Barca Velha 2008 gets 100 points in Wine Enthusiast
Unprecedented feat: The 2008, Barca Velha, becomes the first non-fortified Portuguese wine to reach the maximum score in a North American reference publication.
It is one of the most emblematic table wines in the country: in 64 years of history only 18 harvests have been selected. The last one, dated 2008, has just received the maximum distinction of 100 points by the prestigious magazine Wine Enthusiast. According to a news release sent to newsrooms, Casa Ferreirinha's wine is the "first non-fortified Portuguese wine to reach the highest score in a US reference publication."
The unprecedented feat already threatened to happen when, in November 2014, Barca Velha 2004 received 99 points, also awarded by Wine Enthusiast.
In fact, Portuguese wines have been behaving quite well recently in scores. In 2012, Mark Squires, taster for Portugal on the Wine Advocate site of the American critic Robert Parker, had awarded 96 points to three red wines: Quinta do Zambujeiro 2007, Alentejo, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2009, from Douro, and Quinta do Mouro Rótulo Dourado 2007, also from Alentejo.
More recently, in 2014, the Douro red, Quinta do Fojo 2000 had 97 points, while Pintas 2011 scored 98 points in Wine Spectator, from oenologists Jorge Serôdio Borges and Sandra Tavares da Silva.
The story changes when we talk about fortified wines. An example of this is the Quinta do Noval 2011 Nacional Vintage (last declared vintage year) that got 100 points, awarded by Wine Enthusiast.
Based in: http://observador.pt/2017/04/26/barca-velha-2008-recebe-100-pontos-pela-wine-enthusiast-a-distincao-e-inedita/
The unprecedented feat already threatened to happen when, in November 2014, Barca Velha 2004 received 99 points, also awarded by Wine Enthusiast.
In fact, Portuguese wines have been behaving quite well recently in scores. In 2012, Mark Squires, taster for Portugal on the Wine Advocate site of the American critic Robert Parker, had awarded 96 points to three red wines: Quinta do Zambujeiro 2007, Alentejo, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2009, from Douro, and Quinta do Mouro Rótulo Dourado 2007, also from Alentejo.
More recently, in 2014, the Douro red, Quinta do Fojo 2000 had 97 points, while Pintas 2011 scored 98 points in Wine Spectator, from oenologists Jorge Serôdio Borges and Sandra Tavares da Silva.
The story changes when we talk about fortified wines. An example of this is the Quinta do Noval 2011 Nacional Vintage (last declared vintage year) that got 100 points, awarded by Wine Enthusiast.
Based in: http://observador.pt/2017/04/26/barca-velha-2008-recebe-100-pontos-pela-wine-enthusiast-a-distincao-e-inedita/
