Wine Tasting: Great-Value Dry Red Wines from Portugal

Beyond its borders, Portugal is known primarily for its fortified, sweet red wines called "port", named for the city of Porto in Portugal itself. Porto is situated at the mouth of the Douro River. An area called the Douro Valley is the location from which the majority of grapes for port wines are grown.

But to think of port wines as Portugal's only contribution to the world's red wine scene would be an unfortunate mistake. In fact, the wines that go into port can be fermented as dry red wines as well. And in that case, the resulting red are some of the lowest cost, best-value red wines on the planet.

Let's check out a couple of Portugal's under-discovered dry red wines, from two different growing areas - called DOCs - in Portugal. Both of these may generally be obtained for around $10 U.S. or less.

Quinta do Encontro Red Wine

Review: The Quinta do Encontro Red Wine is a dry red wine from the Bairrada region of Portugal, which spent six months in French oak as part of the aging process. For this tasting, we assessed the 2004 vintage.

In the glass, the Quinta do Encontro is dark red, almost opaque, becoming a bit purplish at the edge. A young color for a wine already over four years from harvest.

The nose, while not extremely bold, is intriguing. It first delivers a high-pitched purple aromatic squeal - sort of a concentrated essence of sweet plum. That's mixed with just a touch of oak and barnyard with a mineral steeliness.

Moving to the palate, the unique experience continues. An extracted, tannic black cherry and blackberry coats the back of your mouth, lifting fruit up and forward, and sending slightly charred acids back and around your mouth. The finish moves along the dark, steely lines to a modest length wrap-up.

Three stars out of five with a plus for its compelling intensity, using the Spirit of Wine scale. Awesome value at its "practically free" price.

Coroa D'ouro Reserva Red Wine

Review: The Coroa D'ouro Red Wine is a dry red wine made by Pocas Junior group from the section of Portugal most well-known for its sweet port wines. Coroa D'ouro is a blend of touriga nacional, touriga franca, tinta roriz and tinta barroca.

In the glass it is very deep red, turning pink at the edge. The nose is deep, lush, rich of velvet red and oak. A bit of old-school funk in there!

On the palate, a bright red fruit at the front is quickly paired with husky, fresh tannins at the top of your mouth. A darker, violet flavor moves towards the back of the throat with the acids. Glad this already has a few years in the bottle. Could use even a couple more. Finish is fleshy, deep fruity and clean, with a touch of charred oak.

Three stars out of five, and an outstanding value.