Winemaker Notes
Young, deep ruby color. Intense, rich and fruity nose, full of pure blackberry, cassis, cherry and plum aromas intertwined with hints of spice. In the mouth it is full-bodied and round, with a soft and velvety texture, balanced by firm tannins that fill the mouth. The juicy black fruit flavors continue on the delicious, rich finish.
This wine pairs well with strong-flavored hard cheeses–a good farmhouse cheddar or an aged gouda would be perfect. It is delicious with desserts made with dark chocolate or berries.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Pretty violet nose. Fragrant, soft and fleshy on the palate with attractive primary fruit and firm tannic grip. Finishes lengthily. Should age well. Blend - 20% Touriga Nacional, 20% Touriga Franca, 20% Tinta Roriz
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Wine & Spirits
Bin 27 remains one of the most reliably deli-cious Ruby reserves, presenting the plump Fonseca style in a wine that’s remarkably easy to drink. Its scent of purple plums emanates from a luscious texture, the wine’s freshness firmed up by schist tannins. Enjoy a glass with crusty peasant bread and meltingly ripe Queijo Serra da Estrela. Best Buy
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Tasting Panel
A blend of select reserve Ports chosen for their full-bodied palates; dark ruby color; smooth and dense with toasty notes and rich, ripe, and deep flavors.
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Wine Spectator
Very expressive, with generous plum, blueberry and açaí berry flavors bursting forth. Shows a polished structure, with a nice jolt of black licorice on the finish. Tasty.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
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.