Citrine color with fine and persistent bubbles. Fresh aroma with notes of grapefruit, lemon, and brioche result of contact with yeasts. Good acidity and minerality alongside the citrus fruits and mouth volume. Complex and persistent.
About the Wine
Bairrada is a Portuguese appellation in the center-west of the country; it has a privileged location just over 50 miles from Porto and 10 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to its climatic and terroir conditions, this region is producing some of the best wines, especially sparkling, that this country has to offer to the world. “With greater viticultural prowess, vignerons have turned the region’s temperate maritime climate to their advantage, transforming ‘the ugly duckling no-one liked into the most loved by Portuguese connoisseurs’, Decanter stated.
Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut is a fun and unique blend of 3 grape varieties, 2 of which are typical of the Bairrada region: Maria Gomes, Bical, and Arinto. Maria Gomes, also known as “Fernão Pires”, gives to the wine, exotic and spicy aromas; Bical, that thanks to its acidity, is ideal for the production of fresh sparkling wines; and finally, Arinto, a beautiful, fresh grape. The perfect combination of these grapes is the result of this delicious, complex, and attractive sparkling wine.
Vinification
After destalked and pressed, the clear settled juice is fermented at 14ºC.
Aging: For 2 years in the bottle before the disgorgement.
Serve between 5 and 7ºC. Pair this beautiful sparkling with appetizers, seafood, and fish.
Opta Winery was born in 2013 with the alliance of businessman Camilo Leite and winemaker Nuno Cancela de Abreu. What began as a friendly project focused on the simple pleasure of enjoying good Portuguese wines, soon grew to become a benchmark for Bairrada’s winemaking. However, the main objective remains: “To show the greatness and quality of this region’s wines to the world.”
Opta’s logo is a swallow, an emblematic bird of Portugal. This bird symbolizes joy, courage, and skill, the same values that are applied in the production of their outstanding wines.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
@ddeuddeg@rjquillin hah. How would this compare to the Gruet Brut from recent times. Love that. The sauvage with zero dosage is nice but also bitter (I like, others not as much.)
@LJeAYsy4LoqxEC@rjquillin I like the Gruet a lot, all of them, though I haven’t yet tasted the Sauvage Rosé. I liked this even more than any of the Gruet.
Last week, I got a call from my buddy at UPS, informing me that there was a package waiting for pickup. I knew we had a bottle of Opta Sparkling Brut on the way, so I zipped over to the depot to pick it up. Plenty of time to plan something to enjoy it with, and we settled on an old standby, chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce. A nice rich comfort food, just right with a wine that has plenty of acidity to avoid being overpowered.
As always, we tasted the wine before digging into the food, not wanting our palates compromised. First impression, a nice yeasty nose, and a hint of citrus. First taste, more yeast, more citrus, but all pretty subdued. Second taste, a much sweeter sensation, but I think mostly due to the abundance of fruit rather than actual sugar. This is a true Brut.
As the meal progressed, I found myself liking it more and more. As is most often the case with sparkling wines, I don’t get a lot of flavor descriptors, but I did get a sense of this being a really superb dinner accompaniment. This is well worth the asking price from the winery. I’ll be interested to see what the selling price is at Casemates.
Don’t forget, my signature slogan in an earlier life was, “Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for a special occasion. Sometimes the special occasion is you’ve got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne” This is worth keeping in the fridge.
@ddeuddeg based on your’s and your bride’s recommendations I’ve got a case heading my way, and added chicken with sun dried tomato cream sauce to our upcoming dinner list!
@ddeuddeg Care to share your recipe for that chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce? Or just the sauce and I can figure out the chicken part. Sounds delicious.
@caramelarrow@ddeuddeg Oh goodness…this recipe reminds me of a dish I love, but totally forgot about! Try this little twist…after you remove the chicken and add the shallots, flambé with Ouzo and cook it down for a few minutes then add artichoke hearts, heirloom tomato chunks and kalamata olives before the the cream. A bit of a Grecian twist!
@ddeuddeg Thank you. I love to try new recipes. I checked one of the recipe sites I use, and they had a recipe with cheese and no wine. I’ll go with yours Happy New Year!!
Update, just saw the price, and I repeat, this is worth keeping in the fridge. Even at the 4-bottle price, but especially at the case price. A screaming deal, and that’s coming from someone who drinks lots of bubbly.
One day last week I received the coveted email from Alice saying that I had been selected as a Lab Rat. It’s been a while since ddeuddeg and I have been Lab Rats, and I’m on vacation, so this was perfect timing!
