Bussaco Palace, Bucaco Tinto 2015

The Bucaco wines were and still are always produced in the same way using the same methods as in the past. The fact that the grapes come from the Dao and Bairrada regions guarantees a wonderful wine that nobly develops in the bottle. These wines ferment and age in French oak barrels for 12 months. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels.

The Palace Hotel Bussaco began life in 1917, nestled between Bairrada and Dao, an hour south of Oporto right in the middle of what was then a bustling holiday retreat for Portugal's wealthy elite. Its gothic grandeur, maintained all but unchanged by the de Almeida family over the past near century serves as a visual clue to the highly traditional, classical and timeless wines the hotel winery produces. Stylistically, the two great Portuguese grapes of the red, Baga and Touriga Nacional produce a wine of great depth of flavour but also bright and uplifting acidity. Moreover, they are wines that continue to evolve in the glass offering layer upon layer of complexity. Lovers of Nebbiolo, Northern Rhone Syrah, and of course Baga, will undoubtedly find these fascinating and individual wines highly appealing. The Palace Hotel owns no vineyards, it buys its grapes from the Bairrada and Dao region. The quality of the wine comes from the careful grape selection and the meticulous traditional methods used in production. Bussaco wines taste great when they are young and taste even better when they lived for some decades. Both whites and reds are famous for their longevity.