Joao Portugal Ramos Vila Santa Trincadeira Tinto, Alentejo, Portugal

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The 2009 TRINCADEIRA “VILA SANTA” is another nice and well priced monovarietal from this winery, despite the reality that Trincadeira can be a treacherous grape. This is very civilized, with a bit of cream for the texture and vanilla from oak on the nose, rounding into form nicely with a little air. Like most of the wines of this type from the winery, it is harmonious and friendly, well priced and a nice house pour, not meant to be powerful and extremely ageworthy, but well constructed enough to hold up decently for a few years as it does have a backbone. There are some hints of herbaceousness as it airs out, but you likely won’t notice it too much, especially given the vanilla nuance that is prominent at first. It also becomes lively and charming with air. Drink now-2017. This lineup is often a good source for values in Portugal. This year’s releases are no different, and perhaps better than most in that regard. There are a lot of beautifully constructed wines here that are charming and inexpensive (ignoring the Reserva “MARQUES DE BORBA,” which has spiked up dramatically in recent years to levels many might find unrealistic). The Vila Santa Reserva Tinto and the Marques de Borba regular Tinto are certainly best buys, but there are good cases to make for the monovarietals and the Loios wines as well.Importers: for Loios, Vila Santa and Quinta da Vicosa brands: Winebow, Inc., Montvale, N.J.; tel: (201) 445-0620; for Marques de Borba brand: Signature Imports, Mansfield, MA; tel: (800) 669-0750 (in New England, New Jersey, N.Y.) and HGC Imports, San Jose, CA; tel: (408) 947-8511 (for Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington State and Colorado).

The 2008 TRINCADEIRA VILA SANTA is marked by oak at the moment—not unusual for such a young wine—but it is clean and well constructed, typical of what I see from J.P. Ramos with this brand, and unlike a lot of vegetal Trincadeira. Lush, but well structured and rather elegant, this does have an occasional touch of herbs, but it is nicely done and a pretty good value. Drink now-2017. Importers: for Loios, Vila Santa and Quinta da Vicosa brands: Winebow, Inc., Montvale, N.J.; tel: (201) 445-0620; for Marques de Borba brand and Red Leg: Signature Imports, Mansfield, MA; tel: (800) 669-0750 (in New England, New Jersey, N.Y.) and HGC Imports, San Jose, CA; tel: (408) 947-8511 (for Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington State and Colorado); for Conde de Vimioso (Falua) brand: Vinum Importing, Redmond, WA; tel. (206) 621-8843 (Washington, Portland and California) and Aidil Wines & Liquors, a division of Olde World Imports, Inc., Rahway, NJ; tel. (973) 642-0044 (New England, New Jersey and New York).

The 2007 TRINCADEIRA VILA SANTA was aged for six months in French oak. This is a grape that is often treacherous, but Ramos does a nice job with it here, making it seem structured and suave. There are some herbal nuances here and there, but it’s cleaner than most Loire Valley Cab Francs and has a nice blackberry note, with some black pepper as well. The wine is lush and rather sensually textured, with some tannic grip on the otherwise average finish. It should drink nicely now, and hold well for several years. Drink now-2015. Iconic Southern winemaker Joao Portugal Ramos has many brands, Falua/Vimioso for his Ribatejo property, the low cost Loios brand, the single vineyard Vicosa, Vila Santa and the flagship Marques de Borba in Alentejo. For convenience, they are all grouped here although note that the Falua wines do not necessarily have Ramos’ name on the label.Importers: for Loios, Vila Santa and Quinta da Vicosa brands: Winebow, Inc., Montvale, N.J.; tel: (201) 445-0620; for Marques de Borba brand and Red Leg: Signature Imports, Mansfield, MA; tel: (800) 669-0750 (in New England, New Jersey, N.Y.) and HGC Imports, San Jose, CA; tel: (408) 947-8511 (for Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington State and Colorado); for Conde de Vimioso (Falua) brand: Vinum Importing, Redmond, WA; tel. (206) 621-8843 (Washington, Portland and California) and Aidil Wines & Liquors, a division of Olde World Imports, Inc., Rahway, NJ; tel. (973) 642-0044 (New England, New Jersey and New York).