The bottle that was sent was the Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut from Portugal! I read the back label because I’ve never had a sparkling wine from Portugal. I don’t know if the Century Club is still extant, but if it is, and you are looking to add to your grapes tasted, this wine is for you! It is made of three grapes that I have never heard of: Maria Gomes (46%), Bical (34%), and Arinto (24%) and is 12.5% alc by vol.
I really enjoyed this wine. It appears to the palate to be a bit sweeter than what I would expect from a Brut, but it is so well-balanced that I did not find it objectionable in the least. I didn’t notice a lot of yeastiness and the bubbles kept on coming! Definitely a nice QPR!
For rats that don’t know, around the holidays Alice will send a note asking if you’re up for rattage if it’s in your wheelhouse. It was nice to be asked, and I know I’ve been anxious about the process when so many travel for the holiday.
I was really excited when I opened my rat package to see the Opta sparkling wine. I’m a big buyer of sparklers, I love Iron Horse and Gruet (they both are what I keep around the house), and I was excited to try a Portugese bubbly!
After putting in the fridge for a couple days, I popped open the bottle last night to drink slowly over the evening with my loved one while we watched The Expanse.
It pours in a lovely golden color. First sniff is yeasty, and the first sip gave me the sense of an older sherry, but without the residual sweetness. The tingles reminded me of pop rocks if they were tiny babies, little sparks on the tip of my tongue - delicious!
Next I made a little baby cheese plate with some chevre/honey, aged cheddar, prosciutto, cherries, and pine berries.
This sparkler was outstanding with food, especially the cheeses, which brought out a lovely creamy quality in the wine.
Finally we drank this with dinner, chicken tortellini with homemade red sauce seasoned with garlic, fenugreek, and basil. Opta was an excellent match for this and we kept sipping as we took bites.
TLDR; Opta is an excellent sparkling wine, especially for the price. I’m in for at least 4, maybe a case! All in all this is infinitely drinkable, and not extremely Brut-y. I found it easy to drink and wonderful with food.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut - $40 = 24.23%
@rjquillin@WCCWineGirl@Winedavid49,
Yeah lesson learned! Will keep an eye especially on Friday deals.
Thanks folks. Happy & safe 2022, hopefully better than last two!
@ScottW58 Mine are completely flat.
The corks are also rock hard, like concrete - it’s weird. There was no pop, no release, not even a sad sigh when I released them. We’re making the best out of it with a French 75-ish…
@LSeewoester Ah sheesh! We just opened our first bottle and it was just fine. Cork popped loudly and there are plenty of bubbles and fizz. But now I’m worried for the rest of the case. We will most likely use the majority of this stuff for Aperol Spritz’ that we drink on the daily, so I’ll let you know what happens as we cruise through the case.
@Allieroon Thanks! Luckily the cases sold out and I only got a four pack. Fingers crossed the other two have fizz I will keep everyone posted. Also - daily Aperol Spritz’s! That’s awesome you are my new hero.
Ours apparently took a side trip to Chicago on their way to Tampa. I’ll pop one when they eventually decide that winter in Florida is so much better than Illinois!
Fingers crossed!
Anyone else had a problem with this champagne?
First cork came out wet, no fizz.
Second came out slightly wet and little fizz.
Third bottle leaking?
Super disappointed!
@ddeuddeg meant as tongue in cheek! Humor does not come across sometimes. People have been posting about bad bottles hence my comment. I know you are a seasoned veteran! Hope all is well with you both!
@losthighwayz Thanks for clearing that up. And thanks especially for calling my attention to the problem some of our mates have had. I’ll be trying a bottle this weekend to see how it is, and if we find any of it to be unsatisfactory, I’m sure Casemates will make good on it.
Out of 6 bottles opened so far, 2 were completely flat and went down the drain. Fortunately, the other 4 were very tasty, on their own and in Aperol Spritz’s! Not too concerned about it, I have bought sooooo many cases from @WineDavid49 with very, very few issues and lots of great wines!
@WineDavid49
Went in on 2 bottles of a NEO case split and opened the first bottle last night. Black mold/sludge between the capsule and cage/cork. Disgusting but I cleaned it up as best I could and popped the cork. The wine was completely flat and went down the drain. Not much hope for the second bottle but will open it soon and report back.
Curious, I removed the capsule from the second bottle. Not as bad as the first bottle but still not a pretty sight. Removed the cage and metal cap to look under it and there was enough pressure that the cork popped itself out, shot straight up about 10’ and ricocheted off the vaulted, angled ceiling, landing clear across the room, making the mark on the ceiling seen in the last pic.
As expected based upon the explosion, this bottle had plenty of carbonation left. I tried a small pour and it was delicious, unlike the still version we tried to choke down last night before giving up and opening another bottle.
