Palmeirim d’Inglaterra, White, 2014, Trás-os-Montes, Portugal

Fine wine has everything to do with literature. I hope you agree.

Palmeirim d’Inglaterra, White, 2014, Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, is as peculiar as its literary inspiration: the sixteenth century’s chivalry novel “Libro del muy esforzado Caballero Palmerin de Inglaterra hijo del rey don Duardos: y de sus grandes proezas: y de Florián del Desierto su hermano: con algunas del príncipe Florendos hijo de Primaleón”. In short: Palmeirim D'Inglaterra.

Palmeirim D’Inglaterra was a best-seller on its time and still is a good reading on its own merits. Of disputed authorship (a Portuguese-Spanish dispute), arguably (and most probably) written around 1540 by Portuguese writer Francisco de Moraes, an ancestor of the current owners of the estate where this gentle wine was made.

Thank you Ivone Ribeiro, from Garage Wines, for the introduction. It is always my pleasure to add literature to my wine memoirs.

So here it goes, a powerful quote from the author's introduction to the book:

“Te diré, lector, aqui solamente:
Aqueste tratado no dejes de haber,
Sabiendo cuán poco puedes perder;
Habiendo mirado el bien del presente,
El habla amorosa y estilo elocuente,
Verás las razones y gracias donosas;
Dirás no haber visto batallas famosas
Si aqueste mirares, en todo excelente.”

With a touch of my own personal soft ending:

Homero, the Celtic and the nordic bards should be outside looking for horses of their own. While we empty bottles with Cervantes whom, destining to the fire numerous books, praised our Palmeirim d'Inglaterra: “se guarde y conserve como cosa unica”, as one reads from the Don Quijote.

Looking through this empty bottle, I can see you enjoying the literary wine match.

Luis Miguel Novais