TN: 1979 Barros e Sousa Terrantez

[Eric Ifune]

Artur de Barros e Sousa, Lta to use the full name. Stencilled as Terrantez, Madeira, 1979, ABSL. Paper label on backside.
No bottling date on label.
Clear, brilliant glowing amber gold colored with hint of green at rim.
Expressive clean aromas of tropical fruits, tangerines.
Rich on the palate. Still very young. Finishes very dry, Sercial dryness. But the richness balances nicely. It is listed as "Seco" on the label. Nice acid balance and good length. Classic Terrantez bitterness on the finish. A very lean and elegant style. Not the depth and concentration for greatness, but it is very young. I hope they have more in cask. Very different in style than say the 1977 D'Oliveira but I like them equally.

[Roy Hersh]

Nice note and a very fine bottling. How would you compare/rank the 1977 D'Olly and this to the 1988 D'Oliveiras Terrantez, Eric?

[Eric Ifune]

Off the top of my head and by memory,
I'd rate the 77 D'Oliveiras a bit above the Barros e Sousa. Then the Barros e Sousa ahead of the 88.
The Barros e Sousa is leaner, dryer than the D'Oliveiras wines. Very much in the Sercial spectrum. It's also almost painfully young which is why I hope they have more in cask. I think long, long bottle age will only make it leaner.

[Niklas J]

Hi Eric, hi Roy,

I fully agree in rating the '77 from d'Oliveiras higher than the '79 ABSL (and the '88 d'Oliveiras which however is a fantastic young Terrantez!).

I've had the luck to be able to compare the '79, '80 and '81 Terrantez from the Olím brothers. Amongst these I find the '79 the most interesting although it has to be said that the '81 suffered from some kind of bottle shock when I had it (bottled just before I tried it at ABSL). The '80 is slightly lighter in style compared to the '79 but as we all probably figured out by now, ABSL bottles benefit from some time in bottle.

By the way, the 1981 Terrantez, bottled in 2012 (the 1980 is bottled in 2011) is the last Terrantez the brothers have in stock so start buying the trilogy if you want to have some in stock.

All the best,

Niklas