2001 Bucaco Tinto Reservado Beiras red

[Rune EG]

Emmy and I stayed over at the famous Bucaco Palce hotel (located south west of Douro) during a private tour May 2009. Amazing place as regards the building, the interior and the gardens. The red wines are fantastic and famous. The food was terrible, and the worst food I have ever had during 36 visits to Portugal. Not easy to find them, as they have a very restricted distribution network. We brought home three bottles, and after five years in the cellar we opened the first one yesterday. 13 years old red wine!

4.5 hrs decanting. Deep dark red colour. Aroma strongly influenced by the local terroir incl. minerals. Furthermore powerful berries, smoked wood, tobacco and tea bags. Extremely well balanced. Full body. Taste is powerful and elegant, deep fruit all the way, smoked wood. Pleasant tannins. Medium to long aftertaste. 94 pts.

[Andy Velebil]

Fantastic, thanks for the note. Sounds like a really lovely wine. Would love to try a bottle one of these days. A shame I can't say the same on hearing about your food experiences there...at least the wine was good.

[Brian C.]

Thank you, Rune. Awesome TN. It's not often that I hear about places getting the wine so right but the food so wrong. I love reading notes that have stories incorporated into them.

[Alan McDonald]

I am most surprised that you did not enjoy the food. My family and I think it one of the better places we have stayed in. Not quite as good as the Canberra International for food, but close. Good as they are we thought the wines were overpriced.

The wine is almost certainly not near its peak. After all, it is one of the better wines of Bairrada.I suggest you try the next bottle in 2031 and then decide about the third.

[Rune EG]

Hi Alan!
Could you please inform at which time you were there?
Bucaco Palace was widely known for the food and wine until abt 2005 (may be slightly longer), but then the quality fell (also mentioned in a wine book about Portugal).
We were there in May 2009 (when we also purchased the wines). If you have been there aftwerwards and the kitchen is back former famous times, then this is great news!

[Alan McDonald]

January 2003. It cost us less to stay there than at a 3-Star hotel in St Andrews, Scotland a couple of days later - our son was doing his first Master degree there and we were visiting Portugal to decide where we were going to buy. We actually finalised the deal via the Buçaco computer and email. I was not aware that it had fallen into general disrepute. As I said, I was surprised to read your post, although I suppose these things happen. I do thank you for the info. My wife and I had been half-heartedly thinking of another visit.

[Goncalo Martins]

Rune,

The Alexandre Almeida hotels group, owner of Buçaco Palace hotel and the Curia Palace hotel, amongst others, merged in 2012 with the Quinta das Lágrimas group, which besides Quinta das Lágrimas in Coimbra, owns the one michelin starred restaurant Eleven in Lisbon and created the new Thema hotels group. In Portugal people expect that this will lead to a renovation of the Buçaco hotel and the restaurant.

I have just tasted the 2010 white of Buçaco and it is simply excellent.

Gonçalo