elegant and refinedBoa-Vista Reserva 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.
The grapes for the Reserva wines come from vines of different ages, altitudes and exposure to sun and reflect the diversity of this Quinta.
Grape Varieties
This Reserva Red is produced using Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Vinhas Velhas (over 80 years old vines).
Secondly, Touriga Franca is also one the traditional grape varieties from the Douro Region. More aromatic and lighter in body, it is slightly less concentrated and has higher yields than the flagship Portuguese variety. Touriga Franca is really high in tannins with an exquisite perfume of fresh, ripe red fruits, spices and flower.
Tinto Cão is a grape variety dating back to the region’s origins. Throughout the years, it has been proven that this variety is better suited to the region’s fronts with less sun exposure. The cooler climate allows the variety’s floral aromas to showcase. With lighter coloured wines, despite its dark skins, it has good levels of acidity and tannins.
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.
After aging in 500 liter barrels for 15 to 20 months we create the Reserva blend. All our wines are sealed under natural cork. This wine is not filtered or cold-stabilized and that is why it can produce a sediment with age.
Elegant and refined, this Reserva shows a ruby colour and a bouquet of spice and red fruit aromas with floral notes that build up in the glass. On the palate, its freshness expands, enhancing the fruit flavours and smooth but firm tannins, which confer great volume. A wine that is graceful, with plenty of sophistication.
Perfect with red meat, game or cheese dishes.
94
/100 Pts
Boa-vista Reserva 2013 is concentrated, rich and powerful, with notes of dried beef to the raspberry, cherry tart and roasted plum flavors, and mushroom and forest floor elements in the midpalate. The finish offers accents of dried mint.
93
/100 Pts
What this 2014 does better than (the monovarietals) is provide better balance. It retains the serious backbone and crisp edge, showing better mid-palate finesse, too. It also delivers a bit more fruit flavor and a longer finish. I am a little surprised and gratified at how well the 2014s here are showing, but they certainly seem poised to be great off-vintage wines. (…)
Plan on putting it away for a few years. It is a little hard to read, like all of the upper-level reds here, but on this one, let’s lean up for the moment.
18
/20 Pts
Blend de vinhos com estágio em barrica que varia entre os 15 e os 20 meses Grande impacto aromático, com especiaria exótica, muito fruto negro em camadas, floral maduro e alguma violeta Prova de boca sedosa, fino e saboroso, boa acidez e taninos de filigrana, termina novamente com fruta, tanto negra como encarnada Fantástico
92
/100 Pts
The 2015 Reserva Boa-Vista is a field blend from old vines (although, the winery hastens to add, not it’s oldest), aged in a mixture of new (two-thirds, and dropping) and used (one-third) French oak for 15 months. It comes in at 13.9% alcohol. This is a Reserva that is fresh and lifted, with fine grip on the finish and excellent structure. There’s a real backbone, but at the same time the tannins are not overly hard. This is beautiful, better than the 2014 in the long run but a bit unevolved just now. In the long run, this will show better flavor as its calling card and its biggest advantage over the 2014. The problem just now is that the fruit is a little hidden by wood. Overall, though, it is gorgeously balanced, with the mid-palate concentration matching the ripe tannins. It should be approachable now, but approachable does not mean ready—a year or three in the cellar would smooth this out, allow it to pull in some wood and add some complexity. This has a fairly long life ahead. It will overtake the 2014 one day, but that day is not necessarily today.
17,5
/20 Pts
O aroma apresenta um óptimo balanço entre as notas de fruta vermelha, a barrica e outras sugestões mais químicas e austeras. Muito bem organizado na boca, rico e cheio, com acidez perfeita e a mostrar grande riqueza de conjunto, pautado por excelente equilíbrio.
91
/100 Pts
The 2016 Reserva Boa-Vista is a field blend from old vines (although, the winery always hastens to add, not its oldest) aged in a mixture of new (two-thirds) and used (one-third) French oak for 15 months. It comes in at 13.9% alcohol. Laid-back and not showing a lot of depth, this does show tasty fruit, finesse and moderate tannic structure. It will always be a pleasure to drink, but I’m not sure it impresses quite as much as the price point this year. You can drink this right now, but it will be better in a year or two and hold for more than a decade after that. This is set for October release.
17,5
/20 Pts
Muito fino de aroma, sentindo-se a presença da barrica (nova e usada), uma fruta muito delicada, aqui associada a boas notas de esteva e mato seco, com ameixas vermelhas em fundo. Elegância muito atractiva na boca, o registo aponta para um tinto muito gastronómico destacando-se a fruta duriense muito pura e sem máscara.