Quinta Dos Pesos 1996 Carcavelos

Carcavelos is produced from a blend of up to nine different white and red varieties. For the whites: Arinto, Gallego Dourado and Ratinho are most common; for the reds: Castelão and Trincadeira. Traditionally, the wines were fermented dry and subsequently fortified with vinho abafado (a fermented grape must, preserved by the addition of alcohol). Today, arresting the fermentation via mutage is the common practice. The resulting wine is typically 18-20% abv, with 80-100 g/l residual sugar, similar in sweetness to Port or a Boal Madeira. Elevage can range from five to 20 years, the wine becoming oxidative in character, with barrels more or less topped-up, depending on the style of the producer. Both vintage and blended age-statement are made.

Despite its acclaim, production of Carcavelos remained small relative to that of Port and Madeira, and the arrival of phylloxera in the late 19th century began the wine's slow fade, even as the region was officially demarcated in 1908. Its fortunes further declined as vineyards were lost to redevelopment, and the wine nearly disappeared during the latter half of the 20th century. By 1983, just two producers remained. Ministry of Agriculture officials stepped in to secure its future, protecting its remaining vineyards and establishing the first and only publicly owned winery in Portugal. Now owned by the municipality, Villa Oeiras is the sole active producer of Carcavelos, while the wines of Manoel de Boullosa's Quinta dos Pesos offer a fascinating portal into the history of this unique, long-aged oxidative wine. Importer Notes