genuine and irreverentBoa-Vista Donzelinho Tinto
Terroir
Located near Pinhão, on the right bank of the Douro river, Quinta da Boavista has an extraordinary view over the river. It is one of the most iconic estates in the demarcated region, known not only for its historical connection with the Baron of Forrester, but also for its 36 hectares of high-quality vines.
Donzelinho’s parcel extends through mid-height terraces with an eastern exposure, benefiting from unique conditions for its development.
Grape Varieties
Every year, the oenology team decides to bottle one or two monovarietal wines, with grape varieties that stood out that year.
Donzelinho Tinto is a classic grape variety from Douro, with proven references in the region dating back to 1531. With small and very compact bunches, it is characterised by small berries and thin skins. It produces authentic and unapologetic wines, that are perfect wines for food.
Vinification
To ensure the prevalence of the variety’s characteristics and the full control of the process, at Quinta da Boavista we use manual harvesting and manual grape sorting processes, followed by a gentle berry de-stalk and crush. As fermentation reservoirs we have the traditional granite wine presses with foot treading, stainless steel fermentation vats and, for small batches, PVC food containers or fermentation in new 500 litre French wooden barrels. Each of these types of fermentation gives the wine a unique style and personality.
Monovarietals age in 500 liter barrels for 15 to 20 months before bottling. we carry out light fining and subsequent bottling. This wine is not filtered or cold-stabilized and that is why it can produce a sediment with age.
Its deep cherry colour heralds a delicate and elegant wine, whilst the nose confirms it, revealing good aromas of red fruit with notes of black peppercorn in a steady, balanced ensemble. Polished yet firm tannins in the mouth, bolstered by an explosive freshness.
Perfect with red meat, game or cheese dishes.
91
/100 Pts
I liked this producer’s lone prior example (the 2015) of this unusual monovarietal, but this may be the best yet. There’s plenty of big fruit and power, but there is always some finesse and focus to go with the fine concentration and serious backbone. (…) It looks like a winner and able to age, not that there’s a lot of track record.
90
/100 Pts
The 2015 Tinto Donzelinho “Boa-Vista” was aged for 14 months in used French oak and comes in at 12.9% alcohol. This is a rarely seen monovarietal, something the winery says is lighter, with high acidity and along the lines of Pinot Noir. Contrary to some practices, the monovarietals are not top wines here—the winery believes in blending. Still, the winery says, every year “ once the blending of the mainstay Boa-Vista Reserva is done, the winemaker and consultant select one or two batches deemed to be of sufficient quality to produce limited editions of single-varietal wines that showcase the variety of native grapes at the estate.” Not every monovarietal will appear every year. This is very nice and enlivening, a great food wine. It is a little tart with a plummy nuance, but plenty of substance and stuffing to match the acidity. Showing fine flavor, as well as coating the palate nicely, it is fresh and persistent with moderate tannins appearing on the finish. This is a bit different, but it succeeds. Where does it go; how does it age? That’s unclear, but it seems like it can age. We’ll see. In the meanwhile, this is something interesting, by no means a “weird wine” that is only likely to appeal to geeks.
17,5
/20 Pts
Aberto na cor, com uma tonalidade que sugere mais idade, temos um tinto de grande atracção olfactiva, irresistível nas notas de fruta madura, de chá e tisanas ao lado de um toque de licor e um fundo mentolado. Muito elegante e gastronómico, mostra uma excelente prova de boca com taninos muito finos e sem a presença da madeira. Grande aposta.