Guess I will count myself lucky to hit 50% on these.
@chipgreen Wow, that cork looked like it had somehow popped open earlier and let a mould start growing in the collected sugary sludge it left behind. Yuck.
@chipgreen The posts farther up were the worse bottle, I hope. For everybody’s sake. If it was worse than that you might have needed to call the HazMat people!
@klezman
Yeah, the pics with my hand in them are of the first bottle. I put the text above the first post and below the second post, causing all the pics to run together.
Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut
Tasting Notes
About the Wine
Vinification
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $300/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jan 24 - Thursday, Jan 27
NV Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut
4 bottles for $54.99 $13.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $124.99 $10.42/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Dosage?
@rjquillin Don’t care; this is good stuff.
@ddeuddeg @rjquillin hah. How would this compare to the Gruet Brut from recent times. Love that. The sauvage with zero dosage is nice but also bitter (I like, others not as much.)
@LJeAYsy4LoqxEC @rjquillin I like the Gruet a lot, all of them, though I haven’t yet tasted the Sauvage Rosé. I liked this even more than any of the Gruet.
Last week, I got a call from my buddy at UPS, informing me that there was a package waiting for pickup. I knew we had a bottle of Opta Sparkling Brut on the way, so I zipped over to the depot to pick it up. Plenty of time to plan something to enjoy it with, and we settled on an old standby, chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce. A nice rich comfort food, just right with a wine that has plenty of acidity to avoid being overpowered.
As always, we tasted the wine before digging into the food, not wanting our palates compromised. First impression, a nice yeasty nose, and a hint of citrus. First taste, more yeast, more citrus, but all pretty subdued. Second taste, a much sweeter sensation, but I think mostly due to the abundance of fruit rather than actual sugar. This is a true Brut.
As the meal progressed, I found myself liking it more and more. As is most often the case with sparkling wines, I don’t get a lot of flavor descriptors, but I did get a sense of this being a really superb dinner accompaniment. This is well worth the asking price from the winery. I’ll be interested to see what the selling price is at Casemates.
Don’t forget, my signature slogan in an earlier life was, “Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for a special occasion. Sometimes the special occasion is you’ve got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne” This is worth keeping in the fridge.
@ddeuddeg
Well that sounds good to me and a sparkling Portuguese wine
@ddeuddeg based on your’s and your bride’s recommendations I’ve got a case heading my way, and added chicken with sun dried tomato cream sauce to our upcoming dinner list!
@ddeuddeg Care to share your recipe for that chicken with sun-dried tomato cream sauce? Or just the sauce and I can figure out the chicken part. Sounds delicious.
@caramelarrow Alway happy to share recipes. The internet abounds with recipes for that dish, but this is the one we use: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-with-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce-2612
I typically make it with just two chicken breasts, but without cutting the sauce in half. It’s great over mashed potatoes. And make sure to get oil-packed tomatoes, not the ones packed in water.
@caramelarrow @ddeuddeg Oh goodness…this recipe reminds me of a dish I love, but totally forgot about! Try this little twist…after you remove the chicken and add the shallots, flambé with Ouzo and cook it down for a few minutes then add artichoke hearts, heirloom tomato chunks and kalamata olives before the the cream. A bit of a Grecian twist!
@ddeuddeg Thank you. I love to try new recipes. I checked one of the recipe sites I use, and they had a recipe with cheese and no wine. I’ll go with yours
Happy New Year!!
@Allieroon That sounds good. I may have to try it next time. Thanks.
Update, just saw the price, and I repeat, this is worth keeping in the fridge. Even at the 4-bottle price, but especially at the case price. A screaming deal, and that’s coming from someone who drinks lots of bubbly.
@ddeuddeg
Any comparisons between this and Gruet?
@ddeuddeg @kawichris650 same. Asked above haha.
Full disclosure, as much as I enjoyed this wine, and have ordered a case, our house pour whenever we have company is Iron Horse.
One day last week I received the coveted email from Alice saying that I had been selected as a Lab Rat. It’s been a while since ddeuddeg and I have been Lab Rats, and I’m on vacation, so this was perfect timing!
The bottle that was sent was the Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut from Portugal! I read the back label because I’ve never had a sparkling wine from Portugal. I don’t know if the Century Club is still extant, but if it is, and you are looking to add to your grapes tasted, this wine is for you! It is made of three grapes that I have never heard of: Maria Gomes (46%), Bical (34%), and Arinto (24%) and is 12.5% alc by vol.
