A $10 Portuguese red blend made by Quinta Do Vallado, we review the Trader Joe’s Reserva Douro Lot #266.
A blend of 35% Touriga Nacional, 33% Touriga Franca, 17% Tinta Roriz, 7% Tinta Barroca, 5% Sousao, 2% Tinta Amarela and 1% Moreto from Douro, Portugal.
We’d heard some buzz about this wine, so we excited to find it at our local store. The Trader Joe’s Reserva Douro is made by Quinta Do Vallado, which is one of the oldest wineries in the Douro, having been around since 1716.
Like many of the wineries in the area, the winery primarily focused on Port wines for most of their history, branching out into still wines in the 1990s. As we always say, the grape varieties that make great Port can also make great still wines, and this evolution into still wines, many of which are priced very reasonably, has been a wonderful thing for Reverse Wine Snobs.
The winery also has a number of very old vineyards although there’s no indication as to where this particular wine was sourced.
We’re huge fans of the value to be found in Portuguese red blends, so the $9.99 price tag at Trader Joe’s was certainly a welcome sight as well. Let’s check it out. The Trader Joe’s Reserva Douro is imported by Plume Ridge.
From the bottle:
Lot #266
35% Touriga Nacional, 33% Touriga Franca, 17% Tinta Roriz, 7% Tinta Barroca, 5% Sousao, 2% Tinta Amarela, 1% Moreto.
Vinho Tinto – Red Wine
Douro D.O.C.Produced and Bottled by Quinta Do Vallado
13.5% Alcohol
The 2022 Trader Joe’s Reserva Douro Lot #266 opens with attractive aromas of dark, raisiny fruit along with a bit of spice and some floral notes. It smells very Portuguese! It’s a nice start.
The wine tastes similar in the mouth but it’s lacking the usual depth of these wines. It does however have a smooth mouthfeel and some other nice components with continuing dark fruit and a little spice. It’s a nice wine and not a bad introduction to Douro red blends, but we were hoping for a bit more as a lot of these wines offer extreme value.
It ends dry with a medium-long finish. It was slightly better on day 2 so be sure to give this one plenty of air.
2022 Trader Joe’s Reserva Douro Lot #266
RECOMMENDED BUY
As always you can find an updated list of our recommended wines from Trader Joe’s as well as more info on their pricing model and some tips and tricks for shopping the store in our giant guide.
You can also find more of our favorite red blends here!
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