Duorum Reserva Red 2017
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Deep red color, with an intense aroma dominated by ripe fruits, like blackberries and currants, and wild flowers, such as violet. Subtle notes of spice and exotic wood result from aging in barrique. This aromatic complexity will only increase with time. Full bodied, with a well balanced acidity and firm, ripe tannins. These characteristics make this Reserva a powerful wine with a persistent finish.
Pair this wine with roasted pork dishes, aged salumi, and chorizo.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From vineyards in the eastern Douro Superior, the wine is a field blend of old-vine grapes. Mineral driven in its youth and full of big fruits, the wine will open out and soften into one that is impressively balanced, opulent. It is going to be ready from 2023.
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James Suckling
Cassis, blackberries, herbs, spices and tobacco smoke on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannin's lending structure. Chewy, yet fresh. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Reserva Old Vines (not made every year—so far, 2007-2009, 2011, 2012, 2015) is a field blend from old vines with roughly 45% each of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca (among other things). It was aged for 18 months in a 70/30 mixture of new and used French oak and comes in at 14% alcohol. It was only in bottle about a month when seen, but it was decanted for about an hour. Very graceful, this is reasonably concentrated and nicely structured, but it doesn't seem overly deep or powerful. It does seem refined and sophisticated, with a velvety finish. This is a little too young just now, but it should continue to improve. It seems likely to be accessible very young, but it should hold reasonably well too. Joao Portugal Ramos said he thought it was more concentrated than some of the big vintages in the past, but it is not showing that now.
Rating: 90+
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The name Duorum, which is Latin for "from two," captures the spirit of this renowned Portguese winery. The perfect union of unparalleled talent and unique terroir, Duorum is widely recognized as a gold standard for Portuguese wines. With over three generations of history between their families, internationally acclaimed oenologists João Portugal Ramos and José Soares Franco both graduated from El Instituto Superior de Agronomia (Higher Institute of Agronomy) in 1977.
In the thirty years that followed, João and José have left an indelible mark on the industry, both domestically and internationally. Seeking to combine their superior skills and passion for winemaking, João Portugal Ramos and José Maria Soares Franco founded Duorum in 2007. By combining the best qualities of the Douro & Alentejo, two of Portugal’s most celebrated wine regions, Duorum has consistently produced wines of exceptional style and quality.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.