Barca Velha 2008 receives 100 points for Wine Enthusiast.
There are 100 points ... in 100 points. The 2008 Barca Velha becomes the first non-fortified Portuguese wine to reach the maximum score in a North American reference publication.
It is one of the most emblematic table wines in the country: in 64 years of history only 18 harvests have been selected. The last one, dated 2008, has just received the maximum distinction of 100 points by the prestigious magazine Wine Enthusiast. According to a news release sent to newsrooms, Casa Ferreirinha's wine is the "first non-fortified Portuguese wine to reach the highest score in a US reference publication."
The unprecedented feat already threatened to happen when, in November 2014, Barca Velha 2004 received 99 points, also awarded by Wine Enthusiast.
In fact, and made a quick search, Portugal has behaved well in what the scores regards. In 2012, it was news that Mark Squires, taster for Portugal on the Wine Advocate site of the American critic Robert Parker, had awarded 96 red-label wines to 100 red wines: Quinta do Zambujeiro 2007, Alentejo, Quinta do Vale Dona Maria 2009, from the Douro, and Quinta do Mouro Rótulo Dourado 2007, also from the Alentejo.
Most recently, in 2014, Douro Fojo 2000 red wine had 97 points, while Wine Spectator scored 98 points for Pintas 2011, oenologists Jorge Serôdio Borges and Sandra Tavares da Silva.
The story changes when we talk about fortifications. An example of this is the Quinta do Noval 2011 National Vintage (last year declared vintage) that collected 100 points, awarded by Wine Enthusiast.