During a recent trade tasting of Portuguese wines, I ran into Leslie Frelow, Owner & Chief Discovery Officer (CDO) of The Wine Concierge. Because of the pandemic, we hadn't seen each other at judging or tasting events that had been canceled. At this tasting, however, where the subject matter was quite pertinent, she related to me the quarterly focus of her The Shades of Vino wine club - Meditteranean wines. This wine club is available through The Wine Concierge community and Leslie kindly sent me a trio of wines from this allotment that highlights wines from Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Browsing the curated wine selection for Summer/Fall 2021 you immediately notice the intriguing appellations such as Spain's Priorat and Catalonia, Rias Baixas, Basque, Alicante, and Castilla-La Mancha as well as Portugal's Douro and Lisboa DOCs. The collection is rounded out by wines from more familiar regions such as Napa Valley, Williamette Valley Oregon, Mendoza Argentina, Chianti, and Rioja Spain. As a wine consumer, it would be difficult on my own to discover a rare white Priorat such as the Les Brugueres Blanc Priorat D.O.Q. ($33) 100% Garnatxa Blanca or the Vinha Mae Tinto Family Estate Red Lisboa, Portugal ($42) - a blend of Tinto Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Syrah. Yet, Leslie has done the research for you and curated a stellar lineup of wines - many at less than $20 a bottle. Plus take a look at the information provided in the tasting sheets. 
As mentioned earlier, the shipment Leslie sent me consisted of three wines starting with the 2018 Casa Agricola Blanco DO Alicante ($29). This wine is a blend of 40% Moscatel, 40% Macabeo, and 20% Airén where the grapes were grown in Spain's Alicante DO and produced by Pepe Mendoza at their Casa Agrícola winery. This is a unique wine, included because of Leslie's expertise, that displays abundant floral and spicy notes, slight peaches and saline, and finally a fresh spicy finish. Excellent. 
The next wine was an eye-opener, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany's Tolaini Wine Estate called 2018 LEGIT Tolaini Toscana IGT Cabernet Sauvignon ($42). I never would have purchased a Cabernet from this wine region and instead would have focused on Sangiovese, but this wine is fantastic. Gorgeous fruit, dark cherries and plum, full mouthfeel, structured with chewy tannins. Even better with dark chocolate. The label is inspired by the "iconic photo of Thelonious Monk from the album cover of one of Monk's most famous live concert recordings, 'Thelonious Monk in Italy' recorded live April 21st, 1961 in Milan by Riverside Records".
Finally, Leslie included the intriguing NV 10 Year White Tawny Porto Douro Valley ($28.75) from Quinta Da Devesa Fortunato Family Estate. From the winery, "this 10 Year Old White Port is obtained from a selection of grape varieties recommended for the Douro region. The aging process occurs naturally over the years, in oak vats at Quinta da Devesa cellars, thus resulting in a darkened color." White Port doesn't receive as much airtime as its red grape sibling but provides sometimes similar but oftentimes a cleaner profile. This excellent wine starts with dried nuts and figs on the nose, then a textured mouthfeel with honeyed bacon, and an uplifting clean tail. Savor this one.
As mentioned earlier, the shipment Leslie sent me consisted of three wines starting with the 2018 Casa Agricola Blanco DO Alicante ($29). This wine is a blend of 40% Moscatel, 40% Macabeo, and 20% Airén where the grapes were grown in Spain's Alicante DO and produced by Pepe Mendoza at their Casa Agrícola winery. This is a unique wine, included because of Leslie's expertise, that displays abundant floral and spicy notes, slight peaches and saline, and finally a fresh spicy finish. Excellent. 
The next wine was an eye-opener, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany's Tolaini Wine Estate called 2018 LEGIT Tolaini Toscana IGT Cabernet Sauvignon ($42). I never would have purchased a Cabernet from this wine region and instead would have focused on Sangiovese, but this wine is fantastic. Gorgeous fruit, dark cherries and plum, full mouthfeel, structured with chewy tannins. Even better with dark chocolate. The label is inspired by the "iconic photo of Thelonious Monk from the album cover of one of Monk's most famous live concert recordings, 'Thelonious Monk in Italy' recorded live April 21st, 1961 in Milan by Riverside Records".
Finally, Leslie included the intriguing NV 10 Year White Tawny Porto Douro Valley ($28.75) from Quinta Da Devesa Fortunato Family Estate. From the winery, "this 10 Year Old White Port is obtained from a selection of grape varieties recommended for the Douro region. The aging process occurs naturally over the years, in oak vats at Quinta da Devesa cellars, thus resulting in a darkened color." White Port doesn't receive as much airtime as its red grape sibling but provides sometimes similar but oftentimes a cleaner profile. This excellent wine starts with dried nuts and figs on the nose, then a textured mouthfeel with honeyed bacon, and an uplifting clean tail. Savor this one.I look forward to perusing the other wines in The Shades of Vino collection as well as designing Christmas gifts for the family. Please visit The Wine Concierge, join the free community, participate in their Facebook Live events, and support The Black Winemakers Scholarship Fund through every wine purchase. Cheers.
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