2006 Sogrape Vila Regia, $8.95. LCBO#464388
I’ve decided to kick off my first official “Wine Wednesday” with a Portuguese red from the Douro region. I found it while looking for a different Spanish bottle and it somehow jumped into my cart. I’m having that trouble quite a bit since kicking off my $10 wine adventure.
So far, I’ve really been in the mood for a full-bodied red, and this one and my previous choice of Casa Thaluero have let me down! While both bottles describe themselves as “full-bodied,” the LCBO’s description lists them both as medium-bodied, and I’m going to agree with the LCBO.
Which, of course, does not make this a bad bottle of wine. It just means I felt a bit let down with the taste. The wine itself is a light garnet, more translucent than I like in a red. The nose is oaky, as well as the taste and the finish. Try as I might to distinguish some other flavours, the only things I can say is the vague term “red fruit.” I would not call this wine overly oaked, it’s just light, with a bit of an unbalanced finish, and it’s hard to pick up other flavours.
Same as the Casa Thaulero, I would say this is a good wine to sip or chat over tapas with. I had been hoping for a bit more earthiness and a fuller body. Not knowing my Portugese wines, perhaps I have just chosen the wrong bottle.
Overall, I give this bottle 7/10 for taste and 3.5/5 for value.
