Quinta S. Sebastião Vinho Regional Lisboa Reserva 2018

Quinta de S. Sebastião fashions a string of exceptional red wines, but none is more indicative of this estate’s rise to prominence than the 2018 Quinta S. Sebastiāo Vinho Regional Lisboa Reserva (92 Points – Wine Enthusiast), a blend of 38% Merlot, 37% Touriga Nacional, and 25% Syrah. S. Sebastião’s 2018 Reserva offers a brilliant ruby robe along with plenty of bright red and black fruit aromas that make a formidable first impression. Savory scents of black cherry and cranberry infused with a subtle cache of exotic spices immediately engage the nose and expand gracefully in the mouth. Complex and finely textured, the 2018 S. Sebastião Vinho Regional Lisboa Reserva woos the palate with a potpourri of fruit flavors imbued with deft touches of chocolate and vanilla spice all nicely balanced by fine-grained tannins and juicy acidity. This balanced, expansive Reserva begs for an hour or more of aeration at cool room temperature (58°-64° F) to fully reveal all of its many charms, and it is on track to offer superb drinking pleasure for the rest of the decade. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2030. Enjoy!

Quinta S. Sebastião’s 2018 Vinho Regional Lisboa Reserva deserves to grace the best tables in the company of the finest cuts of meat and artfully prepared dishes. Veal Scaloppini with Saffron and a perfectly prepared Osso Buco make mouthwatering accompaniments to Quinta S. Sebastião’s splendid 2018 Reserva. Certainly, this wine also provides the ideal companion to the rich, flavorful dishes for which the Portuguese are renowned, including Portuguese Bean Soup, a heady concoction of beans, sausage, potatoes, carrots and most anything else one cares to add. This soup provides a flavorful one pot dish at the same time that it offers great companionship to the gamut of Portuguese wines. Marinated pork or lamb, steeped in plenty of red wine, onion, garlic, bay leaves and more, also merits two thumbs up as an accompaniment. Spit roasted chicken or game birds served with an artfully crafted risotto and a colorful mélange of root vegetables provides another delicious companion. And there may be no better way to finish a meal than with a glass S. Sebastião’s 2018 Reserva and a plate of delicious Portuguese cheeses such as Evora, Rabaçal, or São Jorge. However, almost any rindless cheese will complement this wine by accentuating the savory notes in both the wine and the cheese. Bom apetite!

Quinta de S. Sebastião is a gem of a winery named for the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian who gave his life to save others from persecution. It is located in a small town north of Lisbon called Arruda dos Vinhos, in one of the sub-regions of the Vinho Regional Lisboa. Quinta de S. Sebastião has a more than 1,000-year tradition of making wine, while the present quinta dates back to 1755, the same year of the great earthquake that destroyed much of Lisbon. It is owned by Portuguese entrepreneur Antonio Parente, who along with winemaker Filipe Sevinate Pinto, has done much to restore S. Sebastião and the surrounding area to its former viticultural glory.

S. Sebastião’s vineyards occupy the hills of an old military line of fortification that was known as Forte do Cego and then Forte de S. Sebastião because of the Quinta. These hills played a crucial role in defending Lisbon against Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Portugal. S. Sebastião’s vineyards cover these hills, basking in the region’s unique location and warm sunny climate, protected from the cold north wind and strong Atlantic gales that make Portugal one of the world’s great surfing spots.

The Quinta fashions several outstanding red, white, and rosé wines from indigenous and international grape varieties, but none is more compelling than Quinta S. Sebastião’s superbly crafted 2018 Reserva (this month’s feature), an emblematic blend of Touriga Nacional (Portugal’s most esteemed grape variety), Merlot, and Syrah.

Portugal is home to more than 250 grape varieties, but none is finer or more important than the indigenous Touriga Nacional. Although Touriga Nacional owns Portugal’s bragging rights, it is only recently getting to fly on its own. More often than not it forms the backbone of Portugal’s greatest red wines, including Port and the finest Douro, Dão, Alentejo, and Lisboa wines. As a low yielding grape, it imparts body, flavor and plenty of tannic structure to blends of Aragonez (Tempranillo), Merlot, and Syrah, as well as to the legion of indigenous grape varietals that thrive in Portugal.

Touriga Nacional is a dark skinned grape that yields tannic, complex wines with a great ability to age. It thrives in hot, dry climates and is also highly resistant to fungus, all of which makes Touriga Nacional increasingly attractive around the world as the planet heats up. Although the cultivation of Touriga Nacional outside of Portugal remains low, Australia, California, South Africa, and even France are now increasing their cultivation of this grape. Beginning in 2022, Touriga Nacional is one of the seven new grape varieties permitted in Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur wines according to France’s Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO), the nation’s appellation governing body. With global warming playing havoc in the world’s wine regions, Touriga Nacional’s fortunes are sure to continue and will likely encounter a meteoric rise.