AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Quinta de Cabriz Reserva 2003, Dão, Portugal, $20 DATE: 4/02/2007 07:07:00 PM ----- BODY:

Portugal's table wines are great values, and we tend to think of them in the inexpensive category. These days, some of Portugal's more serious table wines are reaching our shelves, and they still represent great value even at loftier prices. Quinta de Cabriz is made from Touriga-Nacional (one of the main Port grapes from the Douro), Alfrocheiro and Tinta-Roriz (Tempranillo). It features a core of blackberry fruit, surrounded by compoty, dried-fruit flavors with hints of earth and ... well, you get the picture. It's beautifully complex for this price and a great value. Imported by Aidil Wines & Liquors, Newark, N.J.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Marcus DATE:4/03/2007 10:47:00 AM It's rare I look up a wine that I enjoyed the previous evening and I find someone had posted to their blog about it virtually the same moment I uncorked it!

Definitely got the compote notes -- clove and maybe cinnamon. On the nose it makes you think more of cabernet franc but it's a silky and elegant Portuguese wine boasting characteristic fruit and tannins with refinement.

And read someone else saying that it was lacking complexity. I agree with you. Cheers! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre DATE:5/21/2007 09:17:00 PM Glad you liked the wine - I love these Old World, old-fashioned type of wines that show different flavors and complexity than we are used to here in the States. Such variety and diversity is what makes wine so enticing, and life a little bit better.

Cheers!
Dave Mc ----- --------