Wine explorations in Brazil

Brazil wines

(Image credit: Brazil wines)

More famous for sport than wine, Brazil nevertheless has a vine-growing heritage that is coming to the fore. Steven Spurrier explores the country's regions and top estates, and is intrigued by what he finds...

Steven Spurrier’s top 6 wines from Brazil

18.5/20pts (95/100pts)

A 70% Chardonnay/30% Pinot Noir blend in magnum. Fine, full gold colour; bready, honeyed and rich on the nose; very rich and complex on the palate. Beautifully textured and mature.

Price: £35 Go Brazil

Drink 2013–2015

Alc 12.5%

Lidio Carraro, Grande Vindima Merlot, Encruzilhada do Sul 2005

18/20pts (93/100pts)

Fine deep red with mature rim, very Merlot/ Pomerol nose with cassis, spice and chocolate. Rich on the palate; full, fleshy yet elegant and firm. Very good indeed.

Price: £45 Go Brazil

Drink 2013–2015

Alc 14.2%

Pizzato DNA99, Vale dos Vinhedos 2008

18/20pts (93/100pts)

Superb black-purple-red, a nose of dark summer fruits and lovely natural richness on the palate. Oak blended to show voluptuous texture, and elegant tannins.

Price: £55 Go Brazil

Drink 2013–2018

Alc 13.8%

Lidio Carraro, Dádivas Pinot Noir, Encruzilhada do Sul 2012

17.5/20pts (91/100pts)

Deep with purple rim, lovely black cherries, Pinot on the nose, lovely texture and fruit on the palate. Good energy and depth.

Price: £16 Go Brazil

Drink 2013–2018

Alc 14%

Miolo Sesmarias, Campanha 2008

17.5/20pts (91/100pts)

A blend of Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Tempranillo aged for two years in new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Deep purple-red, great depth of fruit with spice, black chocolate and lots of grip. Tannins still there but the fruit dominates. Has a great future.

Price: POA Bibendum

Drink 2013–2018

Alc 14%

Casa Valduga Raizes Cabernet Franc, Campanha 2010

16.5/20pts (88/100pts)

Also from Campanha, this has a good deep colour, very good red-fruit nose and is crunchy and fresh on the palate. The oak (50% French, 50% American) is well blended in. Nicely extracted with some elegance.

Price: N/A UK casavalduga.com.br

Drink 2013–2015

Alc 13.5%

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Decanter’s consultant editor Steven Spurrier joined the wine trade in London in 1964 and later moved to Paris where he bought a wine shop in 1971, and then opened L’Academie du Vin, France’s first private wine school in 1973. Spurrier staged the historic 1976 blind tasting between wines from California and France, the Judgment of Paris, and in the 1980s he wrote several wine books and created the Christie’s Wine Course with then senior wine director Michael Broadbent, a veteran Decanter columnist. In 1988 Spurrier returned to the UK to focus on writing and consultancy, with his clients including Singapore Airlines. He has won several awards, including Le Personalité de l’Année (oenology) 1988 for services to French wine and the Maestro Award in honour of California wine legend André Tchelistcheff (2011) and is president of the Circle of Wine Writers as well as founding the Wine Society of India. He also produced his own wine, Bride Valley Brut, from his vines in Dorset.