Some new Portuguese imports have been hitting the Israeli market over the last year, and I thought it would be useful to review them all as a set. Until now, for the most part very few kosher Portuguese wines have been made. Usually, we get a steady stream of port – in the past the Royal produced Porto Cordovero, both Ruby and the legendary 2004 and 2005 LBVs (this production has ended) and we currently have Porto Quevedo ruby ports under various different labels. Once in a while, a one-off Douro kosher red would make its way into the world, but these were infrequent and inconsistent from a quality standpoint.  Last year in Israel, we saw the introduction of kosher versions of the mass produced the Porta 6 line of Vidigal wines – rosé, white, and red versions. It is unclear whether these too were a one-off production, or if this is a long-term plan to have kosher versions (my guess is the former). I can say that those wines were not the best quality. I chose to only include a review of the red here for comparison, as the rosé and white are both likely dead at this point.

2022 Vidigal Wines, Porta 6, Red, Kosher, Vinho Regional Lisboa – 13.5% abv – The nose here is REALLY ripe – I mean to the point that it smells like unfermented juice with some vague black fruit. In the mouth, you get what you smell – sickly sweet almost syrupy blackberry and black plum. No acid, no tannin. More of that syrup in the finish. Not my thing at all. 70

I think that is a fair representation of the types of wines we have seen from Portugal in the past.

That brings us to the present and Kiddush wines (not the type of wine but rather the name of a wine distributor in Isarel – kiddush.co.il). While primarily a distributor, they have decided to get into the production and import/export business and have made Portugal their focus. Their goal is to produce kosher wines from all of the quality regions of Portugal – and they have started with three Vinho Verde white wines from Minho VR (Vinho Regional) and Vinho Verde DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) regions, as well as both a red and white from the Douro DOC. Most importantly, Kiddush has multi-year contracts with the wineries, so we should be seeing new wines in the future as well. Their intent is to explore as many wine regions and styles in Portugal as possible – including the various types of Port, of which we simply have had too few historically and even fewer currently on the market. And they are serious about this venture – having taken into account the need to have international distribution from the outset and as such have partnered with various importers in Jewish communities (in the US, the importer is Allied etc.)  – and so I am hopeful that we can add Portugal to the list of ongoing quality kosher wine production. To top everything off, the wines are relatively affordable ranging on the shelf from as low as NIS 55-60 for the Douro NIS 70- for the base level Vinho Verde, and NIS 80-90 for the Loureiro and topping out at NIS 129 for the Albarino – not bad at all!

Vinho Verde/Minho

Staring with the Vinho Verde wines, the winery is Solar das Boucas, whose property dates back to at least the late 1700’s. The winery in its modern form is about 40 years old and produces a number of Vinho Verde wines. Vinho Verde is both a style of wine and a DOC. Two of these wines (the 2022’s) wines are from the VR Minho, which have slightly less restrictive guidelines than the Vinho Verde DOC, which is where the third wine is from. Vinho Verde wines are most commonly white, though there are rosés and even reds available, though that is uncommon. So far, all of the wines that Kiddush has produced here have been whites – two varietal wines from the 2022 vintage Alvarinho and Loureiro, – which are also the higher end varieties for Vinho Verde white, and a slightly lower end blend just recently released from the 2023 vintage – but from the Vinho Verde DOC. In general, Vinho Verde style wines are meant to be drunk young and not aged – my comments on the Loureiro below notwithstanding. 

