Barão da Várzea do Douro, Reserva Tinto has delightful complexity from the start with red and black berry aromas, brambles and plums and hints of spice. The taste confirms the nose with brambles and plum notes all well balanced by a savoury characteristic, fresh acidity, the aforementioned hint of pepper and ripe grippy tannins.

This characterful Douro red works well with your Sunday Roast whether lamb, beef or pork but the locals are more likely to have a classic Portuguese dish such as saucy beans with rice.  The locals are also far more likely to get the sunshine that makes this wine great for alfresco consumption.

About the region and producer

The Lencastre family, a family of aristocratic Portuguese lineage, are the owners of Casa de Vila Nova and have started a new Douro project naming it after Bernardo Lencastre himself - the Barão or Baron of Varzea. The wines are produced from classic Portuguese varieties cultivated near Cambres.. They have owned the land since the 12th century -  and their home "Vila Nova" or "New House" which was built in the 1700s surrounds the original ivy clad tower that still remains from the 12th century. Gradual expansion of the property has continued over the centuries of ownership.

Penafiel, a town geographically close to the Vinho Verde wine region in Portugal's north, is the closest town to the estate.  In the late 1970s the family planted around 12 hectares of indigenous vines and in 2008 Bernardo Lencastre and his brothers took over the running of the property soon after revitalising the vineyards and using their grapes to make vinho verde, even choosing to bottle their own wines - the first generation to do so. At current estimate they have grown the property to around 42 hectares of vineyards.

There is a strong influence on this Entre-Douro-e-Minho sub-region of Sousa by winds from the Atlantic Ocean - these winds create the perfect climate to ripen varieties such as Avesso, Loureiro and Alvarinho.

Vineyard and Wine Making

The native Portugues red grapes, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional are perfect for the fine schist soils in the vineyards situated to the south of the river near Cambres, in the west of the Douro valley. The ideal terroir is completed by the warm and dry weather. Once fermentation is complete one third of the wine is aged for six months in 2nd year French oak barrels.  The final blending and bottling is done after this and then the wine is ready for both the home market and export.