Portia Triennia 2014
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Wine &
Spirits -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Clean, bright, intense cherry red colour developing to ruby-maroon. Intense and complex, ripe black fruits, licorize, candy and cocoa hints. Powerful, fleshy and very balanced. Long finish and marked by toasted hints.
It matches with grilled or fried potatoes, mushrooms or ham. Some tasty or oily fish such as tuna, cod. Medium-aged cheese and berry dessert. Rice and all kind of pasta.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This wine has a wholesome roundness to its juicy blueberry fruit, rich without weight. Oak fills out the flavors but doesn’t diminish the rosemary and dried herb notes, or the meaty depths of the fruit. An elegant, mineral-inflected red from Grupo Faustino’s 395-acre vineyard project, started in the 1990s in Ribera del Duero’s northern reaches, this grows at the Pago Carronda in Gumiel de Mercado, where the vines rise above 3,000 feet.
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James Suckling
This takes ripeness to the very limit with a deeply saturated plum nose and a blueberry and dark-plum core. The palate has impressive depth and richness. Holds it all together.
Construction of the spectacular $25.6-million Portia winemaking facility is currently in progress. Commissioned by the Martinez family, the project represents the first ever winery designed by internationally famed architect Norman Foster, head of the London-based design team, Foster + Partners.
The property embraces 400 acres of terrain enjoying an eastern and southern orientation in Ribera del Duero. Vineyards are planted chiefly with Tempranillo (known locally as Tinta Fina) at an average density of 1,200 vines per acre.
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
Ribera del Duero, Spanish wine region, is located in northen Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive from Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back more than 2000 years, it was in the 1980s that 9 wineries applied for and were granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 300 wineries call Ribera del Duero home, including some of Spain’s most iconic names.
Notable Facts Ribera’s main grape variety, Tempranillo, locally know as Tinto Fino, is perfectly suited to the extreme climate of the region, where it must survive scorching summers and frigid winters. Low yields resulting from conscientious tending to old vines planted in Ribera’s diverse soils types, give Ribera wines a distinctive depth and complexity not found in other Tempranillos. Rich and full-bodied, the spice, dark fruit and smoky flavors in a bold Ribera del Duero will pair well with roasted and grilled meats, Mexican food and tomato-based sauces.