Quinta da Boavista Vinha do Oratório Tinto 2015

The icon vineyard of Quinta da Boavista, the Vinha do Oratório is formed in high and curved terraces in the shape of an oratory that reach eight meters in height. This vineyard, facing east, has an altitude that varies between 80 and 175 meters and has a mixture of more than 25 Douro grape varieties. With an average age of over 80 years, these vineyards allow us to produce a wine of remarkable concentration and complexity.

Grape Varieties: 100% Old Vineyards over 80 years old.

Tasting Notes: “Sometimes Autumn comes in the house with us...”, so begins a poem by Eugénio de Andrade, and sometimes we find all seasons in one wine. This would be the first verse if we had to write a poem about Vinha do Oratório 2017. Revealing a full bouquet, where we lose ourselves in its plentiful aromas of red fruit subtly wrapped in floral notes with a fine hint of spice, this wine gradually takes over our senses, winning them over with is creaminess, generous texture and final freshness. A timeless wine.

Vinification: To ensure the prevalence of the variety’s characteristics and the full control of the process, at Quinta da Boavista we use manual harvesting and manual grape sorting processes, followed by a gentle berry de-stalk and crush. Manual harvesting. Manual grape sorting. Gentle berry de-stalk and crush. As fermentation reservoirs we have the traditional granite wine presses with foot treading, and later the wine is aged in French oak barrels for at least 18 months. All our wines are sealed under natural cork. Wines are not filtered or cold-stabilized and that is why they can produce sediment with age.

Gastronomy: Perfect with red meat, game, cheese. Best served at 16ºC-18ºC.

Winemakers: Rui Cunha and Jean-Claude Berrouet

Awards: 93/100 Robert Parker