I really enjoyed this wine. It appears to the palate to be a bit sweeter than what I would expect from a Brut, but it is so well-balanced that I did not find it objectionable in the least. I didn’t notice a lot of yeastiness and the bubbles kept on coming! Definitely a nice QPR!
@bahwm Century Club is still around.
Which vintage is the wine?
@DevenDP72 non-vintage. Which means, multiple vintages blended.
@wardad Thanks for the info.
In for a case. Just finished the last Gruet bottle and regret not buying another case the last time it was offered.
I don’t buy much wine from Casemates but looking through my purchase history 80% of my orders have been sparklers. An interesting trend.
For rats that don’t know, around the holidays Alice will send a note asking if you’re up for rattage if it’s in your wheelhouse. It was nice to be asked, and I know I’ve been anxious about the process when so many travel for the holiday.
I was really excited when I opened my rat package to see the Opta sparkling wine. I’m a big buyer of sparklers, I love Iron Horse and Gruet (they both are what I keep around the house), and I was excited to try a Portugese bubbly!
After putting in the fridge for a couple days, I popped open the bottle last night to drink slowly over the evening with my loved one while we watched The Expanse.
It pours in a lovely golden color. First sniff is yeasty, and the first sip gave me the sense of an older sherry, but without the residual sweetness. The tingles reminded me of pop rocks if they were tiny babies, little sparks on the tip of my tongue - delicious!
Next I made a little baby cheese plate with some chevre/honey, aged cheddar, prosciutto, cherries, and pine berries.
This sparkler was outstanding with food, especially the cheeses, which brought out a lovely creamy quality in the wine.
Finally we drank this with dinner, chicken tortellini with homemade red sauce seasoned with garlic, fenugreek, and basil. Opta was an excellent match for this and we kept sipping as we took bites.
TLDR; Opta is an excellent sparkling wine, especially for the price. I’m in for at least 4, maybe a case! All in all this is infinitely drinkable, and not extremely Brut-y. I found it easy to drink and wonderful with food.
Thanks, Casemates!
Cases are gone. I’m in for a 4.
/giphy opulent-shivering-fire
Cases sold out already? Boo! Just ordered 4. Would prefer 12 if the cases are available
Oof, great heavens those cases went fast. A four-pack it is!
/giphy reunited-sappy-dressing
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Opta Bairrada Sparkling Brut - $40 = 24.23%
@chipgreen Hopefully this will matter again!
@winedavid49 @wccwinegirl
OK, 'mates are asking if cases can reappear…
WD says he’s “on it”
Looks like that didn’t turn out so well.
Sigh.
@rjquillin @winedavid49 @wccwinegirl,
So bummed to have missed this! Any chance cases may reappear?
@abhiabhi @WCCWineGirl @Winedavid49
Based on WD’s comment, looks like we’re done for the day and not even singles at this time.
Hoping for something really special next.
@rjquillin @WCCWineGirl @Winedavid49,
Yeah lesson learned! Will keep an eye especially on Friday deals.
Thanks folks. Happy & safe 2022, hopefully better than last two!
@winedavid49
Sold out already?!?!?!?!? Hope you can rummage around for more!
Don’t sleep on Friday deals…
Say it ain’t so…
@rjquillin
Yep, that one went pretty quick.
How many cases did you start with?
Wow! No more period. It’s a sell out!! Glad we got our case!!!
Much as I am trying not to buy, I am bummed to have missed this
@apathy0 my feelings exactly!
Looked back 4x since 7am due to FOMO so I definitely had the opportunity …but so much GRUET downstairs
Tomorrow’s offer better be fantastic, it would help me get over me missing out on this…
@eastcoastmary
Did you receive the email from Clark? He announced what the offer will be.
@kawichris650 umm, no
@apathy0
Spoiler Alert! <— click there for the offer info.
@apathy0 @kawichris650 I love WineSmith but not a fan of this type of wine. It didn’t make me feel better about losing out on todays sparkler.
@apathy0 @eastcoastmary @kawichris650 I love fortified style and desert wines so maybe breaking even since I missed out on this.
Just remember to exercise in the new year … just because it’s Twenty-Twenty-Too doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep up those exercises!
Looking forward to a new Clue Thread in Twenty-Twenty-Too!
@MarkDaSpark I’ve always thought that that graphic would be better drawn as:
(but that’s just my engineering mindset coming into play).
@Mark_L.
Except you’re opening a bottle in mine, whereas yours has no wine!
And this always pops into mind when Engineering is mentioned!
@MarkDaSpark For a good part of my career I kept a copy of that in my briefcase.
Attention! Please read.
I need to spend less time on the computer, so December 31st will be my last day on Facebook for 2021. I will return sometime on January 1st in 2022.
