns two wineries and farms more than 1,000 acres of vines, selecting its best red grapes for this blend of trincadeira and aragonez. Pedro Baptista ferments it in 12,000-liter oak vats and ages it for 18 months in 3,000-liter oak vats, then for 36 months in bottle in the cellars of the Cartuxa monastery, near the town of Evora. It’s an ambitious wine, often the sort that collectors in Lisbon might understand better than foreigners. This vintage is more accessible, a rich, warm wine of the Alentejo plain, smoky with black-currant-skin tannins and the kind of smooth texture that you’d expect at the price. James Conley of Keens Steakhouse in NYC described it as “duck fat, blood and lavender,” and it would work well with a fatty seared duck breast rubbed with herbs.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Responsible for a majority of Portugal’s fine wine production—and over half of the world’s cork production—Alentejo represents a major force in Portugal’s wine industry. This southern Portugese region is characterized by stretches of rolling plains and vineyards dotted with majestic cork oaks. Access to land enables the farmers of Alentejo to produce wines in great economies of scale, without compromising quality, compared to those regions to the north. The region of Alentejo indeed covers a third of the country.
Its classified (DOP) wines must come from one of eight subregions, where elevations are a bit higher, air cooler and less fertile soils are perfect for vines. The optimal regions are Portalegre, Borba, Redondo, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Granja-Amareleja, Vidigueira, Evora and Moura. Alentejo is not without the conveniences of modern winemaking as well. Irrigation supplements low rainfall and temperature control in the winery assures high quality wines.
The potential of the area has attracted many producers and its wine production continues to grow. Alentejo’s charming, fruit-forward wines have naturally led to local and global popularity.
White wines tend to be blends of Antão Vaz, Roupeiro and Arinto. However, in growing proportions, the white grapes Verdelho, Alvarinho and Viognier have been enjoying success. But red varieties actually exceed whites in Alentejo. Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Castelão grapes blend well together and are responsible for most of the Alentejo reds.