Quinta da Carolina - 2017 - Douro Tinto

Crafted with meticulous care, this wine has grapes from Vinha Velha da Quinta da Carolina 1950 in the Douro Valley. Planted across two hectares with a northerly exposure in a warm zone, these diverse vines (including Tinta Amarela, Tinto Cão, Touriga Francesa, and more) are harvested slightly earlier than usual to ensure perfect ripeness. Following manual harvesting in small boxes, the grapes are meticulously sorted before undergoing whole-bunch fermentation in cement tanks with temperature control. After a week of maceration, the grapes are pressed, and the wine continues fermenting in French and Austrian oak barrels of 500 liters. Following 24 months of aging in these barrels, the wine spends an additional year in stainless steel tanks, allowing for natural stabilization. The wine is bottled manually using gravity-flow, with minimal intervention – no filtering, fining, or excessive SO2 adjustments are employed. This meticulous process results in a truly expressive and characterful Douro wine.