x
  • Country ranking ?

    92
  • Producer ranking ?

    2
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Roasted lamb

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The Story

Barca Velha has been chosen numerous times by Portuguese bodies for official receptions of civilian, military and religious world dignitaries, including the Pope. 

Vinified in the Quinta da Leda winery, using selected grapes mainly from this estate, but also from elevated areas in the Douro Superior. After destemming and gentle crushing, the grapes were put into stainless steel vats, where alcoholic fermentation took place. A long, gentle maceration was carried out at a controlled temperature in order to extract the compounds that contribute to the colour, aroma, flavour and longevity of the wine. It was matured in barrels of French oak for a period of about 18 months. The final blend was made based on the careful selection of the best wines, resulting from the numerous tastings and analyses carried out on the different existing blends and barrels, throughout this period. It is in this selection that the "secret" of Barca-Velha lies. So as to preserve the highest quality, it was subjected to filtration only before bottling.

The name Barca Velha ("Old Boat") is associated with a(n old) boat which in those days crossed the Douro, near the farms where the wine was produced.

There is only one bottle of the first Barca Velha harvest left- a magnum from 1952, of incalculable value today. 

In more than half a century of existence, Barca Velha had only 16 harvests and three winemakers: Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, the mythical creator of this precious wine, was able to pass on a deep love of the Douro to José Maria Soares Franco and Luís Sottomayor, the latter now the winemaking director for all Sogrape Vinhos’ Douro region wines.

It should be placed vertically the day before drinking and opened 2 to 3 hours before serving. With so many years in the bottle, the wine should be carefully decanted to separate its natural sediment. Ideally, it should be served at 16ºC-18ºC.

Food Pairing:
It is suggested that it be savoured calmly, paired with more elaborate meat dishes, game and even some cheeses, with exquisite, well integrated flavours.

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Wine Information

2008 was a relatively mild and dry year. Harvest began at the end of August. Grapes were selected from Quinta da Leda and the higher zones of the Douro Superior. After soft crushing and full de-stemming, the grapes were passed into stainless steel tanks and epoxy lined granite “lagares” for cold maceration where intense pumping-over and robot- operated pigeages were carried out at controlled temps. A long post-fermentation maceration process followed, in order to obtain full aromatic and polyphenolic extraction.

After maceration, wines were transported to Vila Nova de Gaia for fermentation, where they aged for 18 months in 225-litre new French oak. The final blend was selected after a rigorous process of multiple tastings and analyses, which is the true ‘secret’ of Barca Velha. In order to preserve its supreme quality, Barca Velha is bottled with no prior treatment and therefore naturally develops a deposit.

The final wine has a deep ruby hue and an intense, complex bouquet of well-ripened red fruit, spices such as pepper and clove, and hints of balsamic cedar, resin and tobacco box. Notes of asparagus and artichokes, sous bois and aromas of high-quality oak mingle in perfect harmony. Its palate is full-bodied, with lively balanced acidity, intense tannins and notes of fresh red fruits, pepper, clove and ginger. It has an extraordinarily long, graceful and harmonious finish. 

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Information

Origin

Porto, Douro
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