The wines of Malhadinha Nova, Alentejo, Portugal
Revisiting this impressive Alentejo winery

Website: www.malhadinhanova.pt

I first visited Alentejo winery Malhadinha Nova in 2004, and was impressed by this (then) new project. The vineyards were planted by the Soares family in 2000, and the first wines released in 2003. I went back in July 2011 to see how things had progressed.


The hotel at Malhadinha

The most obvious change since the first visit is the presence of a boutique hotel, and also a top quality restaurant. This is a fabulous place to visit if you want to get away from things. Based in Beja. in the south of the Alentejo region - as close to Faro aiport as it is to Lisbon - Malhadinha Nova enjoys a pretty warm climate. Despite this, the wines have retained a lot of freshness.


Winemaking consultant Luis Duarte, resident winemaker Rui Lopes, and Rita and Joao Soares


Paulo Soares

THE WINES 

Monte da Peceguina Branco 2010 Alentejo, Portugal
12.5% alcohol (the lowest ever for this wine). A blend with Ant
ão Vaz dominant. Fresh and a bit pithy with lively acidity and lovely focused fruit. Pure with white peach and pear fruit. Nice purity. 89/100

Malhadinha Nova Antão Vaz 2010 Alentejo, Portugal
Unoaked. Lively, fruity, fresh and pithy with nice acidity and focused apple and pear fruit. Very nice. 90/100

Malhadinha Nova Branco 2010 Alentejo, Portugal
65% Arinto with a bit of Viognier and the balance Chardonnay. 9 months in 50% new oak. Focused toasty nose is fine and fresh with notes of peach and pear. Lovely balance. The palate is fresh and lively with bright fruit and good acidity, as well as a spicy oak sheen. Lovely integration. 92/100

Monte da Peceguina Tinto 2009 Alentejo, Portugal
A blend of quite a few varieties aged in older French oak. Nice, berryish and supple showing lovely fresh fruit. Just a hint of oak. Deliciously supple and bright. 89/100

From 2008, 2000 bottles of each variety have been bottled separately, to produce a limited edition set sold in a box. This won’t happen every year, though. This is the first release, consisting of four wines.

Touriga Nacional da Peceguina 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
Aromatic, lively and bright with notes of tar and herbs. Very sweetly fruited yet fresh. Focused ripe palate is sweet and spicy with firm tannins and some distinctive spicy freshness. Tannic finish. 93/100

Cabernet da Peceguina 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
Nice ripe berry and blackcurrant fruit with a subtle, attractive green herbal edge. Supple, ripe and smooth with berry and blackcurrant fruit on the palate. Nicely structured. 92/100

Alicante Bouschet da Peceguina 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
Robust ripe, spicy berry fruits nose is very lively. The palate is dense and sweet with rich body and texture. Ripe and spicy. Nicely robust. 92/100

Aragonês da Peceguina 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
Ripe and berryish with some spicy notes. Nicely judged with good structure and definition. 91/100

Malhadinha Nova Pequeno João 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
Mostly Syrah and Touriga Nacional. Lovely definition here with a nose of ripe berry fruits. Sweet and lush on the palate but nicely defined with finesse and freshness to the berry fruits. Subtle green herby edge. Very attractive. 94/100

Malhadinha Nova Tinto 2008 Alentejo, Portugal
A blend of five varieties. Lovely freshness: bright with nice definition and texture to the lively cherry and berry fruits. An elegant style with some structure to the pure fruit. 94/100

Malhadinha Nova Marais da Malhadinha 2007 Alentejo, Portugal
The second release of the top wine, the other being the 2004. 6000 bottles, 26 months ageing in new French oak. Ripe, spicy and warm with nice density of fruit. Quite elegant despite the power, whoing nice tannins. A warm, rich style with good complexity and lots going on. 94/100

Wines tasted 06/11

See a short video of the visit:

See also:

Visiting the Alentejo (series)

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

 

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