Thank you for understanding, I’ll miss you all!
Anybody else get bottles that had no bubbles? So far just one - chilling a 2nd…
@LSeewoester Oof. Two flat bottles. That’s disappointing.
@LSeewoester
Not really champagne type bubbles but my first bottle had plenty of mousse fizz and was tasty!
@ScottW58 Mine are completely flat.
The corks are also rock hard, like concrete - it’s weird. There was no pop, no release, not even a sad sigh when I released them. We’re making the best out of it with a French 75-ish…
@LSeewoester Ah sheesh! We just opened our first bottle and it was just fine. Cork popped loudly and there are plenty of bubbles and fizz. But now I’m worried for the rest of the case.
We will most likely use the majority of this stuff for Aperol Spritz’ that we drink on the daily, so I’ll let you know what happens as we cruise through the case.
@Allieroon Thanks! Luckily the cases sold out and I only got a four pack. Fingers crossed the other two have fizz I will keep everyone posted. Also - daily Aperol Spritz’s! That’s awesome you are my new hero.
OWLS! TOWELS! JOWLS! AWESOME!
@LSeewoester
First cork came out wet, no fizz.
Second came out slightly wet and little fizz.
Third bottle leaking?
Super disappointed!
@SueBee22
Ours apparently took a side trip to Chicago on their way to Tampa.
I’ll pop one when they eventually decide that winter in Florida is so much better than Illinois!
Fingers crossed!
Anyone else had a problem with this champagne?
First cork came out wet, no fizz.
Second came out slightly wet and little fizz.
Third bottle leaking?
Super disappointed!
Sounds like I am fortunate that it sold out before I could get one
I had two flat bottles too.
@JamesinKC Yeah. Just opened my first bottle. Totally flat. Definitely regretting this one.
Opened bottle #2 and it had a weird black sludge between the foil and top of the cage. The cork is also rock hard. Carbonation is present.
The black sludge is kinda freaking me out though.
Update: I didn’t die or feel ill.
Sounds like this @ddeuddeg is a shill
;)
@losthighwayz That was 4 weeks ago, and I just re-read my post. I don’t see it that way, but in any event, what’s your point in posting this now?
@ddeuddeg meant as tongue in cheek! Humor does not come across sometimes. People have been posting about bad bottles hence my comment. I know you are a seasoned veteran! Hope all is well with you both!
@losthighwayz Thanks for clearing that up. And thanks especially for calling my attention to the problem some of our mates have had. I’ll be trying a bottle this weekend to see how it is, and if we find any of it to be unsatisfactory, I’m sure Casemates will make good on it.
@winedavid49 Seems like a lot of similar problems with these bottles going south . Any recourse?
I had the sludge problem, another 2 had moldy corks. The one bottle I did drink just tasted off. Casemates is awesome and refunded for me.
KRULL! A SKULL! BRETT HULL! AWESOME!
Out of 6 bottles opened so far, 2 were completely flat and went down the drain. Fortunately, the other 4 were very tasty, on their own and in Aperol Spritz’s! Not too concerned about it, I have bought sooooo many cases from @WineDavid49 with very, very few issues and lots of great wines!
@mrn1 I just opened my second straight bottle that lacks carbonation.
I had the same problem as many of the above stated. Moldy corks, flat contents. Disappointed!
@WineDavid49
Went in on 2 bottles of a NEO case split and opened the first bottle last night. Black mold/sludge between the capsule and cage/cork. Disgusting but I cleaned it up as best I could and popped the cork. The wine was completely flat and went down the drain. Not much hope for the second bottle but will open it soon and report back.
Curious, I removed the capsule from the second bottle. Not as bad as the first bottle but still not a pretty sight. Removed the cage and metal cap to look under it and there was enough pressure that the cork popped itself out, shot straight up about 10’ and ricocheted off the vaulted, angled ceiling, landing clear across the room, making the mark on the ceiling seen in the last pic.
As expected based upon the explosion, this bottle had plenty of carbonation left. I tried a small pour and it was delicious, unlike the still version we tried to choke down last night before giving up and opening another bottle.
Guess I will count myself lucky to hit 50% on these.
@chipgreen Wow, that cork looked like it had somehow popped open earlier and let a mould start growing in the collected sugary sludge it left behind. Yuck.
@klezman
Yeah and that was the good bottle!
@chipgreen The posts farther up were the worse bottle, I hope. For everybody’s sake. If it was worse than that you might have needed to call the HazMat people!
@klezman
Yeah, the pics with my hand in them are of the first bottle. I put the text above the first post and below the second post, causing all the pics to run together.