Quinta Nova da Nossa Senhora Douro Unoaked Red 2023 - 750ml

Winemaker Notes

A unique unoaked blend, that uses the Quinta Nova da Nossa Senhora do Carmo’s main grape varieties - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão. It has an authentic and intense flavour that demonstrates that it does not need to be aged in an oak barrel to be sophisticated.

Its ruby ​​colour and youthful, exuberant and mineral aroma offers a magnificent balance between fruit, dense structure and alcohol, and confirms that the full character of the Douro fits inside a bottle of wine, with extraordinary richness and volume.

In Portugal, this wine is one of the finest examples of unoaked wines, and can be drunk young or stored in the cellar for 5-7 years.

There was some climate instability in 2021, once again demonstrating the crucial importance of human experience and knowledge of the vineyards. It was a memorably cool year during development of the vegetative cycle, with a mildly hot summer and rainfall during the harvest. The natural conditions and cool nights contributed to slow and gradual maturation, favouring the balance of the grapes and maintaining the primary aromas, juicy texture and sparkling freshness!

Winery Notes

This sizeable Quinta is beautifully situated, a short way upstream of Quinta do Crasto in the Cima Corgo region of the Douro. It’s owned by Amorim (the well known cork company), who acquired it when they bought Port house Burmester (which they have since sold on). The first table wines from the estate vineyards were released in 2005.
The Quinta gets its name from the patron saint of the 17th century riverside chapel on the property, where the crews of the Rabelo boats would pray for protection on this, which before the Douro was dammed would have been quite a dangerous stretch of the river. The chapel contains within it a statue of Nosso Senhora, which apparently is so heavy (despite its small size) that it takes a few strong men to lift it.