Hello and welcome to my (usually) weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have arrived recently.

This past week included a set of wines from a project called Geographic Wines, which was started by Nuno Morais Vaz and Daniela Matias and, unlike most Portuguese wine companies, it is designed from the start to make wines from a number of different wine regions in Portugal. They make their wines with ambient yeasts, and deliberately pick early to preserve freshness. Vaz and Matias say that they think of themselves as cartographers as much as winemakers, perhaps hence the name. Unfortunately, the project’s website is non-functional so I don’t know the state of the business, but it is clear that these wines are mostly available in Europe at the moment. They are all, both red whites, well made, and most quite good. Keep an eye out for them.

Sticking with Portugal for a moment longer, I also received a sample of a white blend from the Douro made by Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. That’s a mouthful of a name for a winery (which is why most people just say Quina Nova), and the wine is a tasty mouthful of indigenous white grape varieties grown on the slate soils of the Douro.

Closer to home, Chateau Montelena sent along a bottle of their Riesling from Potter Valley in Mendocino, which does the things you want a Riesling to do in the mouth, though I would love a little bit more acidity than the 2025 vintage yielded.

Las Jaras Wines sent through their “chillable red” wine they call Glou Glou, which is a Carignan- and Zinfandel-driven blend designed to be easy, crunchy, fun, and tasty, and, well, it manages to be all those things.

Finally, we’ll end this week with a couple of venerable old-vine Zinfandels. Aldo’s Vineyard, planted in 1937 is one of the last old-vine vineyards within the city limits of Napa itself, and is surrounded (threatened, actually) on all sides by suburban development. Robert Biale Vineyards has been making wine from the vineyard for a long time, and does a great job of capturing the bright juiciness of the site which contains Abouriou, Valdiguié, Peloursin, St. Peters, Refosco, Mondeuse, and a touch of Pinot Gris in addition to Zinfandel.

The Hayne Vineyard, planted in 1902 near St. Helena in Napa, has been owned by the same family since the 19th Century, and consistently yields fantastic Zinfandel (and a bit of Petite Sirah) fruit for Turley Wine Cellars, who have been bottling it as a single vineyard since at least 1993. It’s dark in complexion but still bright with excellent juiciness.

That’s all for this week. Notes on all these wines below.

Tasting Notes

2021 Geographic Wines “La Volée – Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature” Vinho Espumante Branco, Bairrada, Portugal
Pale gold in the glass with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of apple sauce and freshly chopped apples. In the mouth, a faint mousse delivers bright flavors of lemon peel, apples, and a touch of seawater. Dried herbs and a touch of roasted nuts linger in the finish. Excellent acidity and nice clean crispness. 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $??

2025 Geographic Wines “Landcraft” Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, Portugal
Palest straw-colored in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers, green apple, star fruit, and struck match. In the mouth, salty flavors of green apple, crabapple, lime zest, and wet pavement have a lovely zippy brightness thanks to excellent acidity. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $18. click to buy.

2025 Geographic Wines “Landcraft” Loureiro, Vinho Verde, Portugal
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon peel and grapefruit pith with a hint of white flowers. In the mouth, lemon and pink grapefruit flavors are electric with bright acidity and linger for a long while on the palate. 11.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $??

2024 Geographic Wines “Lento” Branco, Douro, Portugal
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of white peach, nectarine, and Asian pears. In the mouth, unripe nectarines, Asian pear, and unripe apple flavors have a bright edge thanks to excellent acidity. Crisp and lean, with a hint of green herbs in the finish. A blend of Rabigato, Viosinho, Gouveio, Códega de Larinho, Síria, and Folgasão. 10.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $??

2022 Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo “Grainha Reserva” Branco, Douro, Portugal
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of peaches, white flowers, and pastry cream. In the mouth, nutty flavors of peach, pastry cream, and grapefruit zest have a lingering vanilla top note and a faint bitterness. Very good acidity. A blend of 30% Gouveio, 35% Viosinho, and 35% Rabigato, aged for 7 months in a combination of second-use French and Hungarian oak. 13.5% alcohol. 45,000 bottles made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2025 Chateau Montelena Riesling, Potter Valley, Mendocino, California
Palest gold to the point of near colorlessness, this wine smells of asian pears, mandarin zest, and white flowers. In the mouth, flavors of mandarin orange peel, Asian pear, and white flowers are clean and bright with decent acidity. A faint chalky texture lingers in the finish. 13.4% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $35. click to buy.

2025 Las Jaras “Glou Glou” Red Blend, Mendocino County, California
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherries and boysenberries. In the mouth, black cherry and boysenberry flavors are bright with notes of orange peel and juicy acidity. Faint dried herbal notes linger in the finish with wispy, gauzy tannins. Excellent acidity. A blend of 44% Carignan, 41% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah, and 3% Vermentino. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $26. click to buy.

2023 Geographic Wines “Inóspito – Vinhas Velhas Torto” Red Blend, Douro, Portugal
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of plums, dried flowers, citrus peel, and struck match. In the mouth, bright, zingy acidity makes flavors of citrus peel, plum, and plum skin juicy and bright, as notes of pink peppercorns, dried herbs, and oak mix with the fruit. Fine, tight tannins coat the mouth and remain supple, as orange peel brightness lingers in the finish. A field blend of more than 30 different grape varieties planted in 1920. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $??

2023 Turley Wine Cellars “Hayne Vineyard” Zinfandel, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Dark garnet with purple highlights, this wine smells of cherries, blackberries, and blueberries. In the mouth, blueberries and cherries are shot through with dried herbs and great acidity. Juicy and silky on the tongue, and quite balanced for its alcohol level. Gauzy tannins. Also contains small amounts of Trousseau, Petite Sirah, and Carignane. 15.2% alcohol. Vineyard planted in 1902. 473 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $96. click to buy.

2023 Robert Biale Vineyards “Aldo’s Vineyard” Zinfandel, Oak Knoll District, Napa, California
Dark purple in the glass, this wine smells of licorice, blackberries, blueberries, and herbs. In the mouth, blackberry and blueberry fruit flavors mix with licorice, black pepper, and herbs. Great acidity keeps things very fresh in the mouth as faint tannins coat the mouth. There’s a hint of oak in the finish. Very juicy and delicious. 14.8% alcohol. 315 cases made. Vineyard planted in 1937. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $95. click to buy.