Extreme freshness, body, persistence, and an aging capacity comparable to the great white wines of the world.
The 2018 viticultural year was out of the ordinary, in comparison with the last five years. Winter was cold and dry and Spring was cool and with very high rainfall. The summer was marked by two different stages, first cold and rainy and towards the end, warm and extremely dry. This provoked a later flowering season, however with the occurrence of rain, the vine found great levels of water to flourish. There was a higher pressure than average for mildium and the climatic instability brought productivity levels down. At Quinta Vale D. Maria (Cima Corgo) we monitored the vineyard carefully to make sure mildium was not very strong. At Quinta Vale do Sabor (Douro Superior), the more consistent climate offered very good conditions for vine development. In August, some dehydration and sun burn occurred, though quite mildly. Therefore, production levels did not fall dramatically at either of our estates. Harvest began on the 12th of September with white grapes. It ran smoothly, with grape picking occurring with the ideal maturation, and resulting in musts of great quality.
Grape origins: In 2015 we started to explore a unique vineyard, with an average age over 80 years and with more than 10 varieties of white grape varieties planted at more than 550m of altitude and with less than one hectare and immense potential. D. Maria Vinha de Martim Douro Branco Valley shows the unique and differentiated character of the different plots of old vines that spread across the Douro. We feel that we express the Douro that we have known for many centuries in this wine.
Vinification and ageing: All grapes are hand-picked and carefully selected at the sorting table. They are de-stemmed before being carefully crushed in a pneumatic press. The resulting must decanted for 24 hours at 10º Celsius in 2,500L stainless steel vats. The must is then racked into new 225L French oak barrels, where it fermented for 25 days at controlled temperatures between 10º and 14º Celsius. The wine was aged in the same barriques for 9 months, with bâttonage.
Tasting Notes: Vale D. Maria Vinha de Martim is incredibly vibrant and fruity in the nose, with touches of apricot, peach and fresh tropical fruits. In the mouth this wine reveals a very full, fresh and crisp grip, creating an extremely elegant, vibrant white wine with a very long finish. This wine is a great wine to pair with different oven fish dishes, or grilled particularly codfish, seabass and sole. One of our favorite pairings is with cured cow milk cheeses.
Technical Analysis
Winemakers
