As a diehard fan of Portugal’s Dão region, I am always on the lookout for something new and Taboadella is the latest label to hit the market. There are varietals and a reserve, but my first experience of these wines was these entry-level Villae blends in red and white.
Taboadella is the latest wine project to be launched by the mighty Amorim Group (of cork fame) who also own and operate numerous wineries, amongst them the excellent Quinta Nova in Douro.
Taboadella is an estate rich in history located near Viseu in the heart of the Dão region. Ruins on the site date back to the Romans when it was a Roman Villa, hence the name of this wine being Villae, and the property, as it is, has a documented history dating back to 1255.
Wine was produced here even back in Roman times and the estate today is open to visitors with various historical attractions, not to mention wine tasting.
The white and the red are both priced at €9.95 at Apolónia, representing good value for money and neither are oaked.
The white is a fresh and subtle wine, very pale yellow in colour with white fruit and herbal notes on the nose, light and vibrant in the mouth with good acidity, a blend of Encruzado, Bical and Cercial Grapes.
The red, made from Tinta Roriz, Jaen, Alfrocheiro and Tinta Pinheira, is medium bodied, a wine designed to be drunk young, clean and fresh with young berry fruits on the nose, supple tannins in the mouth and a juicy finish; works well slightly chilled.
