90(+?) Points | International Wine Cellar , March/April 2001

This note is reprinted from Issue 83, as the '91 vintage is still the currently available release of Barca Velha: Saturated ruby-red. Pungent aromas of red raspberry liqueur, earth, mint and shoe polish. Extremely backward and penetrating in the mouth; old-style, slightly rustic flavors of roasted plum and cassis supported by a powerful spine of acids and chewy tannins. If you can't wait seven or eight years on this wine, make sure to serve it alongside fatty meats. One of Portugal's most renowned, and expensive, red table wines, and a wine whose price has escalated sharply in recent years: my remaining bottles of the '78 still bear their original $12 price tags.