Wine of the week: a far from foolish vinous venture

(Image credit: 2019 Howard’s Folly)

published 16 April 2021

2019 Howard’s Folly, Sonhador Branco, Alentejo, Portugal

£120, for six bottles (£20 each) or £96 for six bottles for members of howardsfollywine.co.uk; £19, pullthecork.co.uk, £14.50, derventiowines.co.uk.

The Howard in question is Howard Bilton, an ebullient Yorkshireman with a deep love of great wine and fine art. The Folly part is a warning to anyone who is not aware that making wine is never a very good idea if you are hoping to make profits! Nevertheless, Howard has set up a stunning winery and restaurant in the pretty town of Estremoz, in the Alentejo region of Portugal, where he makes delicious wines with arty labels under the guidance of his talented and highly decorated winemaker David Baverstock. Please do also take a look at the Sovereign Art Foundation to see the amazing charity that Howard set up nearly 20 years ago and the great work it does for disadvantaged children living in Asia.

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Howard’s Folly brings wine and art together and my featured wine is Howard’s most accomplished white to date – and the label is jolly cute, too. Made from ancient vines, with no less than ten indigenous varieties in the mix, and coming from smallholdings situated in the high altitude Portalegre district of Portugal, this is a vinous snapshot of the country’s history like no other.

Kaleidoscopically perfumed, finely balanced and with careful oak augmentation adding drama, this is one of the most arresting Portuguese whites I have ever tasted.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

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Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.