Barbeito Sign |
Country of Origin: Portugal
Location: Funchal
People: Kinoshita Shoji & De Freitas Family, Owners | Ricardo de Freitas, Winemaker
Vinhos Barbieto was founded 58 years ago, in 1946, by Mario Barbeito de Vasconcelos, a wealthy businessman. Since 1940 the family bought up large quantities of privately owned wine, some of it dating back to the 18th century. These purchases were from some of Madeira's greatest wines, from the island's most important growing areas, including Cama do Lobos, Sao Martinho, Campanario, Canico and Ribera Brava.
At the time Barbeito acquried them, these wines were virtually all still in cask, a traditional practice in Madeira, where 50 to 100 years or more in wood is mandatory for great wines. The long, slow oxidative process in cask adds to the wine's complexity. The evaporation in barrel concentrates the flavor and extract.
Since Mario Barbeito de Vasconcelos'death in the 1980's Barbeito has continued to keep its old wine in 600-liter French-oak barrels, only bottling enough to meet its needs for the next two years. Barbeito represents the finest source for old Madeiras in the world.
"I have authored several in-depth articles on Madeira, and those familiar
with them will be aware of my views on Vinhos Barbeito. I previously
described winemaker Ricardo Freitas as a “game changer” and I still
espouse that opinion. If Madeira can be accused of being hidebound by
tradition with outmoded techniques, then Ricardo is the man with the
passion, ideas, the talent and let us not forget, the finance, to shake
up a once somnolent industry content to ply its trade to tourists. What
he achieves is a level of precision and delineation that is second to
none, a lucidity of aromas and flavors that can be intoxicating. One
fundamental tenet is Ricardo’s refusal to add caramel that is habitually
used in order to deepen color and make the wines sweeter. He firmly
believes that this practice has no place in fine Madeira, and I am
inclined to agree. Meeting Ricardo, you can tell that he is a man
obsessed with his wines, obsessively figuring out how to blend and when
to bottle. Just take a look at the minutiae on the back label, where you
can read Ricardo’s thought process, almost verbatim, how he singles out
a cask or elects to blend one with another or moves one to a warmer
environment to enhance oxidation. His limited production “Signature
Wines,” are released between 11 to 16 years after the vintage and are
all sold in convenient 50cl bottles. They are fresh, varietal-expressive
Madeira wines made in a relatively un-manipulated, un-oxidized style
(whereas the “Historic Series” is much more “classic” in style). They
are generally made to be consumed upon release and present a fabulous
introduction to the delights of Madeira at an inexpensive price. I would
also say that as Ricardo has learnt his craft, I feel that these
bottlings have improved as time has gone on. The “Historic Series” was
first released in 2002. The goal was to produce moderately priced
Madeira that tastes like a vintage wine and offers depth, power and
concentration, while expressing each noble grape variety. The idea came
when Ricardo found a parcel of sixty-year-old Tinta Negra that he blends
up to the legal maximum (15%) with 10-to-15-year-old noble varieties
such as Verdelho and Bual. They are marketed under titles linking them
to cities where Madeira prospered in the 19th century. These wines tend
to really come together with six to eight months in bottle, and these
reviews apply to Madeiras that will be released later this year. The
bottles under the “Barbeito Family Collection” come from Ricardo
Freitas’s mother and grandfather’s reserves and usually spend a
significant amount of time in demi-john." - Wine Advocate 2012
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| Current Items from Vinhos Barbeito |
| Cat # |
|
Pack-Size |
Net |
Reviews |
| 7129 |
Vinhos Barbeito (500 ml) 1996 Single Cask (Medium-sweet), Madeira DOC |
1-500 |
$40 |
|
| 7130 |
Vinhos Barbeito (500 ml) 2000 Single Cask Malvasia, Madeira DOC |
1-500 |
$40 |
|
| 6964 |
Vinhos Barbeito (500 ml) 2000 Single Harvest (Medium-dry), Madeira DOC |
1-500 |
$35 |
|
| 5715 |
Vinhos Barbeito 1952 Bual, Madeira DOC |
1-750 |
$218 |
|
| 5716 |
Vinhos Barbeito 1982 Bual, Madeira DOC |
1-750 |
$132 |
|
| 3939 |
Vinhos Barbeito 1988 Sercial, Madeira DOC |
1-750 |
$86 |
WA 90 |
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