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8 February, 2013

Broadbent Vinho Verde

Comments : 3 Posted in : Vinho Verde, White Wine, Wine on by : The Gourmez

Broadbent Vinho Verde
Portugal

Broadbent Vinho Verde

I love Vinho Verde. Wine made from its or Torrontes’s grapes convinced me I’d given white wines too hard of a time when they became popular in the last few years. So I’m always happy to try another bottle of the stuff. The Broadbent Vinho Verde has a delicious nose of limes, minerals, and flowers. The minerals are especially strong.

On drinking, a bubbly undercurrent surprises me. It’s not bothersome, though it makes the lime more astringent. That lime is predominant in the glass. The secondary flavors are kumquat and dandelion stems—yes, I am well familiar with dandelion stems from my childhood. Fleeting sweetness gives way to a lively tartness with a quinine tang.

This wine has a lot of typical Vinho Verde characteristics, but it’s too astringent and too lacking in anything else of note to be a keeper for me. There are much better Vinho Verde options.

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Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Boise Weekly

The aromas in this wine are an intriguing mix of sweet citrus, clover and spring greens. You get a bit of a tingle on the tongue from the light-but-persistent fizz. Sweet melon and tangerine flavors play against bright lemon and lime. This is a charming wine that’s lean and lively but not austere.

Bianca Blanca Rioja

The Broadbent delivers excellent value with a down to earth attitude. The zesty, crisp, citrusy fruit notes are fun to give a quick swish in your mouth. Your cheeks salivate as the slight effervescence wakes up your palate. Floral and pear-like, Broadbent is not a sweet wine but a flavorful nectar that feels like biting into a fresh spring day.

The People’s Palate with Rich Mauro

This delightful wine (at a great price) opens with the impression of a light sparkling wine and that is confirmed in the mouth with fairly significant spritz. A touch of fresh green apple and a clean finish makes this a great quaffer.

Last Thoughts from the Gourmez: My compatriots clearly disagree with me on this wine! It may be worth your Vinho-Verde-loving glass after all.

Reviewed 3 January 12.

3s COMMENTS

3 thoughts on : Broadbent Vinho Verde

  • February 10, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    Thank you for all of your comments on our Broadbent Vinho Verde. I think The Gourmez is confusing two wines. There is wine made in the Vinho Verde region and there is “Vinho Verde” which is also made in the Vinho Verde region. A bit like confusing Armagnac with brandy. Not all brandy is Armagnac but all Armagnac is brandy.

    There are rules for “Vinho Verde” and there are other wines made in the same region which aren’t “Vinho Verde”. One rule is that Vinho Verde is always spritzy but there are non-sptitzy wines made in the Vinho Verde region. These are not “Vinho Verde”, even though they share the same appellation on the label. It is confusing. The other rules for Vinho Verde are: they can never be over 11.5% alc, they cannot list the grape varieties on the label and they are inexpensive. They aren’t vintage dated. Within the Vinho Verde region, there are other wines which are regular wines, which can be higher alcohol, vintage dated, varietally labeled, more expensive, without spritz. These wines still carry the Vinho Verde appellation but they are not “Vinho Verde” per se.

    Apart from the fact that none of them use Torrontes grapes, a grape found mostly in Argentina, that The Gourmez is surprised by the spritz implies that The Gourmez is confusing our “Vinho Verde” with regular wines made in the Vinho Verde region. Or, The Gourmez has tasted “Vinho Verde” wines which have lost the spritz through being shipped by importers without using refrigerated containers. It can kill the freshness of a Vinho Verde. Our’s is as fresh as it should be because it is shipped in refers and you’ll experience the obligatory spritz.

    I don’t want to bore you too much but here are some facts about our Broadbent Vinho Verde:

    It should be spritzy. This is added, just a touch, before bottling by introducing some CO2.

    To mention the grape variety on a Vinho Verde the grape must be 85% of the blend. Our Vinho Verde is a blend but no grape is 85% of blend.

    Minimum alcohol for traditional Vinho Verde is 9% alcohol and a maximum of 11.5% alcohol. Broadbent is 9%

    All Vinho Verde labeled as Alvarinho Verde must be more than 11.5% alc. Vinho Verde labeled as Alvarinho can only be made in the Moncao and Melgaco regions of the enormous Vinho Verde appellation, two areas which form a very small percentage of the appellation. And, it has to be 100% Alvarinho.

    Our Vinho Verde is the first press juice, selected from Loureiro [giving all the character, fruit, floral character], with a small percentage [max 30%] of Arinto which gives the wine acidity and freshness and preserves the characteristics of the Loureiro.

    Our wine is non-vintage so that we can guarantee consistency of character from bottling to bottling.

    We use refers to ship the wine which preserves the freshness.

    Our wine is 3 to 4 grams residual sugar. It fluctuates up to 5 grams if we need to cut the acidity more.

    We have ongoing work done in the vineyards to train the vines lower [single cordon] than previously [which were high trained “T” vines with a lot more foliage] to give the wine more intensity and concentration of fruit.

    We use pneumatic presses for gentle pressing to extract the free run juice and fermentation is around 16 degrees centigrade which gives a slow fermentation which, in turn, protects the character of the Loureiro grape. We use a special yeast QA21 which was developed in our vineyards and is now used all over the world. It gives a special character to our wines which are produced at Quinta de Azevedo.

    The orange flower pained on the label of the Broadbent Vinho Verde was painted by my niece when she was four years old. She is now 14 and a great artist.

    I’d like to thank The Gourmez for allowing me to post this. Try our wine again with a different set of expectations. It is meant to be simple, refreshing and delicious. Not serious. Just fun like the label.

  • February 10, 2013 at 7:57 pm

    Thank you, Bartholomew, for that fantastic explanation of the differences between Vinho Verde, the wine, and Vinho Verde, the wine producing-region! The main reason I started this blog was to learn through taste about food and wine culture, styles, and techniques, and I truly appreciate your taking the time to explain that to me. And as you can tell from the snippets I included of other bloggers’ reviews, I am likely in the minority for not finding this particular wine to my taste. It sounds as though I am not a fan of the Vinho Verde style of wines although I enjoy other wines produced in the region. I look forward to trying other wines with the Broadbent label. And if that label art is from your niece at 4 years old, she must be an amazing talent now!

  • February 10, 2013 at 9:58 pm

    Hi Becca
    Thank you for your reply. I like that you say that the main reason you “started this blog was to learn”. The best way to learn is to teach. That is why I started Steven Spurrier’s L’Academie du Vin in Toronto. I had to teach, so I had to learn!

    I tried to send you an e-mail today but when you copy the e-mail, on your “Who am I” page, then paste it, a different e-mail comes up! It pastes asbecca@yellow5labs.com !! And that e-mail bounces back.

    Please send me an e-mail with your proper e-address because I want to invite you to a trade tasting in Raleigh next month. The Country Vintner’s trade tasting in Raleigh on March 18th

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