2014 Rui Roboredo Madeira Beyra

Red Blend

mjwstickings Likes this wine: 87 points

January 27, 2017 - A blend of Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) and Jaen (Mencía) aged 12 months in stainless-steel vats, from high-altitude Beira Interior (vineyards averaging ~700 m), this presents aromas of blackberry, grape, crushed rock, and leather within a nebula of smokiness, leading to a fruity combination of dark berries and tart cherry on the palate, with a sweaty, animalistic quality adding complexity in a way that's better than it sounds. It's lean, rough, and discombobulated, and there isn't all that much depth or length, but the star here turns out to be the saltiness at the end of each sip, straight from the soil, riding a streak of electric acidity, building off the mineral aromatics. This isn't "entry-level," some lesser version of the Reserva, but rather a different expression of the blend altogether, a purer version without the oaky coating, muddled but unadorned, even if it lacks the Reserva's weight and complex richness (due in large part to the oak aging). Like the Reserva, though, it's a super value (just $13 in Ontario) from a winemaker, Rui Madeira, who cares deeply about his terroir, and that very much comes through here. (It's an 87-88 for me, a notch below the Reserva.)

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