Luis Duarte Rubrica Tinto 2014 | Signature 95 Point Concentrated Red Blend
95WE | Over the last 5 years, Rubrica earned Wine Enthusiast #2, #9 and top 100 honors. Five grapes are in the blend of this generous, opulent wine. First, Luis Duarte Rubrica Tinto 2014 presents a deep garnet color. While aromas of black, very fresh berries complement more complex aromas of spices and mint. In addition, flavor rich with concentrated black fruit. Most of all, delivering a firm structure, with fine tannins and a refreshing acidity present. Drink from 2020 to 2030
Luís Duarte | Voice of Portuguese Wine | Alentejo
Luis Duarte has a very engaging, energetic personality as belies a winemaker who has won Portugal’s “Winemaker of the Year” twice. Receiving these accolades in 1997 and 2007 for world-famous Esporão Winery. Today, after that near two-decade stint at Esporão Mr. Duarte is now his own boss while consulting to Portugal’s top wineries and producing his own label.
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“My particular innovation was that instead of working in the Douro” — Portugal’s traditional wine region, farther north — “I decided to head south to the unsung Alentejo. It was my good luck to get in on the ground floor of the worldwide growth of wine and ride that wave.” But Portugal, and particularly the Alentejo, give an entirely different impression: that of a place — showcase mountain towns apart — still waking up to its own worldly importance, and as a result, still vivid and sparklingly fresh.
Proprietor and Winemaker Luís Duarte | Twice Winemaker of the Year
Luis Duarte wines have landed several times on the Wine Enthusiast Top 100. Over the last 5 years, Rubrica earned #2, #9 and top 100 honors. When asked the difference between Portuguese wine and that of other nations, Mr. Duarte didn’t hesitate. Well, we don’t use the same grapes everyone else does. We have 315 different grape varieties, many of them unique to us. We’ve also taken many French grapes and adopted them for our own use. “You want a velvety and well-balanced wine at a good price? Think Portugal.”
The grapes from these wines come from Luís’ home property of 8 hectares. The wines are a great expression of what Luís Duarte is capable of creating. Wonderfully rich wines blended with indigenous Portuguese and French grape varieties, aged in French oak barrels.
