Buçaco branco 2018
Region: Bairrada
Producer: A. Almeida Hotels
The Buçaco-hotel has been producing a magnificent blend of Dão and Bairrada wines for 100 years. Until recently, the wines were only available to hotel guests, but now we can also offer about 300 bottles each year.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 | 75.0cl |
| Grape Variety | Encruzado, Bical, Maria Gomes |
| Drinking window | 2024-2040 at least |
| Alc. | 13.0% |
| Vinification | in oak barrel. |
| Ripening | Aged for 2 to 3 years in large chestnut and oak barrels. |