Barbeito is a historic family-run winery founded in 1946 by Mário Barbeito de Vasconcelos on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where fortified wines have been crafted for centuries.

Today the company is led by Ricardo Diogo Freitas, the founder’s grandson, who has maintained and extended the estate’s focus on quality and terroir-expressive Madeira styles across traditional grape varieties, including Tinta Negra Mole, Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia.

Madeira’s unique climate—maritime with warm, humid air and stable temperatures—combined with long oak ageing under the canteiro system (slow, warm-cellar maturation) produces oxidative-influenced wines with exceptional acidity and longevity.

Barbeito was among the first producers to label and champion Tinta Negra on single-harvest bottles, helping elevate its reputation beyond simpler blends.

The estate makes a range of Madeiras from dry to lusciously sweet, reflecting both tradition and innovation in this historic Portuguese wine region.

Madeira is a unique wine region located on a volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Portugal but lying closer to Africa than mainland Europe.

Its steep terraces, basalt-rich soils and mild, humid climate create ideal conditions for producing long-lived fortified wines. Madeira is defined by its distinctive ageing process, which deliberately exposes wine to heat and oxygen, either through the traditional canteiro system or controlled estufagem. This results in remarkable stability, high acidity and complex flavours.

The region’s classic grape varieties — Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malvasia — produce wines ranging from bone-dry to lusciously sweet. Thanks to fortification and oxidative ageing, Madeira wines are virtually indestructible, capable of ageing for decades or even centuries, making them some of the world’s most enduring and distinctive wines.

Tinta Negra Mole is the most widely planted grape variety on the island of Madeira and plays a central role in the production of Madeira wine. Long undervalued, it is now increasingly recognised for its versatility and quality.

Tinta Negra Mole can be vinified in a range of styles, from dry to sweet, depending on when fermentation is stopped and the degree of fortification. The grape typically produces wines with flavours of dried fruit, caramel, nuts and citrus peel once aged through Madeira’s oxidative processes.

Naturally high acidity makes it well suited to long maturation, helping wines remain fresh and balanced despite extended ageing. Grown on Madeira’s steep, volcanic terraces, Tinta Negra Mole thrives in the island’s warm, humid climate.

Historically blended into various Madeira styles, it is now also used in single-varietal bottlings that highlight its adaptability and renewed prestige.