"Excellent stuff at the price - full and fruity."

I would recommend this wine

"Love Portuguese reds and this is an acceptable one at this price range. I found it improved overnight in the bottle. Well worth a try. "

I would recommend this wine

"On the back of genarally positive reviews relative to cost i bought two of these bottles in November. I thought i was just unlucky with the first one but was disappointed to find the second equally unsatisfying. We found it unpleasant, rather chemical and characterless, leading me to wish I'd spent another couple of pounds on buying more of any of the other good wines in my batch. I'm afraid we didnt even keep it for cooking."

"Utterly delicious. Will be ordering more ASAP!"

I would recommend this wine

"Let it breath and you will be rewarded by some length and complexity, with numerous fruit notes. This style of rich Portuguese wine is becoming more available in the UK and this is a good example at a competitive and realistic price point. Would buy again."

"Quite acidic and a bit thin, but it improves after 24 hours. Not as good as the southern Spanish red, Sabina or French full red all used to be, but decent. "

I would recommend this wine

"A lovely red wine. I pick up the darker fruit nuances and smokiness by nose, but by taste I also have a slight hint of pepper. Lovely rounded blend and not hard or acidic. Easy to drink but I'd probably drink this with a meal due to the darkness of the fruit - lovely with cheese and crackers! I would take this to a party as a gift. "

I would recommend this wine

"I thought it was great, well worth the money."

"Fantastic value good to see it back in stock will reorder without hesitation. Well done again WS."

I would recommend this wine

"we both liked it . accompanied a beef casserole with dumplings...seemed a successful pairing. Fullish body and not too soft , so a tick from us. "

I would recommend this wine

"It was OK. Easy drinking wine at the price "

"One of the first bottles we purchased after signing up at The Wine Society. At £5.95 it offers tremendous value, plenty of dark fruits and softer than expected. A high bar set by TWS! "

I would recommend this wine

"I’m enjoying this, at £5.50 it’s a cracker. Well done WS.??"

"Full, fruity and fun! Tremendous value for money. WS does brilliantly in the sub £6 bottle price point."

I would recommend this wine

"Startlingly delicious and at a knockout price , I'm not surprised it sold out. The memsahib & I look forward to the new batch arriving just in time for Christmas. "

I would recommend this wine

"Good at this price although not as good as the Spanish Red or French Full Red used to be. Found it quite acidic at first but on day two it was much smoother. "

"Terrific value at £5.95 as an everyday or party wine. I'm just buying another case. Don't be put off by the boring label."

I would recommend this wine

"This is my favourite of the everyday drinking wines at this price level, just about edging out Domaine Labourie. Gives pleasure in all directions: fruit, nose and length and it isn't tannic. A lot of wines in this price bracket are very appealing when first opened, but when you come back to the bottle the next day all you seem to be left with is tannin. This one, however, continues to impress. It would be hard to find a more satisfying red at this price."

I would recommend this wine

"I was a little unsure about this one but was very pleasantly surprised. Found lots of dark fruit and subtle tannins. "

I would recommend this wine

"Lovely! Very fruity and easy to drink. Why are Portuguese wine bottlers using artificial corks?"

"Cracking value. Dense concentrated fruit, reminds me of a ripasso."

I would recommend this wine

"Pretty good wine at this price!"

I would recommend this wine

"Quaffable - recommended, nice fruity flavours at a great price."

I would recommend this wine

"Gosh, what a lovely drop of wine. Generously fruity but also with some gentle powdery tannins to keep structure. If you can find such a great wine at this price anywhere but the Wine Society please let me know, I might join. "

I would recommend this wine

"Best £5 bottle of wine I have enjoyed for a long time. Soft and silky...leave to breath...excellent value."

I would recommend this wine

"Five stars for the sheer value here - excellent red wine - no harsh acidity or the fear of something just that bit below par to get the price down. Strikes the balance perfectly between quality and price. Just about to buy some for lock-down November.... "

I would recommend this wine

"What a great wine for the price. A great winter warmer. As a senior citizen on a reduced income due to Covid 19 I am please how often I find an affordable wine with the Society. "

"What a lovely wine. I bought this more on hope than expectation but I’m really surprised. There’s not a lot on the nose but the taste is fruit forward and rather delicious. Improved a lot after breathing. So, 5 stars for value 3 stars for taste = 4 well earned stars. Well done to the buying team! "

I would recommend this wine

"Lovely smooth staple wine for the price."

I would recommend this wine

"I’m giving if 5 as it’s as good as you’ll get in the UK for £5.50. I had low expectations i enjoyed this. "

"Impossibly good value. Excellent with a veggie ragout from Yotam. Will be great with a pasta tomato sauce. Very, very pleasant midweek red wine, on the fullish side of medium. "

I would recommend this wine

"3* for the wine, 1 extra for the extraordinary value at £5.50. This is a fruity wine with enough character to lift it above cheap supermarket reds. After a few minutes in the glass in a warm kitchen it accompanied lamb chops with kishri (Elizabeth David Spices Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen) and Gugerati cabbage and carrots (Madhur Jaffrey Invitation to Indian Cooking) remarkably well!"

I would recommend this wine

"When I first reviewed this wine I was very disappointed, twenty four hours later I am pleased to report that the second half of the bottle was significantly better. Drink and enjoy, mea culpa."

"Five stars because it's great value for money. Clearly it's not a fantastic wine, but for the price it's amazing. Keep it cool (suggest drinking it at below 55 degrees, possibly even down to 40 degrees in summer) and drink it and enjoy the simple fruit flavours. This is a proper, nice quaffing wine."

I would recommend this wine

"I struggle to describe this wine but what should I say? It has few positives, heavy, smooth, tasteless, and left a foam on the side of the glass. I may add it to stew, more for volume than taste. A Society wine, I think not."

"Aromatic, ripe red fruits on the nose, palate is soft, low ripe tannins, almost a sweet feeling. Very good quality for its price and it doesn't taste like an industrialised wine. Simple but well made. "

"My first review after buying a few hundred bottles from the society...This is very straightforward Portuguese wine; inexpensive, quite nice after airing and warming, unsurprisingly simple, and possibly ok for my mother in laws funeral wake in a cold church (no village hall available due to Covid) later this week but also possibly not quite good enough if I don’t warm it up somehow!"

wineanorak.com 7th Dec 2020

"90% Castelão, 10% alicante bouschet. Lovely pure fruit: sweet and supple with lots of refinement for the price. 88/100 Jamie Goode"

The Guardian 28th Nov 2020

" … if you’re putting in an order, you may fancy stocking up on the Society’s cheap and cheerful Portuguese Red for your party … oh no, we’re not having those this year, are we? Let’s just call them basic everyday reds, then. - Fiona Beckett"

The Times 28th Nov 2020

"The 50 best red wines for winter: At long last the Society’s Portuguese white has a red sister, sourced this time from the sandy coastal Setùbal region southeast of Lisbon. A mix of juicy castelão with a dab of inky alicante bouschet. What you get is a terrific dusky, spice-infused, hearty black-fruited red. - Jane MacQuitty"

The Mail on Sunday 8th Nov 2020

" Steal of the century. Easy, fragrant, juicy and joyful. Turn your roast into a rave. - Olly Smith"

Log in to view notes