Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This week included a bunch of interesting wines, including a set from winemaker Margarida Serodio Borges, who runs Quinta do Fojo in Portugal’s Douro Valley. She also makes some wines in the neighboring Vinho Verde region as well, and we’ll start with those, made under the Casa da Bouça label. Loureiro is one of six white grapes traditionally grown in the Vinho Verde region, but it is less commonly found on its own. Casa da Bouças bottling of it is electric with acidity and tangy with sour lemon. That vibrant acidity also features in the “Blend” bottling, which combines several of the local white grapes into a savory herb and green apple package. Also in the nervy, mouthwatering category you’ll find their Rosé of Espadiero which features notes of sour rhubarb. I’ll talk more about their red wines in a moment.
I recently took a look at some of the better Italian grape varieties being produced in California for Jancis Robinson’s readers. I missed Gros Ventre‘s Fiano in that lineup, but I’m happy to recommend it highly here, as one of the best interpretations of that grape variety I’ve had from California. The winery also sent along their delicious Gamay and a really excellent Pinot Noir this week, all of which are worth seeking out.
Keeping with white wines for just a moment longer, I got two bottles from Trinafour Cellars recently, which was a surprise as I thought the winery had gone out of business (their website is inoperable and their Facebook page was last updated in 2021). But this little producer is apparently still alive and kicking, and making acid-driven wines from Mendocino county. Their Semillon and French Colombard are both racy and angular, ready to satisfy acid freaks like me.
I’ve long enjoyed the wines of Fort Ross Vineyard, perched high on the Sonoma Coast Range above the town of Fort Ross. They’ve recently introduced a less-expensive second label they call Sea Slopes, and they sent along their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from that label. I favor the Pinot slightly, but both are solid wines for their roughly $30 price point.
Returning for a moment to the Douro, the two Quinta do Fojo wines I’m recommending below represent the same terroir, but express it through grapes planted in 1986, and grapes plated around 1886. They’re an interesting comparison, with the older vines offering much more savory and earthy flavors, in part due to having been fermented with a good portion of whole clusters and traditional foot-treading in the granite tubs of the region known as lagars.
Lastly this week I have a couple more wines from Pride Mountain Vineyards, their 2021 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, and their 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon that includes grapes from their vineyards on both sides of the Sonoma/Napa county line. Both are excellent, but there’s a bright berry and mocha sweetness to the 2022 that charmed me.
Notes on all these below.
Tasting Notes
2020 Casa da Bouça Loureiro, Vinho Verde, Portugal
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey, baked apples, and crushed nuts. In the mouth, electric acidity makes flavors of lemon peel, lime, and unripe melon vibrate across the palate. Lovely stony notes are accompanied by a mouthwatering salinity. Very interesting. 100% Loureiro fermented in steel and aged on fine lees for 7 months. 10.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $22. click to buy.
2020 Casa da Bouça “Blend” White Blend, Vinho Verde, Portugal
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of green apples, lime zest, and wet chalkboard. In the mouth, salty lime zest and green apple skin mix with a hint of bitter greens as fantastic acidity keeps things mouthwatering. That…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2025/03/vinography-unboxed-week-of-3-9-25
