History has taught us that Dão belongs to those places that
Man has long-recognised as exceptional for producing great wines. Despite its
enormous potential to produce red and white wines, it is a region that
continues to stubbornly remain out of the limelight.
António Madeira, who is French of Portuguese descent, has
his roots in the foothills of Serra da Estrela. Since 2010, António Madeira has
been researching, the places in this sub-region, that our ancestors elected as
the best for vine, those that we might call the «Grands Crus of the Dão
highlands» and found a series of old vines that are distinctive because of the
authenticity of their grape varieties, the characteristics and nuances of their
granite soils and sun exposures.
2014 was a late year, marked by heavy rains of September. Manual
and careful harvest enabled to pick only the healthy and ripe grapes. 40% of
the production was lost in the harvest.
A centenaria 2014 is the expression of a 120 years old
vineyard with great character. We are facing what could be considered as a
« Grand Cru ». We decided to
bottle it as a single vineyard in order to preserve its unique and strong
identity. Tasting this wine is an experience that leads us to travel back in
time to discover the aromas and flavors of the foothills of the Serra da
Estrela, in the Dão, as it was in the late nineteenth century.
VINIFICATION
The vinification philosophy was to respect the grapes and
nature and focus on seeking the expression of the terroir of Serra da Estrela,
thus, no other product was used except sulphur.
Alcoholic fermentation took place in open vats with
traditional treading and began naturally, with the yeast from the vine itself,
to express its identity in the purest form.
Very little extraction was sought. After pressing, the wine
was placed directly into used French oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation
took place until the following spring and where it aged for 18 months.
Bottling took place in August 2016.
TASTING NOTES
This wine expresses the character and elegance of the land
that witnessed its birth and takes us on a journey through time to discover the
aromas and flavours of Serra da Estrela foothills, just as it was in the late
nineteenth century.
Pure, great identity, complex, granite wrapped fresh red
fruit, white cherry, sensations of aromatic herbs, flowers and pine forest.
Deep, fresh and tasty mouth, silky tannins, finesse. Endless mineral finish.
A "Grand Cru" of Dão Serra da Estrela.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
PRODUCER : António Madeira REGION : Dão – Serra da Estrela SOIL TYPE : Granite
VINEYARDS : Single vineyard AVERAGE VINE AGE : 120 years old
GRAPE VARIETIES : Field blend of Jaen, Tinta Amarela ,
Baga, Negro Mouro and 20 other native grape varieties
ALT. FROM SEA LEVEL : 500 m PRUNING METHOD : Guyot
HARVEST PERIOD : End of September 2014
HARVEST METHOD : Hand picked
FERMENTATION : Indigenous
yeasts, open vats with controlled temperature
MALOLACTIC : Used barrels
AGEING : 18 months in used French oak barrels (225 L) BOTTLED : August 2016
ALCOHOL : 11.8% PH
3,72 TOTAL ACIDITY (G/L) 5,84 VOLATILE ACIDITY (G/L) 0,90
FREE SO2 AT BOTTLING (MG/L) 27
TOTAL SO2 (MG/L) 68 RESIDUAL SUGAR (G/L) 0,5
VOLUMIC MASS (G/ML)
0,9935
PRODUCTION : 450
bottles
FOOD SUGGESTIONS : Lamb, duck, codfish.
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