Rui Roboredo Madeira Beyra Branco 2020
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Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
Mineral and citrus fruitiness, grapefruit, hints of nettle and white flowers, very fresh and light on the palate, revealing the altitude of the vineyards. The soul of this wine lies in the unique combination of the Síria and Fonte Cal native grape varieties, from old vines planted in granite and schist soils with quartz veins, in the Douro River's hydrographical basin, at an average altitude of 700 meters.
Excellent as an aperitif, with appetizers, grilled fish and shellfish and to share with friends!
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Beyra Reserva is 85% Tinta Roriz, 15% Touriga Nacional and a dollop of Jaen, aged for six months in used French oak. It comes in at 13.7% alcohol. There's a touch of chocolate mingling with the oak, reasonable depth and a solid finish. This is another well-built wine in the value lineup. This doesn't have quite the personality of some of its siblings, but in structure and concentration, it holds its own well. It should last another decade or so, while improving over the next year or two.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
Best known for intense, impressive and age-worthy fortified wines, Portugal relies almost exclusively on its many indigenous grape varieties. Bordering Spain to its north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean on its west and south coasts, this is a land where tradition reigns supreme, due to its relative geographical and, for much of the 20th century, political isolation. A long and narrow but small country, Portugal claims considerable diversity in climate and wine styles, with milder weather in the north and significantly more rainfall near the coast.
While Port (named after its city of Oporto on the Atlantic Coast at the end of the Douro Valley), made Portugal famous, Portugal is also an excellent source of dry red and white Portuguese wines of various styles.
The Douro Valley produces full-bodied and concentrated dry red Portuguese wines made from the same set of grape varieties used for Port, which include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Spain’s Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão, among a long list of others in minor proportions.
Other dry Portuguese wines include the tart, slightly effervescent Vinho Verde white wine, made in the north, and the bright, elegant reds and whites of the Dão as well as the bold, and fruit-driven reds and whites of the southern, Alentejo.
The nation’s other important fortified wine, Madeira, is produced on the eponymous island off the North African coast.