Casa Ferreirinha wines from Portugal

[jazznut]

If Portugal can lay claim to any one terroir of unquestioned greatness, then that must surely be the Douro valley. Many, many years ago a dry red table wine emerged from this Port-famous region and took the world by storm. That wine was Barca Velha. I used to purchase this elixir for well under $20 and drank it with great pleasure, enjoying its unique blueberry fruitiness, dense texture and tremendous length. I could also leave it in the cellar for decades with no worry. But that was 'yesterday'. Today, this wine has passed the $100 barrier in my neck of the woods. Fortunately, Casa Ferreirinha (since bought out by Sogrape) now offers less expensive takes on the same theme...
Their Reserva is basically the 'second' wine of Barca Velha. It is well-structured and benefits from cellaring. ($40 to $50 range)
The Vinha Grande manages to capture much of this magic, but is considerably less expensive. (<$20)
Depending on your budget, I would heartily suggest you try one or all of the above wines.