The vintage is readily apparent in the deep hue and dense, ripe fruit (query a touch over-ripe, with meaty, black olive?) Powerful supporting tannins cradle the fruit and lend a touch of grip to the finish.
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The Buçaco (Bussaco) Palace Hotel is one of Portugal’s most striking bits of Neo-Manueline architecture. It’s almost impossibly ornate, with incredibly elaborate stone carvings rammed in just about everywhere. But despite its over-the-top nature, it’s quite magical. Originally there was a convent on this hilltop site, but the current building was constructed as a palace for one of Portugal’s queens in the late 19th century, but a change of political fortunes meant that it was turned instead into a hotel, exactly 100 years ago in 1917.
One of the inside secrets of Portugal’s wine trade was for a long time the wines of Bussaco. Right from the beginning, Alexandre de Almeida (the owner of the hotel, and whose grandson Alexandre is now running the family hotel chain) wanted to offer local food and drink, and so the hotel began making their own wines, creating the current labels in 1920 (they are the same every year: the vintage is indicated by means of a small white sticker). These, a pair of red and white wines, have always been a blend of Dão and Bairrada, and they had a reputation for their longevity. But you could only get them and drink them in the hotel dining room. Occasional bottles got out, and they were the source of great excitement. This all changed with the challenging financial situation in 2008. Suddenly the hotel began releasing stocks of old wines, and they began to make their way onto the market. For a while, there were some nice older vintages available, but this supply has now dried up, and Bussaco are releasing current vintage only. These wines have traditionally aged beautifully. The winemaking changed a bit back in 2001, though, with a switch from large old vats to small new oak for the white. Is the wine better? It’s impressive, but will take time to shed the oak, and may age well. But it’s different, so only time will tell. I love the story and the old bottles, though: this historical wine holds a unique place in the Portuguese wine scene.
