Quinta Vale D. Maria Vinha do Rio has a silky, deep, enveloping profile and its long, almost stubborn finish makes this wine unforgettable.
The 2018/2019 viticultural year was particularly atypical: extremely dry, but unusually warm. Thus, the vines were able to withstand summer stress despite the lack of water reserves in the soil. As the heat only manifested between the end of August and the beginning of September, there was no loss of production due to scalding or dehydration. The harvest started in early September and continued until October 10th. The fact that the year was fresh allowed for a slow maturation. In this way, it was possible to choose the ideal time to harvest each vineyard parcel, creating vintage 2019 DOC Douro wines of excellent quality.
Grape origins: With less than a hectare, this small vineyard is the closest to the River Torto that flows at the foothill of Quinta Vale D. Maria. It has 29 different grape varieties (49% Tinta Barroca, 20% Touriga Franca and 20% others) planted, in field blend, in an 80 years-old vineyard. Facing south, this vineyard has several hours of shade at the end of the day, due to the proximity to the hill and the height of the mountain that extends in front of it. Since our first harvest at Quinta Vale D. Maria, in 1996, we have identified unique characteristics in each plot. In the 2009 vintage we decided that we were going to bottle the wines separately from this very special parcel.
Vinification and ageing: All the grapes are foot-trodden and fully fermented in lagares for 7 to 10 days at controlled temperatures ranging from 22ºC to 27ºC. The resulting wines are then racked into new Allier French-oak 225L casks from various coopers, namely from François Frères and Taransaud, where they go through malolactic fermentation and aged for 18 months.
Tasting notes: Quinta Vale D. Maria Vinha do Rio 2019 presents a fruity nose, with various spices, tobacco, and light notes of chocolate and a great intensity. In the mouth, the wine is textured, surprisingly fresh, with great vigor, extremely tasty and with smooth and silky tannins.