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Viinin Kuvailu
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.
Wine Information
Barca Velha has been chosen numerous times by Portuguese bodies for official receptions of civilian, military and religious world dignitaries, including the Pope.
The extreme heat of the Douro Superior, and the fact that there was no electricity in the region at the time, led the creator of Barca Velha to order ice be transported on trucks from Matosinhos to Pocinho, to ensure fermentation occurred at controlled temperatures (a technological innovation at the time).
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.
THE WINE
Barca Velha is the epitome, the pinnacle, the unquestionable symbol of the highest quality of Douro wines. Classic, intense, complex, elegantand rich it has also been, since its creation in 1952, the most celebrated
Portuguese wine. Barca Velha is the basis upon which Casa Ferreirinha´s reputation has grown, the latter being the quality brand in the Douro and one of its main world-wide standard-bearers. Barca Velha is declared only in truly exceptional years (16 in all).
TASTING NOTES
Barca Velha 1995 has a bright red, deep and very intense hue. The prevailing aromas are those of very ripe fruit (mulberry, plum, and cassis), flowers (violet), spices (vanilla, pepper), balsam (cedar) and aromas made more complex through evolution in the bottle, such as pharmacy and iodine. On the palate it has an
excellent balance between alcohol and acidity, as a result of the careful selection and blending of native varieties, and it has a lingering, fine, elegant and delicate finish.
WINEMAKER: Luís Sottomayor
VARIETIES: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca
WINEMAKING
Barca Velha is vinified at the Quinta da Leda wine centre, where the selected grapes are vinified by variety or in lots, hand-chosen at the vineyard and/or on arrival at the wine centre. The grapes, after full stem-removal and soft crushing are moved into stainless steel vats and/or robot-operated presses, for
maceration and alcoholic fermentation, with intense pumping-over, under automatically controlled temperature. A long maceration was performed to allow the quality components of the ripe grape skins to pass into the wine. Finally, and at the moment required by each variety/blend, the wine was stored and the masses pressed, with the wine resulting from pressings kept apart from the remaining yield.
MATURATION
Wines that potentially make up Barca Velha are taken to V.N. Gaia immediately after maceration and undergo maturation for about a year and a year-and-a-half (depending on the blend and the barrel) in 225 litre, in new French oak-wood hogsheads. Barca Velha is made from a continuous selection of the
best wines, the result of the numerous tastings and analyses of the different blends and barrels. To preserve its topmost quality the wine is bottled with no prior treatment. Natural deposit may develop.
STORE
Although it is ready for drinking as soon as released to the market, Barca Velha 1999 has a long potential shelf-life and a positive evolution in the bottle.
Its apogee? Perhaps 15-20 years after the vintage, but it should be "live" for an as yet undetermined period of time. The bottle should be kept horizontally in a dry and cool place, sheltered from light.
SERVE
Ideally the bottle should be placed upright overnight and opened 2 to 3 hours before serving. After so many years in the bottle the wine should be carefully decanted in order to separate its natural deposit. Serve between 17ºC-20ºC.
ENJOY:
Enjoy at leisure, with meat dishes, game and even some cheeses with refined flavour.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Alcohol: 12,5% | Total Acidity: 5,6 g/l (tartaric acid) | Sugar: 2 g/l | pH: 3,4
