2019 Buçaco White Wine Bairrada

Alexandre de Almeida, founder of the Alexandre de Almeida hotel chain, the oldest hotel chain in Portugal, created the mythical Vinhos do Bussaco in 1917, when after numerous trips to European hotels, namely the French ones on the "Côte D'Azur", realized the concept of the Hotel Cellar. The idea of ​​creating his own winery at Palace Bussaco was imported, starting the vinification of what would become the glorious wines of Bussaco.

The grape varieties used for these wines are typical and traditional from the Bairrada and Dão wine regions, as Bussaco is located in the middle of the transition zone between Bairrada and Dão, essentially Baga and Touriga Nacional for the reds and Encruzado, Bical and Maria Gomes for the whites, thus promoting the meeting of the best of both regions, having maintained these characteristics since the beginning of production, and always with the availability of the best and most careful raw material. .

The vinification and storage of wines are carried out not only in the basement of the Palace Hotel do Bussaco, but also in the mill of the Palace Hotel da Curia and in several other warehouses owned by the company in the area (for a total of ca. 200,000 bottles).

The characteristics of white wines while young, up to 3 years of age, are their light-yellow color, their aroma of citrus and tropical fruits (pineapple, passion fruit and banana), and their fruity and acidic flavor. With age in the bottle, they acquire a color from straw yellow to old gold, a complex and evolved aroma of dried fruits, walnuts and hazelnuts, and peach and honey, also highlighting complex flavors, alternating alongside alcohol and acids, the dried fruits. and honey, along with the fine, very smooth woody finish typical of great aged white wines.

The red wines when young, also up to 3 years of age, are visually presented with an intense ruby ​​​​laden garnet-pomegranate, they have an exquisite young aroma of ripe red fruits, highlighting the blackberry, strawberry, currant and plum, also highlighting some interesting notes of chocolate and coffee. In its flavor they are full-bodied and tannin wines, and moderately alcoholic and fruity. With aging, they evolve into wines of a beautiful ruby ​​color with various shades of brown. Its aroma is evolved and complex with chocolate, coffee, plum, raisins and vanilla. In the mouth they are soft, warm and velvety with a flavor of chocolate, coffee, black plum and hazelnut, noting a perfect and rare balance between acids, tannins and alcohol. These are wines that must be opened at least 1 hour before being consumed and placed in an environment at approximately 20ºC for a short time. Before being consumed, they must be decanted not only to aerate but also to remove any natural deposit that is in the bottle.

The Buçaco were, and still are, always vinified in the same way and with the same methods as in the past. The fact that the grapes originate in the regions of Dão and Bairrada guarantees a brilliant wine, which evolves nobly in the bottle. These wines are fermented and aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.