Douro Dance

During a recent visit to Cost Plus, I just grabbed some various wines that seemed interesting.  One of them was a 2005 Aveleda Charamba red wine from the Duoro region of Portugal.  According to the label, "charamba" is the traditional Portuguese dance from the 19th century.

At $5.99, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Good wine comes from the Douro and it's thought of as one of the next great areas for wine.  It's the region where port wine comes from and this wine is made from the same varietals (Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz [aka Tempranillo], Touriga Francesca and Touriga Nacional,) although I couldn't find which ones and in what quantities.

Well, it ain't bad... nice fruit, a little tobacco and earth, pepper, medium bodied, pretty heavy tannins.  A tiny bit sour and bitter on the finish, which is short.  If you are curious what many wines from this region taste like, this has the traditional flavors of Douro table wine.  We didn't decant this - it was a little tight, so I guess it may have changed it a little.  I would say it has a good QPR (Quality Price Ratio) but we weren't crazy for it.  May have to buy a second bottle and decant it for four hours to see the difference.