Buçaco branco Reservado 2022
Region: Bairrada
Producer: Buçaco - A. Almeida Hotels
The white wines are always a blend of Encruzado del Dão, a grape that produces full-bodied wines, Maria Gomes and Bical from Bairrada. Grapes from the cooler coastal region of Bairrada bring extra freshness and minerality to the wines. In most vintages, the blend is balanced by 1/3 of each grape variety, but sometimes the Encruzado dominates.
The wines show beautiful complexity in their youth, but have a remarkable ageing potential and become more impressive after bottle ageing. The hotel's wine menu still includes many bottles from the 1950s and 1960s that are of stunning quality.
The 2016 vintage was of very good quality. The Bical and Maria Gomez grapes ripened perfectly in the Atlantic climate of Bairrada and so did the Encruzado from the high altitude of the Dao. The play of heat and moderate climate gives a grandiose blend. The wine is aromatic, dense, intense, complex and delicately fresh.
| Volume | 75.0 cl. |
| Grape Variety | Encruzado, Bical, Maria Gomes |
| Drinking window | 2025-2040 at least |
| Alc. | 13.0% |
| Vinification | in oak barrel. |
| Ripening | Aged for 2 to 3 years in large chestnut and oak barrels. |
Waar serveer je ’m bij?
The same blend and the same oak as the older Buçacos, but four years after the harvest instead of seven — and with this wine that is a noticeable difference. The fruit is still at the front, the oak note has not yet been fully absorbed, and the wine feels tighter and straighter. Weight eleven instead of thirteen. Anyone who wants to get to know the Buçaco starts here; anyone who wants it at its broadest puts this bottle away for a few more years.
Squid rings with harissa mayonnaise
Crab salad with mango
Serveren op 11–13 °C
Drink: 2027–2040
“The nose of the 2022 Branco Reservado is as close as it gets to the Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco, with a mixture of wax, lees, noble wood, spice, smoke, diesel and old cellar—there is nothing related to fruit about it. This is a blend of Maria Gomes and Bical from Bairrada and Encruzado from Dão, fermented and matured in new 300-liter barrels for one year. It's round and pungent, with piercing flavors, good ripeness and 13.3% alcohol. It is yeasty and with a salty and bitter twist in the finish. This should age in bottle for a long time. 9,416 bottles and 306 magnums produced.”
For over a century the Buçaco Palace Hotel has made wines that can age for decades, a blend of Bairrada and Dão. Filipa Pato introduced us to them in the early 2000s. Since they came onto the market in 2008, we have received an allocation every year.