I suppose it is a bit late in the year to be talking about rosé, but what with all the hot weather last week we could forgive ourselves for thinking we were back in the summer. It’s been interesting to watch the Covela winery reinvent itself over the last couple of years since it was abandoned in 2009 – a sad story that saw the old owner lose the business in a rather unfair mess with a bankrupt bank. But that’s another story…
The winemaker is the very same Rui Cunha, who built up the reputation of Covela along with the old owner Nuno Araújo, creating some of Portugal’s finest white wines and a rather unusual rosé known as “Palhete” – basically meaning a pale red wine.
But when launching this latest rosé under the new ownership, Cunha opted to follow the market trend producing a much lighter rosé in the Provence style and the result is notable. Dry and fresh with intense red fruit and floral notes on the nose and good acidity in the mouth, it compares very favourably, priced at €8.99, with the French rosés on offer at Apolónia costing a good few euros more.
Looking on the winery’s website, I was interested to note that they have just launched, or are about to launch, their premium white label – Covela Seleccionada Branco. I still have a couple of bottles of the pre-takeover 2004 and the 2007 at home that have aged magnificently, and am hoping that the reincarnation will be a worthy one. Watch this space…
By PATRICK STUART [email protected]