NV Solar das Boucas, Escolha, Vinho Verde DOC – 11.5% abv – This wine is made up of 60% 2022 vintage and 40% 2023 vintage and is a blend of Arinto and Loureiro. This wine is slightly effervescent, but this is typical of Vinho Verde wines. Some producers actually add CO2 on purpose for this effect, as it was typical when the style developed to have some RS in the wine, allowing for some secondary fermentation to occur. This of course no longer happens – but some winemakers will add the CO2 to simulate the effect. Not sure how it is achieved here, but forewarned is forearmed, and I was expecting this as a possibility – though it really is VERY slight and blows off almost immediately. Overall, this is a VERY simple wine. On the nose, you basically get clementines and maybe some vague stone fruit. In the mouth, you basically have the same. Like I said, real simple. The acid here is adequate to balance the fruit. Not much more to write here. Overall a really simple basic but well-made wine. I will say also that this is absolutely drink now – I can’t see this lasting more than year. 87

2022 Solar das Boucas, Loureiro, Vinho Regional Minho – 11.5% abv – Loureiro is one of the two grapes mostly closely associated with Vinho Verde. Ultimately, it shares a lot on paper with Riesling, including making it in a number of styles – from dry to late harvest, as both age well and can show notes of petrol, etc. After tasting, I understand the comparison, with a classic young German Riesling profile on the nose of stone fruit, mineral, lime, and some nice herbal and grassy notes. In the mouth, you get nice apricot, nectarine, lime, grapefruit, and orange, with some really nice mineral and flintiness to wrap it all up.  The fruit is all balanced out by very nice acidity and quite honestly is excellent. Overall, I think this wine might even have a chance to develop, and I hope to check up on this in a year or two – but it’s really impossible for me to tell, having no experience with the variety, winery, or style – and in fact this would go against what is typically written about Vinho Verde wines. Having said that, this wine is one level up from the base level and it is made as a varietal   – and I like to be optimistic (but I’m not suggesting that this is for holding, I just like to experiment). In any event it’s worth picking up. 91.5

2022 Solar das Boucas, Alvarinho, Vinho Regional Minho – 13% abv – This wine is from the wineries “Premium” line. It has some of that effervescence noted above – but a bit less. This wine might be the best Albarino (or Alvarinho as it’s called in Portugal) that we have had. It is certainly the most complex. There are almost tertiary notes here IMHO with nuts and dried fruit and also hints of petrol, and really nice honeydew. Wow! In the mouth, it is really nice, lush mouthfeel without being too heavy. There is really nice lemon and orange – with nice minerality and a hit of saline which runs the entire length of the wine. The acid is nice, and the wine comes off as perfectly balanced. The finish is long, with notes of petrol, mineral, saline, and more dried fruit and nuts. Another wine I am going to experiment with and hold – though as you can see from the notes, it is absolutely excellent as is right now. 92

Douro

For the Douro DOC wines, we have Porto Reccua Vinhos.  They are a producer of all things Douro, including various types of port. For now we have their entry level Godin line.  The name and logo for Godin are inspired by the god of Norse and Viking (and Marvel!) mythology, Odin.

2022 Porto Reccua, Godin, Vinho Tinto, Douro DOC – 13.5% abv – This wine is a blend of 35% Touriga Nacional, 35% Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) and 30% Touriga Franca. On the nose, it presents ripe – with violet, really ripe mostly blue and some red fruit, with nice mineral and some earth and some sweet vanilla. In the mouth, it trends even riper and darker, starting with blackberry, ripe dark raspberry, and black plum, with tons of minerality that follows and some good earth. The acid here is really nice and refreshing with the fruit and there is enough tannin here to keep things going for a bit. The finish is really more of the above – with maybe a little less black coming through and more red and mineral. Overall I had low expectations here, but I was pleasantly surprised! 91

2023 Porto Reccua, Godin, Branco, Douro DOC – 13% abv – This wine is made up of equal parts Malvasia Fina, Viosinho, Rabigato and Fernão Pires. The nose is nice and somewhat complex with lemon, orange blossom, nice flint, mineral, and honeyed beeswax. Cool! In the mouth, you get something a bit  simpler with lemon, melon, and beeswax – but with some nice minerality and a hit of saline that keeps you coming back for more. The acid is nice, and the wine is balanced. Again, nothing too complex here, but overall, a really nice drink! 90+

My thanks to Ari Gotthelf of Kiddush wines for sharing his wines with me – a truly excellent initial effort!