Description
Quinta dos Carvalhais is a beautiful estate in the Terras de Senhorim sub-region of the Dão and is one of the region's most respected producers. Purchased in 1988 by the Guedes family, a huge amount of investment has gone into the estate, which combines the most up-to-date viticultural and winemaking techniques with age-old traditions, resulting in unique wines with great elegance and personality. In addition to investing in their own vineyards, Quinta dos Carvalhais has also been instrumental in defending the interests of local winegrowers and for pioneering the quality revolution in the Dão region. The talented Beatriz Cabral de Almeida is head winemaker and makes a very impressive range of single-varietal wines and interesting blends from the estate vineyards.
This 105-hectare estate, situated at an altitude of 465-500 metres above sea level, has 50 hectares under vine on predominantly granite soils. Warm days and cool nights at this altitude slow down the grape ripening process and result in wines with lovely depth yet vibrant fruit and a signature freshness. Precision viticulture is carried out on the estate with a multitude of different plots matched to specific grape varieties and harvested at different times. The fruit for the 2019 Encruzado was sourced from four different plots. Two cooler plots, one next to the lake on the estate and another often shaded by the oak trees, deliver a vibrant acidity the blend. Another plot with more sandy soils produces intensely aromatic grapes. All of the vineyards are farmed sustainably and harvesting is carried out by hand.
The Encruzado grapes were hand harvested into small 20-kilogram boxes and unloaded directly into the pneumatic press upon arrival at the winery. After gentle whole-bunch pressing, the must was settled over 24 hours and then transferred to stainless-steel tanks to begin fermentation. The wine finished its fermentation and spent six months ageing in a combination of new and used French oak barrels of varying sizes (225 litre, 500 litre and 1,000 litre) before the final blend was assembled and moved to larger used oak vessels to marry before bottling.
2019 was an unusually dry year in the Dão. Spring was warm and flowering occurred on time at the end of May. A dry summer, with warm days followed by cool nights allowed a perfectly paced slow ripening of the grapes. Harvest began in September, with above average temperatures and less rainfall than usual. The grapes harvested were healthy with an excellent balance between intensity of flavour and acidity.
The wine is bright yellow in colour. It has intense aromas of peaches and nectarines, as well as floral notes of jasmine and orange blossom and well-integrated notes of brioche from the oak ageing. The palate is fresh and balanced with vibrant acidity and a long, persistent finish.
Decanter World Wine Awards 2021 - SILVER MEDAL
Feature(s): Vegetarian;Sustainable
Alcohol (ABV): 13.5 %
Acidity: 6.50 g/l
Residual sugar: 3.00 g/l
pH: 3.20
