Caribbean Wine Review III

The Lovely One and I went out to dinner last night at a bistro that is owned by the operator of Boucanerie Chelsea or in English, Chelsea Smokehouse. There is an interesting connection between Boucanerie and pirates. From Wikipedia:

The buccaneers were pirates who attacked Spanish and French shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century. The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate. The term buccaneer derives from the Arawak word buccan, a wooden frame for smoking meat, hence the French word boucane and the name boucanier for French hunters who used such frames to smoke meat from feral cattle and pigs on Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic). English colonists anglicised the word boucanier to buccaneer.

The bistro last night served smoked goodies incorporated into the food. For example, the Lovely One ate a pave (a paving stone) of smoked salmon on a bed of greens with squash. I had a penne rigatte with smoked ham in sauce. It was delicious. We wanted a glass of wine to go with our meal. I spied a Portuguese wine called Adega de Pegoes, and more specifically Adega de Pegões Colheita Seleccionada Branco.

In spite of the fact that we ordered just a glass, they brought the bottle to the table. When we tasted the wine, it was so good that we insisted on them leaving the bottle. It is an amazing wine. It went extremely well with the hearty food.

Here are the notes from the winery itself on this wine:

Adega of Pegões Selected Harvest White Wine

Pegões is distinguished by a unique “Terroir”. It is characterized by the combination of poor sandy soils rich in water, with the Mediterranean climate on the proximity of the Atlantic sea. This combination creates a perfect harmony, that brings a excellent environment to the development of our noble grapes.

Classification: Regional Terras of Sado Wine

Type: White

Grapes: Chardonnay 25%, Arinto 25%, Pinot Blamc 25% and Antão Vaz 25%

Region: Península of Setúbal

Soil Type: Sandy Pozolitic

Wine Production: Depends of the harvest

Oenologist: Jaime Quendera

Characteristics:

Taste Note:

Colour: Citrine/Straw.

Aroma: Very fruit, fresh, presenting great harmony with wood.

Taste: Structured wine.

After Taste: Fresh persistent aftertaste.

Vinification: Light pelicular maceration followed by fermentation in Inox vats.

Aging: 3 mouths in American Oak barrels with Batonage.

Evolution: Keep in very good conditions for 3-5 years.

Analysis:

Alcool Content: 13.5% vol

Total Acidity: 6.0 gr. of tartaric acid

Residual Sugar: 3,5 gr/dm3

pH: 3.20

Recommended plates: Strong fish plates as potful, shellfish on the oven and with some cheese.

Recommended Temperature: 14º C.

Conservation: Fresh place with bottle lying down.

History:

Created at 1999 with the finality to convert into wine some new castles on our region. This is a modern product on the market of White Wine with Fermentation on Wood.

The vintage of 2001 as won the silver medal in “Challenge International du Vin 2002” in Bordeaux, in Portugal wan the “Best White wine of the Península of Setúbal 2002” and a gold medal on the same contest.

Harvest of 2002- Silver medal on the “Challenge International du Vin 2003”, in Bordeux; in Portugal wan the “Best White wine of the Península of Setúbal 2003” and a gold medal on the same contest.

Harvest of 2004 - Silver medal on the “International Wine Challenge 2005” and on the “Decanter World Wine Awards 2005” in London.

The taste of this wine called be called "creamy" because it was allowed to rest on the lees (the by products of fermentation) for four months, and then they used batonage or stirring with a stick. Most wines have the lees filtered off immediately. This gives the wine an complex, eminently drinkable taste.

If you see this wine anywhere, I would suggest grabbing a bottle or a case. You won't be disappointed.